Just 'Popover' for a Visit

Back in December of 2008 I attended a culinary class titled "Old English Holiday Feast".  I think that perhaps this was a feast in some very wealthy home as it started out with lobster bisque.  Yummy.  We then had a roasted prime rib with horseradish and mushroom sauce and those recipes are what I used for my Christmas dinner this year.  Along with that, we had popovers. 

When I was planning this dinner, one of my sons suggested we try popovers.  I had never made them myself.  I did not even own a popover pan.  We looked up several recipes online and they were all over the place.  The recipe from my class called for half and half and heavy cream, something not in any other recipe.  It also had a relatively short cooking time compared to some online which took almost 45 minutes to bake.

So, in deciding to give it a try, I made four popovers in a muffin tin.  They were just okay and a little too eggy for me.  I sent an email to a blogging buddy, Jo, and asked for suggestions.  She had never heard of using cream or olive oil.  She also asked if I had let the batter sit before baking, which I had not done.  None of the recipes we found mentioned that. 

Undaunted, I went ahead and ordered a popover pan.  I made a chart of all the recipes I found online and they were all over the map.  No consistency in the egg, liquid, flour ratio.  No consistency in baking times and temps except for the instruction not to open the oven.  Not wanting to practice making popovers all week before Christmas, I took my recipe from class, changed it up a little, followed Jo's suggestions, and went ahead on Christmas Day.

The result was like a new sporting event.  When the popovers went in the oven, we turned the oven light on and stood in front of the glass door watching them 'pop'.  I personally would have left them in a little longer, but everyone was saying 'take them out'.  They were good, but unfortunately a little deflated by the time we got them to the table and started passing the food.  (Actually, there is another story here about the green bean mishap that I will save for another post.)

Here is the pic again from Christmas Day:

And here is the recipe for the Yorkshire puddings I made.  If you are making them without a roast, use butter in the pan instead of the drippings.  My thanks to Jo for her suggestions, and to Chef Marcus Haight for the original recipe, which I modified (heavy cream?  really?).

Popovers
Makes 12

Ingredients:
2 cups half and half, at room temperature
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
salt and white pepper
roast drippings

Directions:
It is very important that the ingredients be at room temperature.  You can warm the half and half in the microwave if need be and if the eggs have not been sitting out long enough, place them in a container of warm water.  The batter should be made ahead and allowed to sit for at least one hour. 

In a medium sized bowl, whip the half and half and flour together till smooth.  Add the eggs and whip until well-combined.  Add salt and pepper (I never measure just sprinkle some in).  Mix well till a little frothy.  Strain the batter into a container with a lip for pouring (you will have about three cups of batter) and let sit at room temperature.

When the roast is done, take the fat drippings from the roast and strain well.  Add one teaspoon of fat to each of the wells in the popover pan.  Spray the tins with baking spray to facilitate removal.

Set your oven at 400 F in the convection mode.  (If your oven automatically adjusts for convection baking, you may need to set it at 425.  Just make sure it is 400 and the fan is running.)  

Once the temperature is reached, place the pan with the drippings or butter in the oven for two minutes.  Remove the pan and fill each well with about 2 ounces of batter, about 3/4 full.

Place in oven for 15 minutes without opening the door.  I personally would have let mine go a little longer - five minutes more?  Just don't let them burn!

As for our dessert at the holiday meal, we had hot raspberry souffle with chocolate sauce.  I may just have to try making that next.