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Too many of today’s cookbooks — afraid they’ll scare us away — understate the amount of butter you need to make a dish truly work. So next time you see instructions for a single tablespoon in a hot pan for cooking fish or meat, double the amount. While you’re at it, copy the pros and buy only unsalted butter, which tends to be fresher and lets you control the amount of salt in your food. Spend real money on a good gourmet brand like Straus Family Creamery in California or Lurpak out of Denmark, and your pantry will be stocked with the towering giant of culinary miracle foods, and a classic ready-made sauce for steak or fish.

Butter Sauces

On Steak: Whipped with just a little parsley, garlic, and anchovy

On Fish: Mixed with some lemon, white wine, and shallot