I’ll have some posts soon on the books I’m reading but they will take a couple of days. In the meantime, here’s a perfect fall meal accompaniment. It takes a lot of time to prepare but I vouch that it is well worth it. Dial back the Chimayo pepper to your own taste.

Blue Corn Muffins
from The Santa Fe School of Cooking Cookbook by Susan Curtis (Gibbs-Smith Publisher: Salt Lake City, 1995)

The recipe is the listed variation with additional instructions.

Yield: 1 dozen large muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (milk may be substituted; I fill a measuring cup with 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar and then top off to 1/2 cup with a milk substitute)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup blue cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh (or frozen) corn kernels
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Chimayo ground red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin tins well or insert paper liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk.
3. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
4. Saute the diced onion in olive oil until softened. (Optional, add the corn after the onion has been softened) Add diced garlic for a minute, then remove from heat. Let cool.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar. Add the eggs/buttermilk mixture. Stir until just mixed.
6. Stir in the corn/onion/garlic mixture and the cheese until just mixed.
7. Spoon the batter into muffin tins. Bake about 25 minutes, until just firm. Serve warm with butter.