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.

Popovers for The Anxious One

My big girl is a bit anxious. Her tummy has been hurting her most of the time, and it just seems like the stresses of the world are getting under her skin. We can't quite seem to figure out how to ease her mind and her belly. Or maybe she's allergic to something? It's all a bit of a mystery. It's been weighing on me, I must admit.
And there's something else, too. The other day, she looked in the mirror and said, "My legs are fat." This has started a whirlwind of questions- why does my belly stick out? Why is Auntie Maia so skinny? (she's ten, and tall and willowy like her dad) and many more. Turns out a few boys on the playground told her she was fat.
And boom. Is that all my hard work out the window? I've always said that one of my prime goals as a mom is to raise girls who feel good in their bodies. And I'm really working on it. But what about the rest of the world? Can I put a sign on my children that says "If you make one comment on my child's body, I will personally kick your ass"?

We're working on finding the right answers to the questions.
"Everybody comes in different shapes, and they're all beautiful. "
"We eat wonderful healthy food, and this helps our bodies to be just the right shape."
And it seems most importantly, "I love you."

And what does all of this have to do with popovers? Not so much. But I'm feeling a little helpless, and you know how it eases my soul to pass along a recipe.

This is my old tried and true popover recipe, from the original Moosewood. The illustrious Adrienne Kane just posted a fruit popover recipe, and I have to say that in all of my years of making hundreds of popovers, it has never occurred to me to stick a berry in there. But what a good idea. These will be gorgeous when you open the oven, but they fall quickly. Don't worry about it, they're fabulous no matter what their shape is.

Custardy Popovers (with blueberries)
Adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
3 T butter, melted
1 T sugar
1 cup frozen blueberries (or fresh, or any other berry for that matter)

Preheat the oven to 375. Put a muffin tin in the oven.
Beat together the milk and eggs and sugar. Mix in the flour. The batter will be lumpy. When the oven is hot, take the muffin pan out. Pour the melted butter into each muffin cup, and smear a bit on the parts in between the cups. Pour the batter evenly into each cup (approx. 2/3 full). Divide the berries into the cups, putting a small handful into each cup over the batter. Back into the oven the tin goes.
This is the most important part. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN! Bake for 25 minutes. Then open the oven. Dance around because of the simplicity and wonderfulness of the popover. Or watch your kids dance around while you drink coffee. Eat while hot.

Makes 12 popovers.