The BEST English Muffins

In our cookbook, we have a recipe for English muffins. It's OK, but I have just tried out/adapted a recipe that beats it hands down.  It's a yeast batter rather than a yeast dough, so it requires muffin rings. But the batter only needs to rise for a half hour, so I can be eating toasted English Muffins within an hour of starting! (See me do a little dance?)

I know that you lucky souls in Canada are unlikely ever to make it, so I've posted the recipe in my personal cooking blog. See English Muffins.

Real Bread-Potato Stuffing

Today is Christmas Day, and as usual, I am making the traditional bread stuffing for the bird (chicken, in my case). In referring to our classic recipe in the cookbook I realized that although Mrs. Slade provided the basis, it is not the way we (I?) actually make this stuffing.

We use cubed bread rather than bread crumbs, and lots more of it than 2 cups. I'm sure we use onion and celery in it as well, and my own variation is to add a coupled of chopped sautéed mushrooms. And of course, the seasoning is all adjusted accordingly.

So for what it's worth, here is what I think our recipe really is. Is this the way you make it too?

Ingredients

• 4 cups stale bread, cubed (150 grams)
• 2 medium potatoes, grated (100 grams)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped fine
• 2 mushrooms, chopped fine (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Cut the bread into small cubes. If the bread is quite fresh, let it sit out for a couple of hours to dry out.
2. Grate the potatoes and add to the bread cubes.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onions and celery for a few minutes, then add to the bread and potato mixture.
4. In the same skillet, sauté the mushrooms until they release their moisture and turn brown, then add to stuffing mixture.
5. Add the parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
6. Mix gently using your hands.
7. Beat the egg with a fork and add it to the stuffing. Stir in gently.

You can put the stuffing either in the cavity or under the skin on the breast of the bird. The second option is better because it helps to keep the breast meat moist. Any stuffing that doesn't go in the bird can go in an oven-proof casserole, covered with tin foil. Stuffing that is cooked separately can be topped with a couple of strips of bacon or dotted with butter to provide some of the fat that would normally come from the bird.