Saturday, November 7, 2015

Puffed With Yummy Goodness

If you want fun eating then make any kind of popover. These are a quick bake and taste delicious with anything sweet or savory. Best of all even the most novice of home chefs can whip them up without any trouble. Making a batch is as easy as gobbling them down.

Popovers are the American cousins to Yorkshire pudding. it was settlers from Maine who brought it over and changed the recipe somewhat.A bit of garlic was added to the batter  along with herbs and, of course the drippings from the roast beef. These were also made with pork drippings, a slight variation from the Yorkshire recipe. The modern popover has a buttery taste thanks to just the basic recipe.it's just eggs , flour milk and salt. If you are making a roast beef, then by all means use the dripping to flavor the puffs - although to be honest the first thing everyone will do is ladle copious amounts of gravy over them. Their parent , Yorkshire pudding is another easy bake and so delicious with a good roast.The recipe began in the 1730's when wheat flour became more widely available . Cooks began to use drippings from beef and mutton for extra taste and moisture. These were called dripping puddings and were in English cuisine for centuries before. This variation was taken from a recipe originating in Burgundy France. Yorkshire pudding has more eggs than popovers along with a tablespoon or two of meat drippings for ruchness


Popovers came come in bigger ,single servings. Melissa Clark wrote about one, a Dutch baby or Dutch  puff in her A Good Appetite column in last Wednesday's New York Times Food section. The dish is usually meant to be a sweet one, served with lemon and powdered sugar as a breakfast dish. She takes it to another level by creating a savory one thanks to the addition of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (you could use Gruyere) along with fresh thyme.. Twisting the recipe this way makes it somewhat similar to the French gougere, the savory cheese puff made with cheese. These are a little more complicated to whip up , thanks to the complexities of the batter. If you're a novice home chef then the Dutch baby is for you.The simple puff pancake was  derived from the German pfannkuchen, and were renamed by one of the owners at Manca's CafĂ© in Portland Oregon in 1942. Another name is David Eyre pancake named after the famed New York Times food writer. It' a baked pancake that  included for color and better texture too.You can also make a plain one, simply laced with nutmeg or cinnamon. it has to be eaten straight from the oven , usually with maple syrup or powdered sugar and lemon.

If you want fun make popovers for a nice treat at breakfast, dinner or dessert. If you're selfish, then make a puffy , airy Dutch baby. Any kind is  just a golden cloud of deliciousness.