Hotel Butter

Well in advance, make the hotel/compound butter: Place the softened butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whip the butter until it's fluffy. Add parsley, the lemon zest, and the juice of half the lemon. Mix it until it's totally combined, scraping the sides as needed. Add more parsley, more lemon juice, or salt and pepper if you'd like.

Lay a long piece of plastic wrap on top of a long piece of aluminum foil. Scoop the butter mixture in a long strip down the middle of the plastic wrap. Carefully pull one side of the aluminum foil/plastic wrap over the butter, squeezing the foil gently to form it into a long. Continue to roll the log of butter into a roll. When it's all rolled up, twist the ends (like a piece of candy) until they become very taught (this means the butter is pressing together inside the plastic to form a cohesive roll.

Place the roll of butter into the fridge so it will harden, or into the freezer if you need to speed along the process.

Uses for hotel butter:

Lay a pat on grilled steaks, chicken or fish

Stir into cooked pasta or rice

Spread on crusty French bread

Add to a baked potato