Blue Corn & Green Chile Muffins with Pinon Butter

Blue Corn & Green Chile Muffins

¾ C Softened Butter

½ C Sugar
5 Eggs
½ C Milk
1 C Corn
1 C Jack Cheese, grated
1 C Cheddar Cheese, grated
¾ C Roasted Green Chile, diced
1 C All Purpose Flour
1 C Blue Cornmeal
2 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
Pinon Butter (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 375º; grease muffin pans for muffin cups (makes 2 dozen)

Cream butter and sugar in mixer until smooth. 

In a separate bowl whisk eggs and milk together.  Slowly add the egg/milk mixture to the butter/egg mixture until well combined. 

In a separate bowl mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  Add corn and chile and mix.  Add dry ingredients to wet until combined.  Add cheeses and batter and mix until combined.  Fill muffin cups about ¾ full.  Bake about 25 minutes.

 

Piñon Butter

1 Stick Butter, softened
1 T Honey
Salt to Taste
½ C Piñon Nuts, toasted

With spoon cream butter, honey and salt together.

Toast Piñon in a pan until heated.  Pulse nuts in food processor until fine (minced not paste).  Add to butter and refrigerate.  Can be frozen for several weeks.

~Source: Santa Fe School of Cooking, as modified by Lois Ellen Frank (Chef, Instructor, Cook Book Author and James Beard Award Winner).

Patti’s Notes:

The original muffin recipe called for adding the corn, chile and cheeses to the wet ingredients (egg/butter) before adding in the dry (flour).  Lois added the corn and chile to the dry so that the flour coats the vegetables which eliminates them clumping together.  Then she added the cheeses at the end.  I used the Lois method and I think they turned out great.  The corn and chile seemed perfectly distributed throughout.
I purchased Blue Cornmeal at the cooking school.  I haven't tried to find it locally so I'm not sure how readily available it is.  You can buy it on-line at:
http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/On-line_Market/Specialty_Foods/index.html#sthash.oitc2Abr.dpbs

For the Piñon Butter, the school did not have piñons so she substituted pecans.  She said you could use just about any kind of nuts.  I had Roasted Piñons that were already salted so I didn’t add more salt and I didn't toast them since they were already roasted. My Immersion Blender has a little chopper/grinder attachment so I used that for the mince the nuts. 

Tip of the Day: Speaking of butter and salt, use the unsalted butter for baking, use the salted butter for table use and other recipes (such as nut butters).