A Southern Grace: liz lemon says...

May 30, 2008

liz lemon says...

Yum

"I’m going to go talk to some food about this."


I adore Tina Fey, and 30 Rock rocks. So do these muffins.

This post has nothing to do with Tina Fey or 30 Rock except that her character's name on the show is Liz Lemon and these muffins contain lemon. Talk about grasping at straws. Leave me alone--it's Friday.

Even my burnt-out brain knows that the tastes of lemon and blueberry meld beautifully. It's been proven time and time again.

These little muffins a la Emiline at Sugar Plum are no exception. Yes, she used blackberries, but I had to go with what I had on hand--blueberry preserves. I also went almond-less, as the only almonds in my apartment are in my Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds (yum) and I didn't really feel like rooting around in the box and digging them out one by one.

My muffins aren't as pretty as Emiline's, but they're darn delicious and quite healthy. I'm sure Tina Fey's personal chef would approve. (Grasping at those straws, I tell you. Grasping.)(But wouldn't that be a great job?)

Lemon-Blueberry Swirl Muffins
(adapted from here)
makes 24 magnificent mini muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/ cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cups.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter, egg, milk, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well combined. Dump flour mixture into liquid mixture and stir until all ingredients are moistened.
Warm preserves in the microwave until a pourable consistency is reached. Add to batter and stir until desired swirl-beauty is achieved.
Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then lift muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.



(this calls for some wrapper-licking...)

More 30 Rock food-associated funniness:
Floyd: Hey.
Liz: Hey.
Floyd: Wow, hot dog times, huh?
Liz: I only eat them on special occasions.
Floyd: What’s the special occasion?
Liz: I decided to eat one.

Jack: Big night, Lemon? Let me guess, meatball sub, extra bread, bottle of NyQuil, Tivo Top Chef, a little Miss Bonnie Raitt, lights out.
Liz: No, I have something to do tonight, Jack.
Jack: Then you won't mind when I tell you that [whispering] Casey gets voted off tonight.
Liz: You monster! Why are you like this?

If you've made it through this discombobulated post, it goes without saying...but TGIF!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grace, I can always count on you for a good chuckle. I made it through the post but who is Tina Frey? Muffins look good and so glad you left out the almonds.

giz said...

Of course you must know you're making me crazy with recipes like this. As I walk out the door, I'm creating a list...buy lemons, blackberries, blueberries...
I can't wait til your zucchinis take over the world :)

Albany Jane said...

aaaay-men to Friday!

30 rock is so funny, I'm never sure why, but wait about 20 seconds and something funny is sure to be said or to have happened.

Geggie said...

Most simple dessert...

Lemon sorbet
Blueberry jam -- thin it down in a pan with a little liquor of your choice
Serve over the sorbet with fresh blueberries and a sprig of mint.

Divine!

LyB said...

Yes, that wrapper must be licked! Mmmm, blueberry muffins, I love blueberries, and muffins, these look fabulous. :)

Anonymous said...

Those look like they are just packed with blueberries!

Blueberry muffins are my favourite, and these look great. Mmmm!

Anonymous said...

You and Tina Fey, hilarious! Great looking muffins.

Nic said...

I have no idea who Tina, Rock, Floyd, Liz or Jack are, but I know all about Mrs Lemon and Mr Blueberry - and they get voted through every time in my house!
Now, stop hogging the muffins and pass them over here!

toontz said...

You are just too funny. Thanks for the humor. Just what I needed on this chilly, wet day here in the Dairy State. These muffins look divine.

Katie said...

Yea to Friday! These look great, who doesn't like lemon and blueberry.

Melanie said...

Yum, lemon and blueberry - a fantastic combination. And thanks for the chuckle.

Half Baked said...

Very funny! Love Tina Fey and totally get the lemon connection:) Great looking muffins.

Anonymous said...

You are hilarious. I would love these, really. Let's bake our stuff and then FEDEX it across the country.

PG said...

Is that blueberry bursting? What are you doing to me?

Vicarious Foodie said...

Your muffins *are* pretty!! And you're right--blueberry and lemon is a classic and delicious combination.

Emily said...

You muffins ARE SO PRETTY! I love em'. I prefer blueberry over blackberry. No doubt about that.

I've watched 30 Rock a couple of times, recently. I thought it was really funny. I need to go watch the older episodes.

Have a good weekend!

Helene said...

Love it! It's coffe time right now and I wish I had one!

Anonymous said...

Haha I was wondering what 30rock had to do with muffins. I must say that the close up pics of the split muffin have made me hungry-and I've just enjoyed a big dinner!

Anonymous said...

I wake up this morning and what do I see on tastespotting... these delicious looking muffins! Lemon and blueberry, what can I say, you really can't go wrong :D

Grace I need one of these bad.

Anonymous said...

HAHAHA!! I also love Liz Lemon, blueberries and lemon, muffins and cupcakes, and tangential stretching to make seemingly arbitrary things go together. You're my kind of woman. :)

Elle said...

Grasping at straws is a hobby of mine. Citrus and berries are just meant to be together. Period. These look incredible! And so funny--I just bought the stuff to make lemon blueberry cupcakes this weekend!

Anonymous said...

lovely lovely lovely!!

Leslie said...

Wow these look wonderful...with a happy ending! My muffins I had last night were anything but happy!

Leslie said...

Thanks for visiting my site..I honestly never thought to eat all the goodness off of the cupcake liners..I was just a a serious Joan Crawford rage!!!!

Anonymous said...

i must agree with you, 30 rock does rock, and your muffins look like they rock too!

Sophie said...

hehe! I don't know if I'd have the energy on a Friday to go through a box of honey bunches of oats just to get to the almonds either :). I feel just as loopy on Fridays, too, btw...yesterday, when I was putting the food away after grocery shopping, (after 8 hours of working) I discovered I'd put half a stick of vegan butter away in the pantry next to the salt! :)

This sounds like a really yummy combo. You're right, it seems lemon and blueberries should go together; I can taste it already! Thanks for the idea. I've been craving blueberry muffins for about a week now, I think I'll make some like these later tonight :). Hope you're having a restful weekend :D!

Jaime said...

yum, those muffins look so good!

Susan @ SGCC said...

Those muffins look pretty delicious! I love the blueberry/lemon combo too. But, I'm absolutely nuts about those Honey Bunches of Oats! ;)

KJ said...

Can you mail me one of those? I think it is exactly what I need right now. Yum.

krysta said...

have you seen the 30 rock about the sandwiches that the teamsters bought and how she ate it at the airport? the genius of tina fey... and the muffins look good too.

test it comm said...

Those muffins look really good! I am looking forward to the blueberries.

LisaRene said...

I just love my muffins and aside from looking mouthwatering delicious they are also on the healthy side - not too much sugar and fat. Using preserves is a nice way to add sweetness and flavor.

Jeff said...

You had me at Liz Lemon. I miss Tina Fey doing weekend update heck I miss when SNL was actually watchable. Atleast 30 Rock manages to make me die of laughter everytime.

This sounds really cool and smart move on not scraping through for almonds. I love the sound of this without the almonds.

Anonymous said...

Tina Fey is my hero! And "30 Rock" is one of the best shows on TV - hands down.
I LOVE all the jokes about Liz and food. These muffins look amazing - and I agree that the mere mention of lemon is enough of a justification to talk about "30 Rock."