Marmalade Muffins

I'm still reeling a bit from that last bit about "The Silence of the Goats." If you haven't seen the post, check it out here. I'm so grateful for all the replies. I posted a new comment at the back of that post, sort of a follow-up--because I'm still processing that experience.

In the meantime, I wanted to pass on this very quick, easy muffin recipe from THE ULTIMATE MUFFIN BOOK. It's great for a holiday morning--because you can make these muffins in advance and squirrel them away in the freezer, only to reheat them in a microwave or the oven the morning you want them.

And no need for jam! Because the marmalade's already inside. What could be better?

Here's the recipe:

Click to read more ...

Cranberry Buckle

Want to know a secret? I've been married four times. Three times to the same person. What am I, Elizabeth Taylor?

Bruce and I have had a commitment ceremony (1999), a legal civil union (2007), and now a legal marriage in Connecticut (2009).

OK, there's three. But before those, I was married, yep, in "the traditional way" to someone else. Without a lot of blathery confession, let's just say that it was a wonderful relationship with a great person. And in many ways a darn fine marriage: companionable and safe. As well as a part of my life I still cherish. In fact, a part that Bruce and I talk about all the time.

One of the best things about Bruce is this: he's not threatened by any of this stuff. I talk about my past and he doesn't blink. He accepts it--and assumes we'll always talk about things that may be painful, may not include him, and may be made up of great memories that happened long before him. Even relationship memories. If his grace is not the heart of redemption, I don't know what is.

So how does this all relate to buckle, that American coffee cake with a sugary topping so heavy, the cake buckles underneath it? Because my first spouse loved buckle. And I'd make it for her all the time, a breakfast treat for quiet, special mornings--or a dessert after a long day. (I was in grad school; she was working her way far up the corporate ladder.) I associate buckle with that marriage. And mostly feel warm and safe when I do.

Still, I haven't thought about buckle in years--until I ran across a recipe for Blueberry Buckle in The Ultimate Cook Book, our 900-recipe tome. I pointed it out to Bruce, told him about making it so many times before in a "previous life," told the story very nostalgically--and he asked me if I'd like him to make it for me as a treat this past weekend.

Isn't life nuts? It twists and turns into redemption with the most shocking abandon.

Anyway, he did. Except we had no blueberries. Instead, lots of cranberries. (We live in New England, after all.) Here's how to get eight servings of this terrific treat, with some real food morphs on the recipe:

Click to read more ...

Fried Oatmeal

Yep, you read that right: "fried oatmeal." Sort of insane, right?

The other day, I posted about making steel-cut oats with apples and dried fruit in a slow cooker. (You can check that post out here. Make sure you look at the comments--so much good information.)

You know I love steel-cut oats. And you know I love them from a slow cooker. But even I cannot sit down to a 6-quart slow cooker of oatmeal and go at it undaunted. I may be a multi-generation Protestant with forebearers who fell in the Civil War, but I don't need that much fiber.

So what to do? Bruce to the rescue. He took my leftovers and fried them. I fear this might become a trend in our house. The "morning-after slow-cooker oatmeal breakfast." Sounds like a plan.

What's to follow is more of a narrative suggestion than a real recipe. You'll need to follow some instincts here. But trust me: it'll work out.

So on to it.

Click to read more ...

Coffee Stout Gingerbread

Well, the gingerbread isn't stout. But it's made with stout.

I made this last week to take to my book group. Yep, I lead a book discussion group at the library in the town next to ours. It's a gorgeous, old-school library. And a gorgeous group, to boot. I've led book groups many times in my life (in Madison, in Austin)--and I believe this is the smartest, most convivial group I've seen in many a year. If you want to know about us, check it all out here.

Be that as it may, I always bring a treat to our discussions. This past week, I wanted to come up with the ultimate gingerbread. As you know, Bruce is the cook and I, the writer. But as you may also know, every once in a while I roll up my sleeves and come up with an original recipe.

Which always scares me. I'm not the one who went to chef school. I'm the keyboard guy. Anyway, I thought out this gingerbread recipe, made it, took it out of the oven only 30 minutes or so before the book group, brought it warm--and everyone fell upon it. No, I didn't have any sweetened whipped cream on the side (a hint, perhaps); but I brought my own thermos of coffee. Just because.

So here's the recipe, as well as some testing notes:

Click to read more ...

Whole Grain Waffle Mix

My heart leaps up when I behold. . . .

Spring has sprung in my part of the world. Everything's up and blooming. And early. Way early. Six weeks early. We already have azaleas in our part of New England! How is that possible? It's almost preternatural. But I will say this: it's gorgeous. Daffodils, forsythia, tulips, azaleas, fruit trees--everything's singing at the same time. Usually the whole fandango stretches out over several weeks, if not a month of more. Not this year.

No wonder I want a quick breakfast so I can get to the computer, get my work done for the day, and get out into the garden. (Oh, that first picture isn't my house! Ha! I wish! More on that in a second.)

Bruce always has a whole grain waffle mix ready to go in the pantry. All the dry ingredients are whisked together--all I have to do is add the liquids to make a batter (and heat up the waffle iron, of course).

Click to read more ...

Brie, Grits, Ham, and Apple Casserole

For the third week of our pre-tour of Bruce's and my new book, HAM: AN OBSESSION WITH THE HINDQUARTER, published in only two weeks, we're gonna do a real comfort-food classic, made with crazy-good, down-home, wet-cured ham (aka, deli ham--the stuff you get on sandwiches). You're in for a real scoop on the book with this post, because this luscious bit of comfort food is a great meal with a vinegary salad on the side--or as I had it this morning, a plate of "leftover" casserole, nuked in the microwave until hot. Which fortified me to go out and get rid of the seven (frickin') inches of snow we got yesterday.

So without much more ado, here's how to do the magic:

Click to read more ...

Salmon Gravlax

Why do I think of it as a summer dish? Maybe because it's served cold? Because it's a make-ahead for the days when you don't want to waste a drop of sunlight? Because we have house guests in the summer and are always looking for a quick meal?

Here's the perfect breakfast or starter with drinks on the deck: a little sliced gravlax on a piece of rye toast with some cream cheese. Never fat-free, of course. Mother didn't raise a fool. I'd rather have less of the real, rather than more of the fake. The real is so satisfying, so pleasurable. And who doesn't need more pleasure?

Click to read more ...

Honey Granola

I do not enjoy women's softball. I do indeed groom all growths of body hair. Yet I love granola. Call me a modern paradox.

I start almost every day with my crunchy breakfast treat. And a café au lait--or un bol, as they say in Québec. A no-handle cereal bowl of coffee. Or more precisely, four shots of espresso and frothed skim milk. Let's just say that by the time I sit down to work, I'm good to go.

In THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK, we concocted a "road map" for granola--that is, a basic formula into which you can plug ingredients at will. For example, under the sweetener, our road map tells you to add any of the following: honey, maple syrup, unsweetened apple juice concentrate (thawed), sweetened cranberry juice concentrate (thawed), cane syrup, Lyle's Golden Syrup (let's chip on to the Brits), or agave nectar. Combine that with all the other choices in the road map and there are about a zillion recipes for granola, give or take five.

Which means Bruce never makes it the same way twice. Which means I can say nothing definite, unlike as to matters of theology or politics. But just yesterday he cooked up a new batch, so here's how he did it this time:

Click to read more ...