It’s Friday night, and friends are arriving in an hour. You haven’t prepared anything extraordinary, and the fridge is honest without being inspiring. This is exactly the moment for this garlic butter — five minutes, one bowl, and everyone will think you went the extra mile.
Just out of the refrigerator, it still holds the shape of the bowl: a creamy, pale yellow mass, speckled with bright green as if herb confetti had been scattered in the sunlight. Step closer and the garlic already releases that pungent, warm, almost milky scent that tickles the nostrils even before the first bite. Place a dollop on a still-warm slice of bread and watch it slowly melt, disappearing into the crumb while leaving a shiny trail. The first bite is fatty, herbaceous, with that little kick of lemon that arrives at the finish and wakes everything up.
