[Not a Murder Mystery]: Cheese Muffins
Adjust rack in the oven to the middle position and pre-heat it to 350F. Yes, I meant now!, or it will still be cold by the time you think of it.
In a large bowl, whisk together: 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon dry chives, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Mix in 1 cup crumbled blue cheese, breaking any clumps until all cheese is coated with flour.
Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a microwave-safe cup (about 1 minute if frozen, or 20-30 seconds if refrigerated). Cover the damned cup and keep an eye on the whole thing or you'll have to clean the nuker like the last time you did this the "quick" way...Humph! Anyway, set it aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk 1 large egg until foamy, then add 3/4 cup sour cream and whisk until smooth, add 1 1/4 cup milk and mix again, add the melted butter and whisk. The butter will "curdle", which is what you want for muffins anyway.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients in it, then gently fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula until just combined, the batter will be heavy and thick.
Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or vegetable oil. Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups.
Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cheese) over batter in each cup. Yes, I know it's tempting, but the 1/2 cup of cheese is to be divided over the 12 muffins, not per muffin. ;-)
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs attached (but make sure you are not checking where the melted blue cheese is, or you'll burn the poor things!).
Turn off the oven if you're done with it! Take the pan out of the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Loosen muffins by carefully running a knife around them, remove them from the pan and put them on the wire rack until cooled enough to eat (about 10 minutes).
Enjoy!
Notes: I prefer to use 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and leave out the cayenne altogether -- or use sweet Paprika instead. I have used half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons, instead of 3), increased the shredded cheese to 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of Asiago cheese and it was still very good. Also, Danish Blue cheese is nice, although Roquefort is certainly delicious too. Another thing that is nice is using a mix of Parmesan and Asiago cheeses for the topping.
In a large bowl, whisk together: 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon dry chives, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Mix in 1 cup crumbled blue cheese, breaking any clumps until all cheese is coated with flour.
Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a microwave-safe cup (about 1 minute if frozen, or 20-30 seconds if refrigerated). Cover the damned cup and keep an eye on the whole thing or you'll have to clean the nuker like the last time you did this the "quick" way...Humph! Anyway, set it aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk 1 large egg until foamy, then add 3/4 cup sour cream and whisk until smooth, add 1 1/4 cup milk and mix again, add the melted butter and whisk. The butter will "curdle", which is what you want for muffins anyway.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients in it, then gently fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula until just combined, the batter will be heavy and thick.
Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or vegetable oil. Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups.
Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cheese) over batter in each cup. Yes, I know it's tempting, but the 1/2 cup of cheese is to be divided over the 12 muffins, not per muffin. ;-)
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs attached (but make sure you are not checking where the melted blue cheese is, or you'll burn the poor things!).
Turn off the oven if you're done with it! Take the pan out of the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Loosen muffins by carefully running a knife around them, remove them from the pan and put them on the wire rack until cooled enough to eat (about 10 minutes).
Enjoy!
Notes: I prefer to use 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and leave out the cayenne altogether -- or use sweet Paprika instead. I have used half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons, instead of 3), increased the shredded cheese to 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of Asiago cheese and it was still very good. Also, Danish Blue cheese is nice, although Roquefort is certainly delicious too. Another thing that is nice is using a mix of Parmesan and Asiago cheeses for the topping.