I think the baking gods were
on my side yesterday.
Not only did I manage a bake
sale at our school that raised ridiculous amounts of cash (we even thrashed last year's earnings),
but also, mid-day, I took a break to bake up my latest Tuesdays With Dorie project,
Buttermilk Crumb Muffins. So we could say that, against all odds and my usual
M.O, I actually did meet the blog deadline
(minus the blog entry).
Despite the fact that I
abandoned the house while the muffins baked (the mom shuttle was in between shifts), the muffins turned out
exactly as promised, with “a light, open crumb, rather like a moist, soft
butter cake.” I’m not a huge fan of using shortening in place of butter but I
do understand that this contributed to the texture, if not the flavor. At any rate, I agree with
the recipe’s author, Marion Cunningham, who tells us that, unlike revenge, these
muffins are best served warm.
(Sidebar: Does anybody else leave the house with the oven on? If so,
do you admit this to your spouse, who might, say, have a real job that pays the
mortgage for that house you’re trying to burn down? Luckily, I don’t have a
spouse who reads my blog, so I can write about things like this with no fear of
repercussions.)
For my purposes yesterday,
the muffin project was a pleasant diversion, but when lined up against the
thousands of other baked goods displayed at our school bake sale, the muffins didn't stand a chance. That said, the recipe was quick enough to
bake up for a special last-minute treat on a lazy weekend morning, so I’ll keep
it around.
And maybe next time I’ll
even stay inside the house while they bake.
For the recipe, visit
Alisa’s blog; easier than
pie.
nice crumb on your muffins...me leave the house with the oven on while food bakes...nah. I'm like the safety police. LOL. I got that trait ingrained from a company that I worked for. They were fanatics about safety. It apparently rolled over into my home life. However, I can't say it's a bad thing, right? Now, I drive everyone crazy in my house with safety. lol.
ReplyDeleteCarmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/twd-baking-with-julia-walnut-coconut-buttermilk-crumb-muffins/
The only safety issue I can get on board with is hand-washing. I'm fanatical about it, and I make the kids present their hands for sniff inspections.
DeleteYour muffins look super. They missed out at that bake sale.
ReplyDeleteThey were good, but the hand-decorated donkey and elephant sugar cookies were just too dazzling to resist at the bake sale.
DeleteI leave the house every time I make a Brisket. Otherwise my mouth would be watering for 4+ hours.
ReplyDeleteA wise tactic.
DeleteI don't care if the oven is on. The stovetop would be another story. :)
ReplyDelete-the moth
Hey, who said you could read my blog?? xxoo
DeleteThey used to have ovens that had timers you could set to go on before you got home... so you could slide something into the oven before you left for work/errands/rendezvous and come home to a lovely roasting dinner... anyone else remember this? Okay, I'm old. But it is true and worked beautifully. You can still find that feature in some of the old built in ovens... gone are the days when a lady could leave the house in a nice hat with matching pocket-book and find the beautiful aroma of dinner when she returned home at 5 o'clock for cocktails... and the world is the lesser for it!
ReplyDeleteI think the timer-ovens were replaced by crock-pots...don't get me wrong, I love my crock-pot, but it's not the same. Thank God we still have the cocktails!
I do remember those timers! But you're right -- I haven't seen a stove with a timer around in a while. When it's time to replace our stove (soon hopefully), I'm definitely going to look for that feature. It must still exist somewhere.
Delete