To Be Fair....

February 20, 2013

To Be Fair....

Pretty....but needs more sugar.

I have to give myself credit when it comes to dinner....this blog and magazine recipe challenge has really upped the anti when it comes to dinnertime at my house. 3-5 times a week there is something new and exciting on the table and 9 times out of 10 it is a hit in this house. My kids (and myself) are so much more adventurous when it comes to trying new things. And that's about where that ends. I haven't done much in the way of breakfast. And what I have done in desserts....well, who isn't willing to try a new one of those?

So, I came across a muffin recipe in my Jan/Feb 2013 Cooks Illustrated, for Oatmeal Muffins (Actually, they even called them 'Really Good Oatmeal Muffins'. So they kind of set the bar high) and figured that would be an easy sell at my house... Granted, Cooks Illustrated is like an elevated version of Cooks Country. By elevated, I mean more involved and I think they assume you kind of know what you are doing. Which, clearly, should be me.... ha. ha.

One would think that by now I would read the recipe through, in it's entirety before I commit to, and shop for a recipe. One would think. One would be wrong, but one can think it all one wants to. So I get ready to make the muffins when I notice at the very top of the recipe "Do not use quick or instant oats in this recipe..." Fantastic. That is exactly the kind I bought. Since everyone had their hearts set on muffins I opened up the 'just add milk' packages of muffins I usually make. You know the ones I am talking about. With the pellets looking "blueberries". Not exactly homemade....but not exactly complete laziness on my part either.

Why can't they make this easy?

I don't know where these guys do their grocery shopping for their recipes, but I would like to know. There are a million kinds of oats and I couldn't find one that said, "Old-fashioned Rolled Oats". After 30 minutes of staring at oats and oatmeal, I just grabbed the closest thing I could find. Whatever. I'm already over these muffins after having to make an extra trip to the grocery store. Maybe I have stayed away from breakfast recipes because a wine at 8 am would equal a trip to see my good friend Betty Ford.

The muffin making itself wasn't too difficult. There were no major snags after the great 'quick cooking oat debacle' the day before. The muffins looked fantastic and my kiddos were circling me like sharks. I have to say, these were really pretty muffins. The recipe did make more than 12 (unless these Cooks Illustrated folks also have certain muffin pans that a regular person can't find), so I pulled out my mini muffin pan and used the rest of the batter for that.

The muffins were.....okay. I don't know if we are just used to bag muffins or maybe I needed to really find the rolled oats....but they just needed something. I think that something was sugar. Maybe a mimosa. But, it was probably sugar. Taylor had grabbed two muffins and I saw her sneak one of them back on to the plate. It's usually the other way around at my house. The mini muffins, however, vanished in a day. I think the sugar topping to muffin ratio was better. I would say that I wouldn't bother making them again, but I own an awful lot of oats now. I might add some regular sugar to batter part or just make mini muffins only. To be fair, it's probably us, not the muffins.