I'll admit it, I'm a complete sucker for the Starbucks English muffin sandwiches. My favorite is the sausage, egg, and cheese. The other day after forking out God knows how much money for one, I wondered if I could make it myself. After all, it was junk food, really, and Michael Pollan says we can eat as much junk food as we want as long as we make it from scratch.
So I went through my cookbooks and found a recipe for English muffins in Bread Machine Magic. They called for malt vinegar. Not being Canadian I had none on hand. After a quick look at my online grocery delivery service (also not Canadian) I realized I'd have to head to the store. The next day I possessed not only malt vinegar but also the ingredients for the home-made sausage patties. Several days later I finally got on my hands and knees and retrieved my electric skillet from the back of the cupboard.
The muffins were so fun to make! After you make the dough you cut out the muffins with a cookie cutter and just pop them into the electric griddle. They puff up and turn golden brown, just like the real thing. How cute! I made about a dozen and good thing I did because the kids kept stealing them off the cooling rack to eat them.
The sausage smelled great with lovely fresh sage and thyme, but I wondered if the kids would eat it with actual visible green stuff in it (they didn't). Next time I will make them stand there and watch while I pour the maple syrup into the bowl. See? Sweet stuff! You like that!
I didn't have time to put the whole thing together that day so I hid the muffins and stuffed the cooked sausages in the fridge. The next morning I cooked the eggs, sliced the cheese, and toasted the muffins. I set them out and the children (big surprise) refused to eat them. Mine was every bit as good as Starbucks': sweet, salty, cheesy, meaty, and extremely satisfying. It took nine days to make, so it had better be. Will I go back to the evil empire to buy their sandwich again? You bet. But not quite yet.
