One of my New Year's resolutions was to cook something new every week, whether it was a recipe i'd never tried before or one of my own creations. I'm hoping this goal will keep me out of a cooking rut, and keep creative ideas for new recipes flowing...we'll see how long this actually lasts! For this week it's my mom's birthday, and I happened to be trying out popover recipes. I've had a strange obsession with popovers since I was little and experienced them at a locally owned bistro with my mom called Zinn Bistro. It was family run, and the mom did all the cooking, and everything she made was so DELICIOUS! I can't even describe it, every bite was magic. To start your meal you would get a basket of bread, but not just any bread - it was all homemade and sometimes different depending on the day,... BUT the homemade popovers were always the very best part! They came warm with a bunch of raspberry butter, and even though that restaurant is now closed, the memory of the popovers will never leave me! Recently, I found Mimi Thorisson's recipe for Yorkshire pudding, which is basically a popover but with meat juices instead of butter or oil. I knew I had to try them because I love everything she ever makes, and when I did, they were delicious and a hit with my whole family. We couldn't get enough. I whipped up some raspberry butter and it was almost like my mom and I were back at Zinn Bistro, so it was only fitting that I made them once again to celebrate her birthday!
From Mimi Thorisson's blog, "Manger"
Recipe for Yorkshire Pudding or Popovers
*makes 10-12*
2 cups flour
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons cold water
4 eggs
olive oil or meat juices (for Yorkshire pudding)
This recipe is so easy and the ingredients are things you almost always have in your house, so there is never a bad time to make popovers! For best results, use a popover pan, but you can use a muffin tin - they will just be denser and more like a German pancake. A popover pan insures they are airy and light on the inside, and crispy on the outside. You can find one here!
To make your popovers, start with mixing your flour and milk and water together. Then add each egg one at a time and mix until incorporated. That's about it, once you've mixed it well and most the lumps have gone you're ready to bake! Set your oven to 400 degrees and pour just a bit of olive oil into the bottom of each tin, then set the tin in the oven for about 5 minutes, so the oil is nice and hot. Now you can pour your batter in, fill each cup about 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are nice and golden brown. Serve warm with raspberry butter!
Raspberry Butter
1 stick butter
1/4 cup raspberry jam or more depending on how sweet you like it
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
Let your butter come to room temperature and then mash it and the jam together with a fork. Mix in the powdered sugar and serve. Add less or more jam depending on how sweet you like it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!