Popovers

The Man left for work before I got up and won't be home until tonight. 13 1/2 hour day, anyone? No, thank you. I'm going to spend the day enjoying myself at home, as usual. Today I shall attempt to sew a shirt. Given the results of previous attempts, I don't really have high hopes. I'm having trouble cutting out the dumb thing. But enough of that.

To start my morning right, I made popovers. I guess I've been thinking about Maine lately, and that has put me in the mood for them. If you've never been to Maine, I'm guessing you don't get the connection. Its Jordan Pond.

The mountains in the background are known as the Bubbles.

The path around Jordan Pond

They say that it is tradition to have tea and popovers with strawberry jam at the Jordan Pond House. We had never done it before our most recent trip to Maine, simply because its not exactly cheap and its always packed to the gills with people. You sometimes have to drive around the parking lot a few times to get in. But once you do, you can sit out on the lawn and gaze down towards the Pond and the Bubbles and eat your popovers.

Anyway, this is where we were last year around this time and I'm wishing we could go back.

I have been thinking about buying a popover pan, and haven't done it, although you can get them here or here or even here. I tried a recipe the other day that didn't work that well. Can't remember exactly where I got it, but it was either AllRecipes or some Google search that turned up a recipe that supposedly came from the Jordan Pond House cookbook. They just didn't puff very much.

Today I located the recipe that I've used before with success in my muffin pan. Its from Williams-Sonoma.


Popovers

4 c milk
8 eggs
3 2/3 c flour
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Put your popover pan (I used a muffin pan) in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees (make sure that the rack gives your popovers plenty of room to expand!) while you make the batter.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until just warm to the touch (about 125 degrees). (Or if you're me, put it in a glass measuring cup and pop it in the microwave)

In a large bowl, mix the ingredients just until blended, and then beat for 1 minute. Pass it through a sieve to remove any lumps (I didn't bother, of course).

Remove pan from the oven and spray with nonstick cooking spray (its probably a good idea to spray the top of the pan too, if you're using a muffin pan, because it will run over a bit). Pour the batter into the cups and bake until the popovers are puffed and golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Serve hot.

Makes 12 regular popovers (if you use a muffin pan, I'd say it makes about 24, so I halved it).

The Williamsville Inn, West Stockbridge, Massachusetts