Popovers

Popovers were introduced to me by my husband. It might not be an overstatement to say he courted me with them. They make a such grand and imposing breakfast feast- who wouldn't be wildly impressed?

For years popovers were Ned's domain at our house. Ned grew up eating them with his "Grandpa." It was a special treat made by request from the grandkids, a tradition he has now passed on to our kids. And I was always under the impression that there was a trick, a secret family recipe or some cooking mojo that coaxes these things to "pop over" that was in his genes.

Until one morning recently, when the kids and I got up early to make them for Daddy as a surprise. Ha! As it turns out, I was the one who was surprised. He's got us all hoodwinked. They couldn't possibly be easier to make and yes they just "pop over" all on their own.

Somewhere in the distant foggy past, these eggy muffins were derived from Yorkshire pudding, which is made savory with the addition of pan drippings from roasting meats. You can certainly tweak this very simple recipe with the addition of some herbs, parmesean or savory spices and eat it along side a stew or soup.

So, while I have somewhat demystified the popover, I'll let them continue to be Daddy's domain- and quite happily reap the benefits. Which, at our house means using the deep hollow hole naturally made inside the popover for a slab of butter and hearty messy drizzle of honey. Amen.

We use a popover tin (considered sacrilege by purists I hear, Grandpa would not be impressed) but seeing the before and after, these beauties are pretty fabulous. But a regular muffin tin will work fine.

The recipe couldn't be simpler. This one is from one of our kitchen staples, The Joy of Cooking.

Preheat oven to 450°

Oil muffin tin to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl measure:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

In another bowl measure:

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon warm melted butter

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix and fill the tin 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 15 min at 450° and then turn the heat down to 350° and cook another 20min.

Oh and don't be tempted to open the oven early unless you want to watch them deflate :)

Enjoy!