Good Saturday Morning Muffins!

Actually, these are Good Any Morning Muffins. I just happened to make them on a Saturday but they would be a terrific weekday muffin because the cool thing about this batter is that you whip it up the night before, let it chill out in your refrigerator over night, and then it's ready to go when you're ready to go!  Even better, is the fact that this batter can sit for two weeks in the refrigerator.  Now, I haven't tested it for two weeks but the good folks at King Arthur Flour have and I think they are pretty trustworthy.  


The batter goes together very easily (as with most muffin mixes, no electric mixer is needed) and it's loaded with all sorts of good things for you: 3 cups of bran cereal (I used a combination of All Bran buds and twigs), buttermilk, raisins, etc.  I added raw pumpkin seeds and chopped walnuts for a little crunch (definitely a good move).  I thought about adding some flaked coconut, but thought that might be one toke over the line for tastes and textures.


And so when I woke up extraordinarily early today (even by my internal clock) and hungry, my first stop was the kitchen to preheat the oven (even before boiling the water for coffee). I loved that the batter was ready and waiting in the refrigerator and all I had to do was spray a few of the muffin cups, scoop 1/4C of batter into each well and pop them into the oven. What could be easier than that?  Well, maybe eating them!  After approximately 20-25 minutes, they were ready. I let them sit for a couple of minutes, then added a dollop of Italian orange marmalade, sat down with the Saturday edition of the NY Times, and took a bite. I am always a bit hesitant when making a new muffin recipe because there is the chance they will turn out dry and heavy.  But not these - these were moist and delicious with a wonderful chewy texture.  I had to strongly resist eating another.


So if you've got some house guests for the holiday weekend, or just want an easy, delicious breakfast treat waiting for you in your refrigerator, try these.  I've dubbed them Saturday Morning Muffins, but you may just consider them Every Morning Muffins.  


Print Recipe Here

A Very Culinary Weekend

Whew! I am exhausted. What a busy weekend it was, culinarily-speaking. I've got two restaurants for you AND two recipes! What more could you ask for? And how about that photo above of the gorgeous maple tree that lives down the street from me? Every year when it starts to turn that deep, beautiful orange, and the ground around it is blanketed with the fallen leaves, I think, "I should really snap a photo of that tree." Of course I never do. Until today. And I'm so glad I did because it epitomizes the fall season for me, and now I've captured it for posterity.

On to the food! The weekend began with dinner at LuNello in Cedar Grove, NJ. Some of you may recognize this restaurant from an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey. Those of you who don't, count yourselves lucky to have missed it (the show, that is). But don't let LuNello's association with this show deter you from enjoying a fine meal.

LuNello's is more formal in nature, in both decor and food. Waiters in tuxedos are very gracious, and service was very good. They recite a list of about 30 specials and all except one of our meals came from the regular menu. I loved my meal - Short Ribs over Fresh Pappardelle, in a delicious brown sauce that reminded me so much of my husband's outstanding brisket. The minute I spotted Pappardelle with Porcini and Oyster Mushrooms, I knew it would be Barry's choice. Ever since we were in Italy October 2006, Barry has been craving fresh porcini and pasta, which you don't find on many menus in the US. It did not disappoint - tender porcini mushrooms scattered among the fresh pasta.

If there is any area that LuNello's falls short, it's dessert. We ordered the Ricotta Cheesecake and Tiramisu. Both very average. But a nice touch presented during dessert, was the offering of house-made miniature ice cream cones. If you go, skip the dessert menu, wait for the cones.

Saturday night brought me to Fiorino's in Summit. This was the polar opposite of LuNello's in atmosphere, decor, and clientele. A warm, inviting space in downtown Summit, Fiorino's offers outstanding cuisine. My meal began with a Baby Arugula Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts and Goat Cheese - sublime. Everything on the menu sounded wonderful but for my main course I went with the recommendation of my friend and dining companion. Every time she visits Fiorino's she must have the Rigatoni Bolognese (it's not even on the regular menu). Now this may sound plebian to you, but a well made Bolognese sauce is not to be missed. This version lived up to my expectations. Husky chunks of a veal, pork, beef ragu strewn over fat rigatoni, accompanied by a quartino of a deep, delicious Rosso di Montalcino. We shared a dessert that perfectly suited my fall state of mind:

Warm Apple Strudel with Caramel Wild Berry Compote and Butter Pecan Gelato - crisp, firm apples swirled with a very delicate caramel sauce and outstanding gelato. Meals don't get much better than this, my friends.

So after all that dining about on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was definitely a stay at home kind of day. It was rainy and cold in NJ - perfect baking weather. But since I totally indulged at the aforementioned meals, I felt the need to slim down my baked goods. But these certainly didn't taste like "slimmed-down" foods! Cho-nana Bread (from the Chobani Yogurt web site) and Pumpkin Crunch (from Canyon Ranch) were flavorful and easy. The Pumpkin Crunch is a very versatile little treat with only 125 calories in 1/4 cup - it folds very nicely into yogurt, as a crunchy topping to your morning cereal, or just as a mid-afternoon snack. And the banana bread is super moist, thanks to the yogurt and applesauce base; only 210 calories per serving.

You won't go wrong with these two recipes - plenty of taste, no guilt!

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Crunch

1 C pumpkin seeds

1-1/2 t canola oil

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/4 t allspice

1/2 t sea salt

2 TB maple syrup

1-1/4 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with canola oil. In a small bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with canola oil and evenly spread coated seeds on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until almost dry.

Place pumpkin seeds in a medium bowl and mix in maple syrup until coated. Combine spices in a large bowl and add pumpkin seeds. Place back on baking sheet and return to oven. Roast for 15 minutes or until dry. Be sure not to burn. Set seeds aside until completely cool, for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine seeds with dried cranberries.

Printable Recipe

Cho-nana Bread

3/4 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C whole-wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 TB butter

1/2 C natural applesauce (no sugar added)

3/4 C sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

3 large overripe bananas

1/2 C Chobani plain 0% Greek Yogurt

1/2 C walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Grease large loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, and salt.

Peel bananas. Cut each in half lengthwise and then cut each half into halves. Chop quartered bananas into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar into a smooth paste. Add applesauce and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, and beat until incorporated.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and mix well. Add chopped bananas, nuts and/or chocolate chips and yogurt.

Fold ingredients in, being careful not to bread up banana chunks. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until inserted knife comes out clean when removed from loaf.

Summer...better late than never!

The New York/New Jersey area had its first 90 degree day of the summer today. Today, August 10. And I guess to re-stake her claim on summer, Mother Nature sent us 90% humidity, too. Lovely. But when you spend most of the day indoors, it doesn't really matter too much.

And now for something completely different. I've been on this "real" ricotta kick lately. Not the stuff in the plastic tubs from the supermarket. Thick, fresh, creamy curds from your local Italian specialty store. We've been using it mainly in pasta dishes with ripe tomatoes from our garden, but I recalled a recipe in The New York Times about a month ago by Melissa Clark where she served fresh ricotta with homemade granola. When I realized we were going to have leftover ricotta, I thought this would be a terrific little breakfast dish, and a delightful departure from my standard cereal and bananas. And other than the raw pistachios and the coconut chips called for in the recipe, I had all the ingredients. So after floating around the pool for awhile this evening to de-stress, I hopped out and tossed the granola together. I think this granola is very forgiving and you could probably substitute lots of different ingredients here. In lieu of the pistachios, I used walnuts. Standing in for the coconut chips, I offered unsweetened shredded coconut. I also added a handful of dried cherries. It's all good.

For some reason, this granola reminds me of Tuscany. I think it's the olive oil part. I can see myself sitting at a table at a rustic farmhouse, overlooking a field of giant sunflowers just starting to turn their happy little faces toward the sun. I can't wait to have this tomorrow morning for breakfast with some fresh raspberries and blueberries thrown in for good measure. It's not Italy, but it is summer and I have my own little patch of sunflowers ready to greet the day.

Olive Oil Granola with Dried Apricots and Pistachios

3 C old-fashioned rolled oats

1-1/2 C raw pistachios, hulled

1 C raw pumpkin seeds, hulled

1 C coconut chips

3/4 C pure maple syrup

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground cardamom

3/4 C chopped dried apricots

Fresh ricotta, for serving (optional)

Fresh berries, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cardamom. Spread mixture on rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to large bowl and add apricots, tossing to combine. Serve with ricotta and fruit, if desired.

Yield: about 9 cups.