Blueberry Muffins (Margaret Chase Smith)

It is mid-July here in Maine, and the humid days can make you feel like baking is just not the right thing to do. But this morning, we had a break from the humidity. It was a cool night, in the 50s last night. This morning, the kitchen was bright and airy, with a cool breeze moving through. What better weather in which to bake blueberry muffins?!

Hmmm, there are several blueberry muffin recipes in this cookbook. I've already tried the one with molasses, and much to my surprise that was moist and wonderful. Time to try a recipe which is typed on stationery with a United States Senate letterhead. From the office of Margaret Chase Smith.

It's a fine recipe, although I'm not sure why the tops of the muffins didn't brown properly. I could tell that the bottoms were done, so had to pull the muffins. Who ever heard of a dry blueberry muffin? Not out of my kitchen!  I saved them in the nick of time. Not too dry. And I appreciate that she doesn't use too much sugar in the recipe. Some blueberry muffins are just overpowering in their sugar application. Overall, a very satisfying muffin on a beautiful morning in Maine. And to think that the recipe for these excellent muffins come from a such a gifted and talented Senator.  Glad her family shared the recipe!


Comments

Post a Comment

I welcome your comments. Please be kind and considerate. Thanks for stopping by!

Popular posts from this blog

Lancey House Dip

Image
Funny how childhood memories will pop up when a food reminds us... This dip is not one that I recognize from reading its ingredients, but when I tasted it, oh, wow, did it ever take me back in time! As a child, we lived in a large house in Bangor, and my parents loved parties. My mom enjoyed making dips and this one tastes very familiar to me. Maybe it's the cottage cheese base, but there are other ingredients that compliment the cottage cheese and really bring it together. A nice mix with other cheeses to bind it together. My husband is not fond of blue cheese, but I love it. I decided that, since I promised myself I'd try to stay true to the original recipes in the book, the first time around, I would keep the blue cheese in, and see how it tasted.  Turns out, it is in such small proportion to the rest of the recipe, I doubt he will really notice. It simply adds strength to the cheese base, I think, but not enough to overpower other flavors. He hasn't come downstairs to t...
Read more

Maine Party Chicken

Image
 As I read the ingredients for this recipe, I had a flashback to my childhood. My parents enjoyed having friends over, and my mother was not a chef by any means, but she would look for recipes that were easy to prepare for a crowd. This is one of the recipes she used to make.  I used to be a can-of-soup cook, like my mom, when a white sauce was called for. But since I learned how to do a bechamel, oh my, there is no going back. Not that there is anything wrong with an easy pop-top cream of mushroom soup once in awhile. It does the trick, and you just tuck this dish in the fridge overnight and do a three-hour bake the next day, which gives you time to focus on putting up party banners, or whatever, for your company. I'm not sure I care for the dried beef in this dish. Awfully salty. But the bacon, when you do a slow bake, smells fantastic for three solid hours. Can you say Anticipation?! I say, when you go big, go easy. Try this recipe for a crowd. You'll be glad you did!
Read more

Riverhouse Scallops "Benedict"

Image
 If elegant and easy ever paired perfectly, this would be the recipe for such a happy marriage. I saw the minimal ingredients, and thought to self: "This is where the quick hors d'oeuvres meet the 'oh wow' from the guests, with the hostess barely lifting a finger, except to sip some wine." Now, that's my kind of hors d'oeuvres! Slice the very fresh scallops into thin circles. Drop them into fresh lemon juice to "cook." You are also supposed to slice the avocados into circles, to mirror the scallops, but mine ended up being whatever shape the avocado chose. I don't argue with avocadoes about their shape, I just eat them and am grateful they choose to show up on the plate at all. The recipe calls for a few shakes of hot sauce on each scallop slice. I used Cholula Sweet Habanero Hot Sauce.  This is a fabulous appetizer that will impress your friends and family!
Read more