Blythe Danner’s Blueberry Muffins

 

I love blueberries. I like them in everything and on anything. It makes me sad that blueberry season is so relatively short.

BLueberries freeze beautifully, so there are always bags of frozen blueberries in the freezer so I can have a little bit of blueberry sunshine all year ’round.

While thumbing through My Father’s Daughter - a surprisingly terrific cookbook by Gwyneth Paltrow - I came across this recipe for Blyth Danner’s Blueberry Muffins. This had to be the first recipe I tried from this book!

I changed a few things in the recipe to make it my own.

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large organic eggs
• 1/2 C whole milk
• 2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 1/2 C fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

 

NOTE: I added lemon zest in. I love the brightness it brings to everything and blueberries and lemons are natural partners in goodness!

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray well with cooking spray.

NOTE: I opted for the cooking spray. I hate the added hassle of trying to get the liners off!

In a large bowl whisk the cooled butter, eggs and milk until everything is incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt.

Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir everything together until the batter is smooth and creamy.

Fold in the blueberries.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full, dividing the batter evenly amongst all 12 cups. Sprinkle the muffin tops with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake them for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

NOTE: I used demerara sugar to sprinkle the top. I love the extra little crunch and sparkle it gives!

These were SO good and so quick to come together. They were light and fluffy and chock full of blueberries. The batter was thick enough that the blueberries did not sink to the bottom. This may need to become my go to blueberry muffin recipe!

“BLE” Breakfast Sandwich

I am not a breakfast person.

Don’t get me wrong …

I love bacon and eggs, and waffles, and pancakes. Oh, and hash and eggs! Wait, Eggs Benedict!

I just can’t eat them first thing in the morning. I love breakfast for dinner or breakfast for lunch.

And when it’s really hot out, I am happy to not have to cook much at all. Breakfast is the perfect solution.

The BLE Sandwich satisfies that. A poached egg, crispy pancetta, arugula, aioli, on a ciabatta. Yummy. Filling. All your food groups covered. Quick. Very little slaving over a hot stove.

I must admit before we go much further, this was my very first attempt at poached eggs. Why, yes, I had been living under a rock. Thank you.

So here we go ~

For the Sandwich:

• 4 small ciabatta rolls or one loaf cut into 4
• 4 eggs
• 4 slices of pancetta
• 2 C arugula
• aioli (recipe below)

For the Aioli:

• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk at room temperature
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 2/3 C olive oil
• 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil

NOTE: I used Eggland’s Eggs – especially for the aioli. The ciabatta rolls shouldn’t be much larger than the poached egg. I hate when all you have left is bread and no stuff inside. Though with this, a little bit left to mop up the egg yolk that may have escaped wouldn’t be a bad thing!

Split and lightly toast the ciabatta.

Preheat oven to 400.

Please pancetta slices on foil or a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pancetta.

NOTE: You can also crisp the pancetta in a saute pan the same way you cook bacon.

Add 3″ of water to a shallow pot. Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat so the water is just simmering. Crack an egg into a small, shallow bowl or cup. Gently slide the egg into the water. It will look like this is going to be a disaster, but the egg starts to tighten up.

Now, the timing – 2 minutes for runny yolks, 3 minutes for soft yolks, 4 minutes for firm yolks.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the egg from the water and place on paper towels. Pat the top of the egg to dry the egg off.

For the Aioli:

Add the garlic and salt to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse for 2 seconds. Add the yolk and lemon juice, and pulse on and off until blended. Turn on and begin slowly streaming the olive oil, and the extra virgin olive oil.

NOTE: If the aioli gets too thick, you can thin it out with room-temperature water and then continue adding oil until you’ve used it all. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Now to assemble ~ place the bottom of the ciabatta roll on a plate, add some arugula, a slice of crispy pancetta, a poached egg, a dollop of aioli and the top half of the ciabatta.

Enjoy!

English Muffins

I’m not sure what causes these urges. Whether it’s cold wintry cabin fever infested days or a complete lack of sun and warmth, but these urges usually involve my experimenting with new recipes.

This urge – as it does on most ‘we’re snowed in’ day – involved English Muffins from scratch. No eye rolling, please. I know I can buy them in the supermarket, but I just couldn’t help myself!

For all things unknown, I turn to the Joy of Cooking. Not sure why, but Mrs. Joy (to steal a line from Julie & Julia) has never let me down.

I had tried this once before. Another snow storm, unable to really leave the house, I just HAD to. Sadly this experiment ended with the dog eating the english muffins during their second rising, my having a complete melt down and everything going into the bin.

I WILL NOT BE DETERRED – so off we go!

• 1 C water
• 1/2 C scalded milk
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 T 105-115 degree water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 C all purpose flour
• 3 T softened butter

NOTE: Sift the flour before measuring.

In a mixing bowl, combine the 1 cup of water, milk, sugar and salt. Dissolve yeast in the 2 T of 105-115 degree water for 3 – 5 minutes. After the yeast dissolves, combine the 2 bowls into one.

Beat 2 cups of the flour into the milk mixture. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until it collapses back into the bowl.

NOTE: The dough is very shaggy and gooey. I just let it rise a little over 1 1/2 hours. I really wasn’t sure what collapsing back in the bowl meant!

Beat the softened butter into the dough. Beat in or knead in the remaining 2 cups of flour.

NOTE: At this point there are 2 different methods for the last rise. You can either cut the dough into rounds or fill 3″ rings with the dough to rise. I chose to cut them out – seriously, who has 20 3″ rings or empty tuna cans in their homes! – but I’ll include the ring method at the end.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board – or sprinkle with cornmeal. Pat or press the dough to a thickness of 1/2″. Cut the dough into 3″ circles and let rise on a lightly greased cookie sheet until they almost double in size.

NOTE: I used the cover to a peanut butter jar. It was 3 ” in diameter inside the cover. I think they were a little small. I would find a different kitchen object for the next go round.

Once they have double, transfer them to a fairly hot, well buttered griddle. Cook until light brown on each side.

NOTE: No griddle – sigh. I used my incredible 15″ Lodge cast iron skillet. I love this skillet to pieces. I just wish it wasn’t so freakin’ heavy!

Cool slightly on a rack. Once cool, fork split to toast. You know, poke around the sides with the fork and split them open so you have all those wonderful nooks and crannies!

NOTE: INCREDIBLE! YUMMMMMY! So good. Not as difficult as I first thought it would be. Much better than store bought. I forked the ones left over and put them in the freezer.

For the ring method: Grease the rings and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Fill the rings to no more than 1/2″. Let raise until doubled. Slip a spatula under the rings and dough and place on griddle. Remove the rings. Continue as above.