Country Morning Muffins

Muffins are one of my favorite things! In the past week I have been searching for something that hits the spot since it seemed like everything was boring me . . . and muffins won. Now that I am in a muffin-obsessed mood, I'm on a quest for muffin recipes that I have not tried and will also post some of my favorite muffin recipes.

Here is one that you can vary by changing the type of fruit or add nuts, raisins, dried fruit . . . I like to make a basic batch of muffin batter, divide it up and make variations from one batch.


Ingredients

1 C. fresh or frozen fruit
2 C. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 C. milk
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon


Directions

Cut fruit in small pieces. Combine flour, baking powder, 3/4 C. sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in fruit until well blended. In a small bowl, beat eggs; add butter and milk. Stir into the flour mixture just to blend. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with 1/4 C. sugar and cinnamon.

Bake in 400-degree oven about 15 minutes.

Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Hush Puppies

This recipe comes from the Food Network website . . . from an episode of Emeril's show that I saw the other night and now I'm not going to be happy until I make some fried fish with these hush puppies.

Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Essence
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 large onion, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

Preheat a deep-fryer fill with oil to about 3/4 of the way full to a temperature of 375 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, Essence, baking powder, baking soda and black pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, grated onion, green onions and jalapenos. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until a batter comes together. Be careful not to overmix.

When the oil is hot, drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and let rest on a paper lined plate briefly before serving hot. Repeat with remaining batter.

Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen hush puppies

Emeril's "Essence" Creole Seasoning

BAM . . . kick anything up a notch

(also referred to as Bayou Blast)

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch
Published by William Morrow, 1993.

Pan Fried Fish

This recipe is from the Food Network website for pan fried catfish . . . I saw this episode of Emeril's show the other night and was particularly interested in the crispness of the fish and wanted to try out this technique/recipe for coating the fish.

Personally, I coat the fish with a light dusting of corn meal, garlic powder, red pepper and dill to pan fry my fish, but I thought I would try kicking it up a notch and using Emeril's recipe . . . will include my comments after I have tested it on Tilapia, my favorite fish.


1 1/2 pounds catfish fillets, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch strips
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons red hot sauce
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon salt


Place the catfish in a non-reactive bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mustard, Essence, garlic and hot sauce and pour over the fish. Stir to thoroughly coat, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat 3/4-inch of oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy cast iron skillet to a temperature of 350 degrees F.

Remove the fish from the refrigerator. Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a re-sealable plastic food storage bag and shake to blend. Using a fork, remove the fish fingers, a few pieces at a time, from the marinade, allowing excess marinade to fall from the fish. Transfer the fish to the flour-cornmeal mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining fish.

Fry the fish, in batches if necessary, turning to promote even browning, until golden brown, crispy, and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-lined plate to rest briefly before serving.