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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Have You Seen the Muffin Man?

Okay, total silliness, I know, but if I have to talk about politics for one more minute this week or listen to yet another inane sound bite, my head may implode. So, really, I'm talking about high-caloric foods for health reasons.

Specifically: Muffins.

I remember this place in my undergrad university town that served these grilled double-chocolate-chip muffins. OMG, were they amazing! And some of the guys who took the orders from my friends and me were kinda hot, too :-). Well, I included a line in a new manuscript about a coffee shop that served something similar, and one of my good friends called me on it as she critiqued those pages. She said, "Marilyn, muffins are baked, they're not grilled."

Au contraire, mon amie!

FIRST, they're baked. THEN they're grilled. They're split vertically into three sections, liberally buttered and put on a sizzling grill until you can see the stripes. Then they're buttered AGAIN and served warm.

Like I said: Amazing.

In an attempt to force a feeling of fall (despite the uncharacteristically warm Midwestern weather), I baked muffins this weekend. They were not the extra-buttered version that I remembered from my college days, nor were they double-chocolate-chip (they were banana-walnut-chocolate-chip), but they were still delicious and reminded me of old times.

And so I ask you all in the Blogosphere, if you care to share, what's your favorite kind of muffin and how do you like it served?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, that does sound good. I'm going to come down on the side of savory, though. I love a corn muffin with chili or something similar in the fall.

That might have to be a project for next weekend, now that I think of it.

See you tomorrow! I am finally getting to go to a meeting.

Anonymous said...

Dang, once I get the drool wiped off my keyboard, I can give you a coherent answer.

*slurp*

Okay--first, I'm going to have to try that grilled muffin thing, maybe with one of those chocolate-chocolate-chip muffins from Costco. And if it's a baked good, I love it. Doesn't matter the flavor--all good.

Anonymous said...

OMG! Grilled muffins! Those sound so yummy! I've never had one. I love muffins! During this time of year my favorite is pumpkin. And of course I can never eat just one, so I usually get two. You know, so I have one for later. I also love chocolate chip and banana! Oh, and blueberry. Warmed is the best.

Anonymous said...

Since I had muffins running rampant through my head, I had to go get one for a mid morning snack. My healthy yogurt lies forgotten in the fridge.

If you start blogging about cinnamon rolls next, I'm leaving! (That or getting a cold glass of milk to go with them...)

Brett said...

Ahhhh...I'm lucky to have experienced those good ol' grilled muffins of which you speak -- at Mr. D's!! Although that really makes me miss the late night donut runs we used to do....where you could go to the walk-up window at any hour of the night for a cheap day old donut or a fresh one dripping with greasy goo. mmmmm :)

Back on the topic of muffins...my favorite is chocolate w/chocolate chips. And blueberry comes in a very close second. :)

Marilyn Brant said...

Eliza~I love both sweet AND savory! Your corn muffin idea has me itching to make chili for dinner tonight...and I may even have all the ingredients.

Robin~Pumpkin--yes!! How could I forget about pumpkin? I think, perhaps, pumpkin with pecans and chocolate chips--my muffins ALWAYS have choc. chips--well, unless they're blueberry or orange-cranberry or...ohhh, I'm really hungry.

Brett~Sure, bring up the donuts! I was trying to show restraint here, but this is no longer possible. The donuts deserve their own post :).

Pam~LOL. Sorry to hear about the yogurt. I promise not to start discussing cinnamon rolls (although, believe me, I COULD--I've had multiple encounters :). Problem is, Brett had to go and mention the damn donuts, and it won't take much to push me over the edge...

Pamala Knight said...

Yum! Now I might just have to make a side trip to Costco and get that industrial sized tray of muffins. It would be worth experimenting with the grilling and buttering.

I love banana walnut muffins.

Marilyn Brant said...

Pamala~I highly recommend both the grilling AND the buttering :). Hope you try it and enjoy it, too!

L.A. Mitchell said...

Okay, I'm thinking if a muffin has the density to be grilled, I can't be fresh, right? Maybe a day old? Anyway, AFTER chocolate chip, pumpkin are my favorite. Always real butter. Always :)

Anonymous said...

I don't know why, I'm not much of a muffin person. Now, if you could make a muffin that tastes like a monster cinnamon bun slathered in cream cheese, I'm there!

Marilyn Brant said...

L.A.~interesting point about the density...some may have been a day old, but often I think they were just completely cooled. The shop in question tended to bake their muffins and donuts really early in the morning, so by the time customers came in for their grilled specialty, it was 4-5 hrs. later.

Cindy~oh, I love cinnamon buns and rolls, too. And, yeah--doesn't everything taste better with cream cheese? :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, WOW do those sound good! Now you've got me hungry for chocolate muffins. I'm still at work, though, so no muffins for me, which is probably for the best. (My hips would certainly agree.)

As for muffins, most any will do, unfortunately, though the worse they are for me the better they taste.

Marilyn Brant said...

Caryn, I think that's probably true for just about any food :).

Hope you get an earlier start to the weekend since you had to stay late tonight!

Brett said...

All this talk of grilled muffins is not only making my mouth water, but I'm itching to try making these tasty treats at home this weekend. I'll let you know if I do!

Brett said...

I did it! I made fresh blueberry muffins on Saturday morning & ate a couple of them the "regular" way. And then on Sunday morning I sliced the rest of them in half and grilled them. YUM!!! Bernie thought I was off my rocker, but I was kind enough to share with him, and he loved them! :)

Marilyn Brant said...

Brett~oh, I'm so proud!!! They sounded absolutely delicious :).