Welcome to Well-Stocked, a regular series on items that everyone should be keeping in the pantry and why they’re so multitalented. I’m starting out with compound butter, a freezer staple that takes a minimal amount of work to make but will pay off handsomely for months to come (sometimes years if you look at what’s in my own freezer!).

Compound butter is one of my go-to solutions for nights when we’re low on groceries and I’m trying to stretch things out with a basic grain or wondering how to cook a piece of fish for myself. It’s got all your great seasonings and fats rolled into one, so you don’t have to spend the time chopping and building a sauce on a weeknight.

You don’t really need a specific recipe for compound butter – it’s really just a stick of room-temperature butter mashed together with whatever herbs or flavors you happen to have around, then rolled into a log and frozen. But here are a few of my favorites:

Garlic-Rosemary Butter

• 1 stick softened butter
• 1 head garlic
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• olive oil
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
• salt to taste

Roast the garlic, sprinkled with olive oil and salt and wrapped in foil, in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until it is brown and soft. This is perfect to do in a toaster oven or on your grill (it will likely take less time on the grill) or while you’re cooking something else in the oven so you won’t have to waste time and energy heating up the kitchen for one little head of garlic. When it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the husks.

Saute the shallot until soft but not brown, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Process all ingredients in a food processor or mash by hand until well incorporated. Refrigerate until firm enough to hold its shape, then spoon out onto a piece of waxed paper and roll into a log, twisting the ends to get any extra air out. Wrap that log in foil and place in the freezer. Just slice off as much as you need – this one is devastatingly good with your summer beans, an easy topping for pan-roasted cod, and of course makes some awesome garlic bread if you have a loaf of ciabatta.

Bagna Cauda Butter

• 1 stick softened butter
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 3 anchovies, finely minced (I like the ones packed in oil with red pepper flakes for extra heat)
• olive oil
• salt to taste

Saute the garlic and anchovies in olive oil over low heat until the anchovies dissolve and the garlic is golden. Let cool to room temperature.

Combine the garlic/anchovy mixture with the butter and salt in a food processor or mash by hand…. follow all the directions above. I like this one over linguine and clams a la Michael Chiarello.

Chili-Lime Butter

• 1 stick softened butter
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt to taste

Combine all ingredients as above. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t want to slather this all over grilled corn, but it’s also amazingly tasty melted over popcorn or on cornbread.

I could keep going – it would be so easy to do an Indian-spiced butter if you’re a curry fanatic, or even an Old Bay butter to keep in your beach house all summer for shrimp, crabs and clams. Leave your ideas in the comments, and we’ll add to the compound butter library….