Easter Butter Poodle

Years ago I saw a butter lamb, which is, I believe, a traditional decoration on the dinner table at Eastertime. I decided I wanted to make one, but back then (in the olden days) I couldn't access the Internet to search for a mold, and I couldn't find a mold in a store. So I decided to carve my own lamb from a pound of butter.

My first attempt in the pre-Internet dawn of time looked much more like a butter poodle than a butter lamb, and we all got a good laugh out of it. Over the years, I've had varying degrees of success carving butter lambs (even though butter lamb molds are much easier to find). Sometimes my lambs look like poodles, sometimes like labrador retrievers, and sometimes they actually look like lambs.

The lamb I carved for this year's Easter feast first looked like a butter camel, but Teddy urged me to refine it. It did end up looking something like a lamb. You can be the judge. The halo and banner are traditional additions, which you don't get if you use a store-bought mold.

So, how, you ask, does one carve a butter lamb (or poodle or camel)?

Start with a solid pound of butter (quarters won't do), and then carve away all the parts that aren't lamb (or poodle or camel).

'thann