Chow is a group of restaurants in SF and the Bay Area that provides an uncomplicated family pleasing menu in a warm and welcoming environment. My interest in Chow goes all the way back to the beginning. My husband Bob used to work with Tony Gulisano, the driving force behind Chow, and Bob was the first bookkeeper that Chow hired.
I was happy to hear that Oakland was getting a Chow and went to check it out shortly after it opened. They’ve done a wonderful job, it’s a large sprawling space with seating upstairs, downstairs, inside and out. It will be a fabulous hang out in warm weather. The staff is friendly and inviting as they are at every Chow, the market is deceptively large, extending all the way to the back of the restaurant. The menu is classic Chow and I ordered my favorite, the Grilled Prawn Louis which is a wedge of romaine slathered in louis dressing topped with grilled jumbo prawns and garnished with avocado, hard boiled egg, and beets with a hunk of bread. It was as good as it always is, which is another hallmark of Chow, the food is consistent.
Tony was busily doing what owners of a new business do, moving around the space, checking on things, setting up things, moving things, etc. I stopped him to say hello and true to his hospitable nature he offered me something from the bakery case. I surprised myself and chose the bran muffin. I haven’t had a bran muffin since the 90’s, but this looked nice and large and moist, and it was! It had a crispy top and a moist interior. The molasses in the recipe giving it a Boston Brown bread taste.
And I thought…bran muffins, I haven’t made those in forever! So off I went to the market to find bran and in the anti-wheat world we live in, it was a little difficult to find bran. I looked for oat bran because I actually digest oat better than wheat (yes I’m part of the anti-wheat world), but couldn’t find that at all, so I stayed with wheat bran.
I could have done an internet search for bran muffins but decided to go old school and use one of my thousands of cookbooks. Marion Cunningham’s Breakfast Book is one of my favorite books, I use it frequently and have fond memories of it since I was working at Bridgecreek Restaurant at the time that Marion was writing the book and many of the recipes in the book were part of the Bridgecreek menu. I knew Marion would have a good straight forward bran muffin and she did. So using Marion’s recipe as my guide, I made the muffins adding orange zest and pecans. I also adjusted the oven temperature down to 375. The recipe says it should be at 425 which in my experience burns the bottoms and tops of the muffins before the interior is cooked.
Pecan Bran Muffins
2 1/2 C bran
1 1/3 C whole wheat flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
zest of one orange
2 eggs
2/3 C buttermilk
1/3 C almond oil
1/3 C molasses
1/3 C honey
1 C chopped pecans
Instructions
Heat oven to 375. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan, this recipe will make 18.
In a medium bowl combine the first 5 ingredients, mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add everything but the pecans. Mix well to incorporate all the dry ingredients, stir in pecans.
Using a 2-oz. scoop, fill prepared pan with batter. Place in the preheated oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are firm when lightly touched.
I like to eat them warm thickly slathered with butter and a strong cup of Earl Gray tea.
