Thankful for Chile (Blue) Corn Muffins

A nice side for the holiday table--or to serve with leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving‼️🦃

It might be the most food-centric holiday of the year. There are SO many great recipes flying around the Web that it’s a little intimidating. But for me (although I do love reading what everyone is making!), it’s a bit irrelevant as we won’t be home. We’re heading back to San Diego, most likely to dine in Little Italy once again, with pasta, not turkey, on the menu.

No worries. I’ve eaten so many Thanksgiving meals over the years that missing one won’t do any lasting harm. Still, memories of those gatherings with friends and family leaves a small ache of nostalgia. I know I’m not alone in feeling the bittersweet twinge of remembrances past. For a wonderful piece about food and nostalgia, read the essay by Jolene Handy of Time Travel Kitchen published by Oldster Magazine:

My Proustian Madeleine Lives in the Vegetable Aisle

What I will miss are the Thanksgiving leftovers. I’m already thinking about buying a very small turkey (if any are left in the stores!) just to have that carcass to make soup—maybe turkey with rice and plenty of veggies.

I will be sure to serve it with the Blue Corn & Green Chile Muffins I made last week to go with some minestrone soup. My husband said they were the best muffins he ever had—and though I wouldn’t go that far, I would say they’re in a delicious category of their own.

Maybe it’s the blue corn meal I purchased at the Santa Fe Farmers Market—two types, one coarse and one fine. Maybe it’s the addition of roasted green chiles. Or the cheese. Or those sweet corn kernels. Or all that butter. Oh heck—it’s all of the above.

A few Notes:

• Blue corn meal, which is usually a light bluish gray, is common in New Mexico, but perhaps hard to find where you are, except by special order. You can find several sources on the web. I haven’t tried using regular corn meal, but I imagine that the muffins would still be excellent! I would use the coarse or medium-grind variety or a mix of coarse and fine.

• I purchased a large poblano chile pepper to use in this recipe, then roasted it on a grill and removed the skin. (Here’s a link to a blog with information on how roast peppers.) You could also buy jarred roasted chiles or sweet peppers, drain them well and use the required amount.

• As these peppers may not be readily available where you are (we’re lucky to find them almost year-round here in Southern California!), feel free to sub others—like red, green or yellow peppers. You may miss the spicy notes—or not.

• Instead of three large chiles, I only used one.

• The recipe calls for fresh or frozen corn kernels. I used canned because that was all I had.

The muffins will go well with any soup or chili—and work well on the Thanksgiving (or any holiday) table as well.

The recipe comes from Santa Fe School of Cooking: Celebrating the Foods of New Mexico by Susan Curtis & Nicole Cutis Ammerman, and I bought it when I took a class on the cooking of artist Georgia O’Keeffe (look for a story about that this Sunday!).

The recipe

(from Santa Fe School of Cooking: Celebrating the Foods of New Mexico)

Blue Corn & Green Chile Muffins

Makes 12 large or 18 small muffins

These are a moist, slightly sweet accompaniment to stew, soup or any meal in place of traditional bread. The batter can also be baked in a well-buttered 9x13-inch glass baking dish at 350°F for 24 to 30 minutes, or it can be dropped by large spoonfuls into a green Chile chicken stew and simmered like dumplings.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen (see note above)

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup chopped roasted green chiles (about 3 chiles—I used only one)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup blue cornmeal (see note above)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Honey butter* (see note below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Great muffin tins or line with paper muffin cups.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and eggs. Add the egg mixture to the creamed butter; mix until well combined. Stir in the corn, cheese and chiles and combine well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter into the muffin tins (about 3/4 full), and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20 to 24 minutes.

Slathered with honey butter.

Serve hot with honey butter.

*To make honey butter, thoroughly combine equal parts soft butter and honey with a large pinch of salt. If you use salted butter, no need to add extra salt.

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I hope your holidays are (or were) wonderful, that everyone gets along, eats well and that there are leftover for days to come! As someone said during the pandemic when we weren’t able to gather: Thanksgiving is all about the thanks and the giving.

So thanks for all you have given me by being here.

See you on Sunday.

Ruth