English Muffins

So, it turns out English Muffins are incredibly easy to make. They require some planning (sitting in the fridge overnight)


and some patience (rising for an hour before baking).




But other than that, a breeze. And delicious. I used a recipe of Alton Brown's, which is part of his Eggs Benedict recipe. But he also has this version, which doesn't require the overnight refrigerating, or quite as long of a rising time. I'll have to try that one next time.

Because. There must be a next time. We have a long family association with Eggs Benedict. It's what my parents used to make for breakfast on Christmas morning when we were kids (and still do, but I'm not usually there). Took a long time. And then we had to clean up the breakfast dishes. BEFORE opening presents. I know. My point is, I should know how to make hollandaise, right? I don't. I've never made it. *shame* I tried Alton's recipe. I've watched the episode where he makes it a couple of times. Still, utter failure. Broken sauce. I have an electric stove that comes on and off as it sees fit, and I don't have a laser thermometer so that I can take quick temperatures like he can. I think there must be an easier way. Pie Queen? (and by easier, I don't mean using a Knorr package)

Anyway, with the failed hollandaise, we regrouped and decided to make homemade Egg McMuffins.


Yummy. The English Muffins were perfect. Not quite as nook-and-crannyish as Thomas', but I didn't expect them to be. Just very delicious and homemade-ish.


TGIP Rating--English Muffins--KEEPER. Next time though, I'll probably try Alton's other recipe. And I'll also toast one and slather it with butter to see how the muffins are in their "pure" form.

Next up: I think I'm making Hot Cross Buns for Easter breakfast. Am I?

2010 Year in Review

Well, another year has passed. A year of experimenting in the kitchen, pretending I know something about cooking science, and generally playing with my food. I didn't do as much baking as I had hoped. I don't even know what that means. Is it possible to EVER do as much baking as you really want to? Unless you're a full-time, professional baker? At any rate, it's probably for the best. My expanding waistline needs to be halted. (And no, I'm not going to start baking "light" desserts, I just don't see the point. I'd rather have something real once a month than something light twice a week. Truly.) I did have some great successes and some equally great failures this year. Here are my favorites:

Pies:

• French Silk Chocolate Pie
• Black Forest Pie
• Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie
  

Cakes:

• Toasted Coconut Cake
• Coffee Shop Cupcakes
  

Cookies/Bars:

• Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
• The BAKED Brownie
• Cherry Brown Butter Bars
  

Bread:


I don't have any idea how I neglected to photograph Hillman's Challah.

• Hillman's Challah
• KAF Rustic Sourdough
  

Other:

• Tiramisu
• Coconut Lime Rickey
• Pumpkin Muffins
  

Most epic failure:

• Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
  

Shout-outs/thanks for sharing/inspiring me:

• The BAKED boys--always and forever. I'm going to tattoo your buttercream recipe on my arm. I love your style. I love your commitment to bringing back classic American desserts that have been lost and/or forgotten/forsaken. I'm looking forward to baking EVERY RECIPE in Explorations.
  
• Priestess/Hillman--when I'm senile and arthritic will you come take over my kitchen?
• Smitten Kitchen--if I'd cooked like you do when I had a young one...I'd be a superhero like you.
• Mir--your food snobbery truly does inspire me. :) And you share awesome recipes.
  
• The folks at allrecipes, King Arthur Flour, Epicurious, and Food Network--simply because you exist.
• Romina at Les Madeleines--not only a great teacher and sharer of recipes, but a reliable source for amazing baked goods when I'm not in the mood to bake them myself.
• My little chefs, Prima and Seconda--for helping me to remember to slow down in the kitchen and let them help. The rewards are well worth the extra time.
  
• Frankie Pistlekahk--for sharing your baby starter. I am trying to tend to it appropriately.
  

Looking back at everything I've baked this year, I realize I've gotten a little more bold. I've been adapting more recipes, and forayed into making up my own recipes. It's hard work, but it's so rewarding to be able to say it's mine. And double bonus when it tastes delicious.

2011? Wow. Lots I want to do:

• Figure out how to make bread. I mean really figure it out. The way I focused on figuring out pies. That's a big goal. It's a lot more difficult than people make it look. I don't know if I'm plagued by altitude issues or climate issues or both, but the unpredictability is getting to me. In addition, a good amount of my bread baking will need to be whole wheat because I accidentally bought a 25-lb. bag of whole wheat when I thought I was buying all-purpose flour. So, now I have 50 lbs. of whole wheat flour. That's a lot of bread!
  
• Take a cake decorating class. For real this year. And now that I've found this place, you'll always know where to find me.
  
• Start in on my ever-growing list of ideas of baked goods to try, not to mention my library of cookbooks that I have only begun to crack.
  
• Do more baking with friends. If nothing else, I can send goodies home with them so I won't have to eat them all. I might even film some of these events and start my own youtube cooking show. MIGHT.
  

So, in short, there's lots more to come.


First up: You're in for a glut of goods from the new BAKED cookbook.


I bought the book when it first came out in October, but thisandthat have kept me from trying any of the recipes. Until now. mr. makes homemade doughnuts for breakfast every Christmas morning, and this year he's decided to try their recipe for Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts. And then, on New Year's morning, I'll be trying the Monkey Bubble Bread recipe. Can't wait!

Pumpkin Muffins

A million years ago (approximately), when I worked at UC Berkeley, the department I worked for was full of people who appreciated food. We had food parties a few times a year where everyone brought a passage from a book, or a scene from a movie that involved food, and a dish inspired by that. It was always fun and always delicious. One of those foodie co-workers brought a loaf of the most delicious pumpkin bread to work one morning and the recipe to share. I made it once, way back then, and haven't made it since. But I've always remembered how delicious it was and have always meant to revisit the recipe. Well, now I've revisited AND revamped it.

The most obvious revamping is that I made it into muffins. So much easier to manage, store, take, and eat than a loaf, or even a slice of a loaf. I also replaced half the oil with applesauce to make it a tiny bit healthier. I have tried replacing all oil with applesauce in other recipes and I feel like it makes sweet breads a little too tough. I'm willing to eat a little oil if it means that the muffin is tender. There is still a good bit of sugar in the recipe, but I'm not sure what can be done about that. At least it's not HFCS. :)

You can use an electric mixer if you feel you must, but it's not necessary at all. And I don't know about you, but I like, sometimes, just for a change of pace, to make a recipe that can be done with a bowl and a spoon. So simple.


Pumpkin Muffins *click here for printable version*

adapted from “Joan’s Pumpkin Loaf” from an unknown source
yield: approximately 18 muffins, or ?? mini muffins, or 1 large loaf (10x5x3), or 4 mini loaves

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar or brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 cup Canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 pound (2 cups) canned pumpkin--NOT pumpkin pie filling
8 ounces (1 cup) pitted dates, cut into pieces
4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnuts, chopped or broken into medium-size pieces

Adjust an oven rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin, or use cupcake papers (if using a loaf pan, use 10-cup capacity, butter, then dust the pan with fine, dry bread crumbs, then shake or tap out excess crumbs).

Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs just to mix. Add the sugar, oil, and applesauce and beat lightly just to mix. Mix in the pumpkin and then the dates.


Now add the sifted dry ingredients and stir, mix, or beat only until they are smoothly incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one muffin comes out clean (for large loaf pan, bake 1-1/2 hours).

Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.



When these are warm, they're obviously delicious with butter that gets nice and melty. And when they're cold, I like them with a little whipped cream cheese spread over them. Yummy. Cheesy. Spicy. Creamy.


TGIP Rating--Pumpkin Muffins--KEEPER. Still good after all these eons. Even better as a muffin.

Next up: Prima's 11th birthday is soon. She wants a cake. Of course. But with pink fondant. Yikes. I'll aim to deliver.

Fruit & Nut Oatmeal Muffins

I found this recipe at Coconut & Lime and it's yummy.

You see, I found this Fruit & Nut mixture a while back at Costco:


and mr. and I have been living off of it ever since. I combine it with greek yogurt and fresh apples for breakfast. I stir it into hot oatmeal for breakfast (and pour a little half & half over the whole thing). We both grab handfuls throughout the day. In fact, my dinner wasn't really sufficient, I think I'll shove a handful in my face while I type this up! It has pretty much everything I love in it (except chocolate) (and mr.). So I got to thinking it would be delicious mixed in to an oatmeal muffin. Naturally, somebody smarter than I am beat me to the punch. In a way. All the better for you.


Fruit & Nut Oatmeal Muffins
from Coconut & Lime (this is the original recipe verbatim, but I changed the order of ingredients to reflect the order in which they're added to the mixture--mainly for me. Otherwise I lose track of what I've done.)
*click here for printable version*

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup mixed dried fruit
1/3 cup quartered, skin-on almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour one 12 well muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the spices (including salt), flour, baking soda, sugar, baking powder and oats. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, oil and buttermilk. After it is thoroughly mixed, pour in the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Divide evenly among 12 muffin wells.


Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve.



I scooped out a heaping cup of the Fruit & Nut mixture, picked out the almonds and walnuts, coarsely chopped them, and then folded it all in. You could use whatever mixture of dried fruits and nuts you like. The spices and the oatmeal are a great combination that can stand up to whatever you want to throw at them.



TGIP Rating--Fruit & Nut Oatmeal Muffins--KEEPER--Make every week-er.

Next up: Mama Vogel's Rum Cake. Oh, you have no idea.

Gingerbread Bran Muffins

I never thought I would include something like this on TGIP. But, as things go, a few weeks ago mr. and I decided we wanted something to break up the monotony of high fiber cereal for breakfasts and I started experimenting with bran muffin recipes. Make no mistake: this is not an indulgent treat. This is not even a baked good that will cause me to wax poetic about taste and texture. It is a BRAN MUFFIN. It has a very utilitarian standing in the bakery world. Does anybody ever eat bran muffins because they WANT to? I would argue, no; they eat them because they should. Or even because they NEED to. Occasionally, you run across one that also has a good taste, which makes the eating of it at least something other than a chore.


So, after much trial and error, I give you:


Gingerbread Bran Muffins-liberally adapted from Kelloggs' "Best Bran Muffins" recipe
Makes 12 muffins
*click here for printable version*

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves (a sprinkle to 1/2 tsp. of each depending on your likes)
1-1/2 c. bran cereal (flakes, buds, whatever)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. molasses
1 egg
2 T. unsalted butter (melted)
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. pecans (chopped and toasted)

Stir together both flours, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine bran cereal with milk and molasses. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg, melted butter, and applesauce. Mix well by hand. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Fold in pecans. Portion evenly into muffin tin coated with cooking spray

Bake at 400 for about 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.


They're healthy, stick to your ribs, and the molasses and spices actually make them taste delicious. I'm not above spreading a little butter on something that is otherwise this healthy. Makes the whole thing go down a little easier.


TGIP Rating--Gingerbread Bran Muffins--KEEPER--We're eating them pretty much every morning, if that's any indication of their goodness.

Next up: I might try that Peach and Crème Fraîche pie I've been talking about. Depends on how sapped I am after Cousin Camp this week.

P.S. I hope by this time next week to have switched all of my printable recipes over to google docs. I think it is much more user friendly than the online word processor I've been using. If you click on a link and it's not working, please shoot me a message.