Ham and Cheese Muffins

Posted December 27, 2010

Find more about ham , muffins , breakfast , CHEESE , holidays , leftovers

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I should mention somewhere that I'm not actually the biggest fan of sweet muffins. But these are dreamy.

The inspiration.

The inspiration, part II. Laziness.

And coziness.

Have I even introduced Mr. Paws yet? Anni's cat. We love him.

Okay, where was I? Eggs, mustard, buttermilk. Check.

Ham and cheese. Check.

Frozen girl. Check.

The batter is very thick and fluffy.

Yum.

And double yum. You could squeeze in even more ham and cheese, I'm sure, if you're the kind of person who adds an extra bag of chocolate chips to your brownie recipe.

The Ben. He has since eaten another one, bringing his total up to 3 1/2.

Except for the fact that my parents left us early yesterday to try to beat the snow, these are my favorite days--the ones after Christmas. The fancy cooking and scramble of making and wrapping and rigorous hosting are all behind us; these are the easy days of jigsaw puzzles and pajamas, movies and ping pong and music and board games and lazy cats who are exhausted from their compulsion to nap inside every new box lid, on top of the half-done puzzle, inside the bag of wrapping paper.

Plus, they're the days of leftovers, and I love leftovers. I love that they mean that I don't have to make dinner, for one thing. But I also genuinely love them: pulling salty shreds off of the ham, or heating up a little plate of rich, creamy potato gratin and calling it breakfast, or making myself a little late-afternoon snack by pouring all the quarter inches of leftover wine into a single cup. I even like to be invited to other people's houses for leftovers (I didn't mean that to sound as much like I'm trolling for an invitation as it does. But hey, feel free. . . ) Also, because all the real work is already done, leftovers free me up to be creative in a low-key way. Last night we ate a kind of creamy lima bean stew that I made with ham, a bit of ham gravy, cream, parsley, and a big squeeze of lemon. It would have been even better if I'd topped it with the crunch of some butter-fried breadcrumbs, but it was still fantastic.

And these muffins! I could picture exactly how I wanted them to be--studded with succulent cubes of ham and melty cheese--so I looked around for a muffin recipe I could adapt for the purpose, then I added rosemary, mustard, olive oil, and some whole grain flour. They are moist and savory and cheesy and wonderful, and they make the perfect pack-and-go meal if you are, say, headed out into the blizzard to make snow angels. (Ben, who's already eaten 2 1/2 muffins in the fifteen minutes they've been out of the oven, just gave them "four thumbs up," and Birdy said, "Other than the ham, they're great!" which is such a crazy thing to say that I wouldn't give it another thought.)

Oh, these kids. I am so in love with them today that I can hardly stand it. At some point, I looked up from m muffin making, and there was Birdy, hip deep in snow, pink-cheeked and happy. She had gotten up, put on her long underwear, her snow bibs, her boots and neck warmer, her coat and hat and gloves and headed out on her own. She's almost eight--I mean, I know that getting herself dressed hardly makes her a prodigy at this point--but still, I remember the days of the endless dressing and undressing of them, and it blows me away, their self-sufficiency. Or Ben, who went out to help Michael, who was trying to shovel out our car so that he wouldn't be late for work. It's such a grown-up impulse--to go and help--that when he came back in I had to cover his snowy, smiling face with kisses. Just to remind him that he's still my baby.

Ham and Cheese Muffins
Makes 12 muffins plus a mini loaf or two or a few extra muffins
Active time: 15 minutes; total time: 35 minutes

You could make these with leftover turkey or deli ham or cooked bacon or probably even with prime rib, although if you have prime rib leftover, you should really be inviting us for dinner. Or skip the meat altogether. Feel free to experiment with the herbs: the rosemary was delicious, but dill or chives would be great too. Or skip the herbs altogether.

2 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
Freshly ground black pepper and cayenne (about 1/8 teaspoon each)
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon snipped chives or dill
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 heaping teaspoon grainy mustard
1 cup diced ham
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or another cheese you think would be yummy; I used something called Robusto that's like a very delicious Gouda)

Heat the oven to 400 and grease and flour a muffin tin or coat it with baking spray. If you have a 12-well traditional-size tin, you'll need an extra something, like a mini loaf pan, for the bit of leftover batter. (Sorry--I know that's annoying.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, then stir in the ham and cheese. Add the wets to the dry, and combine them with a few swift strokes of a rubber spatula; you want the batter to be entirely mixed but if you beat it, the muffins could turn out dry.

Use a half-cup measure to scoop the batter into the muffin tins; the cups will be very full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until browned and just set. Don't overbake. (I always love that direction--like you were planning to overbake them until I reminded you not to.) If they're too oozy to move (mine weren't), let them set up for ten minutes before you try to move them to a rack. Cool the muffins at least a minute or two before eating. Yum.

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Ham and Cheese Muffins

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cefkennedy says:

January 04, 2011

These were delicious! I made the dry and wet mix last night (except I added the melted butter, ham and cheese in the morning) and it worked out great. (I did add extra cheese--a cup and a half total. I wanted to make sure the whole wheat flour and corn meal wouldn't be too much for me.) They were perfect. Thanks!

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cefkennedy says:

December 30, 2010

These look delicious. And I want to take a huge bite out of that leftover ham in the picture.

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Atl-Mom says:

December 27, 2010

I sometimes think I'm the only person who loves these post-Christmas days, so I'm glad to find some company! No rushing around, no commitments, putting together bits and pieces of leftovers and calling it a meal...what's not to love?? Thanks for the muffin recipe--I have half a ham that will be perfect for this. Also, last night we made your Egg Noodles w/Ham and Peas from a few years back and loved it once again. Happy New Year to you and your beautiful family!

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Dalai Mama Dishes

by Catherine Newman

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

Dalai Mama Dishes

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

Ham and Cheese Muffins

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