Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Every now and again my family has rather involved, and occasionally slightly heated, discussions at the dinner table. Recent ones include what is the definition of a sandwich and what is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake. I will spare you the details and only mention that it was the latter discussion that made me look for a blueberry muffin recipe.

Apparently Jordan Marsh is a department store chain in New England that is known for this particular muffin. Based on the information I read on the site, this is THE recipe for JM's muffins. Having never tasted them, I had no preconceived notions or fond memories; unlike the commentators at the end of the recipe who had a lot to say about their authenticity, I just wanted a good muffin without any emotional baggage. 


Here's today's cast. Well, more accurately, the cast of a couple of days ago. I got super-ambitious on Tuesday and made the muffins in the morning for breakfast and then three Chamorro dishes in the evening!


Dry ingredients in one bowl.


Butter and sugar were creamed together.


Eggs were added one at a time with a good beat in between.


Some vanilla.


Then the dry ingredients were added to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk.


Just stir till everything is combined.


The recipe suggested adding half a cup of the blueberries and smashing them around to release some of their juice, hereby adding some purple coloration to the mixture. First of all, blueberries are surprisingly difficult to smash when they are in a thick batter such as this. Secondly, grabbing the slippery blueberries in your fist to squish the liquid out of them is not very efficient either. The berries did get smashed but very little color was added. Hmm.


The rest of the blueberries were added--a whopping total of 2-1/2 cups of fresh berries! This recipe had better be worth it or I had a lot of explaining to do to the Turtle Herd; blueberries are one of their favorite things and I just used up two weeks' worth!


I lightly sprayed the non-stick pan because the abundance of blueberries looked like a recipe for stickiness when baking was done. The cups were also quite full.


Some turbinado sugar was sprinkled over the tops.


Pretty!


The muffins baked for about 30 minutes and they had risen rather high out of the tin.


They smelled so good that I didn't wait for them to cool. There were so many blueberries it was almost like having jam. The turbinado sugar gave the top a bit of a crunch. The guys really enjoyed it and so did Aiden's mom. Aiden, on the other hand, nibbled carefully around the blueberry bits. At least he liked the cake part!


Here's the promised link:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kincaid's/Ryan's Grill-Style Pea Salad

Image
I was so sad when Ryan's Grill in Ward Centre closed down. For many years it was a favorite gathering place for both my family and my friends. Similarly Kincaid's, formerly Horatio's, at the now demolished Ward Warehouse was, too. I always ordered the pea salad that both restaurants served and have been wanting to re-create it. Today's recipe is the closest I've come! Today's cast! Sour cream, mayo, salt, and pepper are combined for the dressing. In the meantime, I put the frozen peas into a colander to help them thaw and drain. After that, it's just a bunch of chopping. Interestingly, the recipe mentioned that Hormel bacon bits work much better than bacon that has been cooked up and drained. Who am I to argue? I added the bacon bits to the dressing along with chopped water chestnuts and red onions. I de-stringed the Chinese peas. Sugar snap peas can also be used. The peas and pea pods were combined with the dressing, then I popped it into the fridge. The re...
Read more

Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich

Image
I read, and own, all of Anthony Bourdain's books except Kitchen Confidential.  It seems like an odd omission considering it's the book that made him famous and brought to light a dirty side of the restaurant business that the public apparently loved hearing about, but no, for me, it was his first show, A Chef's Tour, followed by No Reservations,  that really made me a fan. Yes, the show was about food, but more importantly it was about the people who made the food and the places the food grew out of. That cultural and historical connection has always been the key factor in my own burgeoning food obsession. Bourdain was sarcastic and edgy but he was also intelligent, well-read and so adept at putting words together to unite the food with its people into an appreciative, thoughtfully crafted whole. His suicide in 2018 saddened me in a way I would never have anticipated. I decided that henceforth I would honor his influence on my culinary interests and every year, on his bir...
Read more

Ethereally smooth hummus

Image
I swear I didn't name it. My sister had sent me the link after I posted about making falafel. My friend, D, loves hummus but doesn't like it when it's gritty or chalky. This seemed like it would be right up her alley. Today's cast! Once the skins began to loosen, I drained the water and put the beans into a pot on the stove. Over medium heat, I sautéed them with some baking soda. The soda is supposed to make them less gassy. I'll keep you posted on that one. After a few minutes I added the water and brought it up to a boil. There's a whole lot of foam at the beginning. Skim it off and discard it. Let the beans simmer for about 20 minutes or until they can be easily split. Here's a perfectly cooked bean; the skin slides right off of it and it separates easily into two halves. In order for the hummus to be "ethereally smooth," all the skins must be removed. I don't mind doing this (see my post on Falafel) but cooked ...
Read more