November 14th: pear & cranberry muffins, artisan bread take 2, bean-free chili

Verdict:
Keeper: muffins, artisan bread, bean-free chili

Today, I managed to avoid leaving the house even once, which makes an amazing difference in the number of hours one can devote to one's past times, in my case meaning hours in the kitchen. I likely would have spent the same number of hours in the kitchen, but been more stressed out, if I had done things that needed to be done, like gone to the grocery store and the drug store. I'll worry about those things later.

During my multitudinous hours in the kitchen, I made pear and cranberry muffins and I prepped dough for gingerbread cookies (more on those whenever I get around to baking them). This was a second go-around for the muffins, and these are really good muffins, though I would say they are closer to a cupcake in terms of the amount of sugar in them. That must be why they taste so good. I think I'll keep this recipe; I just need to see what I think after eating one tomorrow for breakfast.

The recipe came from the Ottawa Citizen, November 2009, and I believe it may be a Karen Barnaby (Fish House Restaurant, Stanley Park, Vancouver) recipe, but I can't confirm that.

Pear and Cranberry Muffins

1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tablespoons (90 mL) flour*
1/4 cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup (160 mL) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (125 mL) water
2 teaspoons (10 mL) apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups (560 mL) flour*
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) cored ripe pear (about 1 1/2 pears), diced into 1/2-inch (1-cm) chunks
1/2 cup (125 mL) dried cranberries (or raisins, if preferred)

*I used a combination of all-purpose white and whole wheat flours

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

Prepare a 15-cup muffin tin.

To make the topping, combine the 1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, 6 tablespoons (90 mL) flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix until crumbly.

Beat the 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla together in a large bowl.

Combine the water and vinegar.

Sift the flour, soda and salt together and blend into the oil mixture alternately with the water.

Add the pears and cranberries and mix until just combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle generously with the topping.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Makes 15 muffins (or 12 muffins and 12 mini muffins) (mini muffins take 20 minutes to bake)

For supper, I whipped up artisan bread for the second time, with a few modifications. I wasn't planning to make the bread, but Patricia called me Saturday night as she was in the process of making the bread and I was inspired to make it as well. This time, though, I followed the recipe from Cook's Illustrated, which took the original Sullivan Street Bakery bread, reduced the liquid, and added in a bit of kneading to the process. Rather than using all water as the liquid, this one is a combination of water, beer and vinegar. The loaf turned out better than my first try, probably at least in part because I saved a few pieces of Saran from some mushrooms I bought and used those as plastic wrap over my bowl as I let the dough rise over night. I think I'll stick with this recipe in future; this loaf was more attractive, cooked perfectly, and tasted amazing.

To accompany the bread for supper I made a bean-free chili. This was a re-try from November 2009's Chatelaine: South-of-the-border sauce. The recipe I am keeping; the name I am not. This is a cross between a pasta sauce and a chili, without the pasta or the beans, the two parts I like the least. It's like it was meant to be. The recipe suggests serving the sauce on bread, which is what we did last year, and we didn't like that, so today we just ate it in bowls, à la chili, with bread on the side. This was the ideal way to eat it. Suggested toppings are sour cream and cheddar cheese (good) and avocado, which would probably be fabulous, but mine didn't ripen enough from the time I bought it on Friday. That's what happens when I plan meals last minute, as I did with this one. Had I known in advance I would need an avocado, I would have bought it a week ago.

Greg is in love with the bread, and me because of it. He swore tonight was the best meal we've ever had ever.

I'm off to Montreal for the next few days for work, so there will be no blogging for a bit. :)