Sunday, July 11, 2010

buttermilk popovers

I feel like you either know about popovers or you don't.
I guess, like most of this stuff, it could be a bit more complex. Maybe your mom made them when you were little, but they feel like a mystery to you now. Or maybe you've had them and loved them, but you've never made them, and they seem like they might be to hard because of all that puffing up.
Or maybe you've made them. Maybe you really know about them, and you make them all of the time. Because when you need to make something bready and eggy to serve with your soup or to top with your jam, what else would you make?
If that's your category, then hooray for you. If you're checking in for a minute here, procrastinating from whatever work you actually have to do on the computer, then go over to update your facebook status or tweet something or whatever. I've got nothing for you here today.
Except, actually, maybe I do, come to think of it.

The thing is, popovers might actually be one of the foods that Joey and I both make. They're just that good, that it's a skill we must absolutely both possess.

So this morning, as I stumbled grumpily into the kitchen reaching both hands in front of me in search of coffee beans, Joey announced that he was making popovers. And as I grunted and ground some coffee, he peaked in the fridge and noticed that we were suffering from an overwhelming supply of buttermilk.

What can I say. I've been doing a lot of experimenting lately.

The gears in his head started turning, and by the time I'd had my first sip of coffee, he finally had out with it.
"What do you think buttermilk would do to a popover?"
The sip of coffee finally gave me the gift of speech, and I said I thought it would do wonderful things to a popover. After all, buttermilk does wonderful things to everything.

And so it did. Astounding things, really. What this is is really the ultimate breakfast popover. This is not your lentil soup popover or your strawberry shortcake popover. It has a touch more body and whole lot more twang than those. This is the popover that sings with jam, that dances with butter, and that hoorays with coffee.
This is tomorrow morning, on a plate, and it's going to be a good one, friends.

Buttermilk Popovers

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ounce butter, melted
scant 1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 12-cup or 6-cup jumbo muffin tin. (go jumbo if you've got it) Combine all of the ingredients in the blender and blend on high for 30 seconds.
Fill the muffin cups nearly to the top with batter. Put in the oven.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN UNTIL THE TIMER BEEPS. DO NOT LET ANYONE OPEN THE OVEN. GUARD THE OVEN DOOR WITH YOUR LIFE.

Bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and poke each popover with a fork. Let cook for a few minutes and then serve immediately.

2 comments:

  1. These sound amazing! I love buttermilk and I love popovers, so this recipe is perfect--can't wait to try it.

    Alana, I started reading this blog a few weeks ago after it was mentioned in the College magazine, and I have really been enjoying your writing and all the great recipes. I believe you and I crossed paths a few times at the Cohns' house, when you were living there and I was babysitting Martha; and Joey and I had sophomore language together, I think. I wished then that I had had the time to get to know you, and after reading your blog I see we do have a lot in common! Too bad we live on opposite sides of the country (I live in Oregon now)...

    --Katy (Christopher) Davis

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  2. So nice to hear from you Katy! On two coasts or not, happy to be canning with you...

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