English Muffins

This week was a little different because instead of an entree, I had a breakfast recipe to tackle. I have to admit this was my least favorite recipe I have done so far! I prefer a recipe that is a little more complex and has a few more working pieces, I'll get to that shortly and you'll understand why. So this past weekend was Halloween and we were having a Halloween party as well as some friends come into town. So I figured why not have this weeks recipe on Saturday morning instead of the morning after Halloween when we are all tired and just want to sleep in. So that is what we did! One of my best friends Brittney, her 2 girls and her Sister A'Lisha and her boyfriend all came into town Friday night and stayed the weekend with us. It worked out perfectly because Brittney lives about 2hrs away and has wanted to be a part of one of my recipes! This time I went to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Store instead of Kroger, since we were having a party and I could just get everything there for a little bit cheaper than Kroger. So I woke up on Saturday morning ready to get started and I wasn't as prepared for this recipe as I thought I was. Usually I'll sit down the day before and read through the recipe just making sure I understand everything and have everything I need. I just skimmed through it this time because I had so many other things going on at the time. BIG MISTAKE! Come to find out, the recipe calls for metal rings to pour your batter in on the griddle to make sure it keeps its round shape and plumps up all pretty. It gives you a tip to use a tuna can and just clean it out and cut the tops and bottoms off for a do-it-yourself metal ring. So I bought 1 tuna can and the first problem I ran in to is that I didn't read closely enough that the tuna can needs to have a flat, crimped top and bottom. So, luckily I have an innovative husband and he pulled out his knife and was able to cut the bottom off my tuna can. Whew, so problem solved right? NO! Next I start reading and see that each muffin takes 5-6 minutes on EACH side to cook. So do the math...I had 5 people staying with me plus Adam and I, so a total of 7 people times 11minutes and if each person had 2 muffins and I only had 1 tuna can well I would be in the kitchen for a VERY long time making english muffins. So, on to innovation number 2...my Aunt sends home from Alabama every time my Mom goes and visits, cans of fresh green beans, tomatoes, etc...in those mason jars with the pop tops and the rings that screw on around them. I decide to use these tiny little rings and we can just deal with mini and regular sized english muffins. Of course looking back, I should have 1. thoroughly read the recipe before beginning or 2. instead of getting tuna cans, just have bought round metal rings! It was ok though, it made the meal a little more interesting and is a funny story to tell...now. Once we figured out the ring situation, it was time to start actually making the muffins. First I combined my powdered milk (which I have never even noticed at the store before), sugar, shortening and hot water with 1/2t salt and stirred until the sugar and salt were dissolved and then I set this aside to cool. While this was cooling, in a separate bowl I mixed my 1 envelope of yeast (Ok, funny story is that I was thinking how is an envelope a measurement? Am I going to have to buy an envelope, this is confusing? No worries though the packages the yeast come in are "envelopes". It was my "blonde" cooking moment) with 1/8t sugar (I STILL don't understand the point of having 1/8 of anything) and warm water. Then you also have to set this aside until the yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes. Sounds super exciting huh? So far you just mix and set things aside! Once the yeast was dissolved I poured it in with the powdered milk mixture. Then in a THIRD bowl I sifted my 2C of flour and added this into the party with the rest of the ingredients. My favorite part was what came next, I got to BEAT it with a wooden spoon until I got all the lumps out! It was a great stress reliever to say the least!! After that you just cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes. During this time I got my griddle out and heated it up to 300 degrees. I placed my metal rings on the griddle, sprayed them with good old Pam, and learned a valuable lesson that you DO NOT touch anything metal if it is placed on something that is 300 degrees! I already knew this, I just think that Murphey's Law was in FULL effect during this recipe. So anyway, once my griddle was heated and my mixture had set I added the remaining 1/2t salt and got to beat it again, FUN!! Then I took an ice cream scoop and dipped out 2 scoops for my tuna can and 1 scoop for my mason jar rings and then covered with a cookie sheet and pot lid and then I waited for 5-6 minutes and flipped the rings and mixture over with tongs and let it cook on the opposite side for another 5-6minutes. You just repeat this process until all your mixture is gone. You might want to re-spray your Pam on your rings after the first few you make. This lasted for about 45 minutes until I was completely done with the mixture! Needless to say I only got 1 picture of the girls enjoying their English muffins, because everyone ate at scattered times. Luckily I had wonderful sous chefs and Adam made yummy sausage patties and Brittney made fried (over easy) eggs. So we had runny, yummy, English muffins. Brittney did say it was the kind of food you want to eat in private because you felt so savage due to how messy it was! We all had a good time, I survived my burns (yes plural, I decided to touch the metal pot lid, cookie sheet and rings not once or twice but 3 times! UGH!) and everyone either lied to me because they felt sorry for everything I went through that morning or they really did enjoy the English muffins! Brittney's girls assured me that their "pancakes" were yummy too. They are too cute! Either way, I thought they were good, but this type of recipe as simple as it may be is not my forte at all! I just hope I didn't scare Brittney and her girls away and they'll come back for another recipe sometime!

Recipe Rating: Easy
Good Leftover: Not sure, we didn't have any left. I'm sure they would be though!
Tip: Read any recipe before starting, THOROUGHLY and NEVER touch hot metal!
Stay tuned in 2 weeks- Moo-Less Chocolate Pie

You can find the English Muffin recipe here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/english-muffins-recipe/index.html