Simple Scallion and Cheddar Cheese Popovers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...What do you serve with a soup or stew that spans the seasons? Popovers are a great idea, especially if you can find a version that your family will find interesting. I found this very simple recipe in Family Circle magazine and it immediately appealed to me because of its cheesy goodness and the ease with which it came together. The finished popover is moister than its more ordinary cousins, but the flavor of this savory, especially when served warm, is outstanding. This is a two bowl and wooden spoon affair, so you'll need no special equipment to assemble the popovers. You will, however, want to liberally coat the muffin cups or popover pans with nonstick spray. These puppies cling tenaciously to the pan and it would be a shame to spoil their appearance with tears or knife wounds. I must admit I had a couple that looked like they had gone a round or two with Mike Tyson. We ate them anyway. It is important to serve these warm. They become unpleasantly moist if they are allowed to sit for any length of time. You can, however, rewarm them successfully. While I thought the popovers were O.K., the Silver Fox really enjoyed them. The recipe speaks for itself. If you are looking for a different bread to serve with meals, you might want to give this recipe  a try. Here is how the popovers are made.

Scallion and Cheddar Popovers...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Family Circle magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup (about 4-oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 scallions, trimmed and chopped

Directions:
1) Coat 6 cups of a popover or 8 cups of a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Fill empty cups with 1/2 inch of water (so as not to burn pan). Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
2) In bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In second bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Fold in cheese and scallions.
3) Fill prepared cups about 3/4 full (about 1/3 cup batter in each). Bake at 450 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and puffed. Keep oven closed until end of baking time or popovers will deflate.
4) Remove popovers from oven and immediately remove from pan. Pierce sides once with a knife to release steam. Serve warm. If needed, reheat at 350 degrees F. for 5 minutes to crisp outside edges. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.







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50 Women Game Changers in Food - #16 Maida Heatter - Popovers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Almost all cooks recognize her name, and her skills were such that Craig Claiborne called her "one of the world's best home dessert makers." Maida Heatter is one of those cooking phenoms that occasionally appear on the scene. She was trained in fashion design and initially earned her living as an illustrator and jewelry designer. She had no training as a pastry chef, yet using skills learned from her mother, she adapted old recipes and created new ones that eventually led to the publication of eight cookbooks, each of which had precise and foolproof recipes that could be made by the average home cook. She came to cooking through the back door. Her husband's job required long stretches of time away from home and to put an end to that, they opened a coffee bar that he managed while she did the baking. Customers asked her to give cooking lessons. She was happy to accommodate them and became a local food celebrity as the size of her classes grew. A publicity stunt moved her career as a baker into high gear in 1968. The Republican Party was holding its convention in Miami and she and her husband decided to put elephant meat on the menu. The stunt was covered by the press and brought Craig Claiborne to their restaurant. He loved her desserts and was so impressed with them that he urged her to write a cookbook. Her first cookbook, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, was the result of that suggestion. Her special gift has always been the clarity of her recipes and the helpful tone and tips she used in her instructions. She has remained constant and helpful through the years and the sales of her books reflect that. She really has earned her position on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in food. The recipe I have chosen to represent her work will puzzle a lot of folks. I decided to feature her recipe for popovers despite its simplicity and lack of glitz. This was the first of her recipes that I tried, and I have some sentimental attachment to it. Here's the recipe as it appeared in 1966 .

Popovers...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Maida Heatter

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter, for greasing the molds
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease 10 4-ounce heatproof pottery custard cups (or a muffin or popover pan) with butter. Arrange cups (or muffin or popover pan) on a baking sheet.
2) Beat eggs lightly, then add milk and melted butter and stir to combine. Gradually stir in flour and salt. Beat just until mixture is smooth. Do not overbeat. If the mixture is not smooth, strain it.
3) Pour mixture into a pitcher and then pour into custard cups. Fill cups almost to the top.
4) Bake for 50 minutes. Do not open oven door during baking.
5) After 50 minutes, remove popovers from oven, cut several slits in the top of each and return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove popovers from the cups. Makes 10 popovers.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Maida Heatter today. I hope you'll visit all of them. They are all great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Nancy - Picadillo


Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Dorothy Hamilton. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Saturday, September 24th.

Popovers and Strawberry Butter - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... Easter and Passover will soon be here and I wanted to make sure I posted holiday recipes in time for your consideration. At Bob's suggestion, I'm going to begin with breakfast or brunch dishes that are unusual or will make entertaining a house full of people easier. I have two recipes to share with you today. One of them is a decade old recipe for popovers that was developed by Pam Anderson. Her recipe is unusual because it uses instant blending flour and that eliminates the wait time that is necessary to relax the gluten in all-purpose flour. That means that you can mix and bake popovers and have them on the breakfast table within an hour. You're probably familiar with the instant blending flours and use them for browning or thickening soups or stews. This type of flour goes through a special milling process that gives it a granular form that is much like sugar. It's perfect for sauces and gravies because it dissolves easily in liquids. Some restaurants use it to help brown meat. It can also be used for batters, quick breads, muffins and cakes. If you haven't had popovers for a holiday breakfast or brunch I hope you'll give them a try. They are really easy to make and when served warm with a fruit butter they are a real treat. The second recipe is for a strawberry butter that is a perfect accompaniment to the popovers. It, too, is easy to make. Here are the recipes.

Popovers...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Pam Anderson

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups instant blend flour (i.e. Wondra)
1 teaspoon slt
1-1/2 cups skim milk
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
1) Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or cups of 2 popover pans with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. Mix eggs, milk and butter in a 1-quart measuring cup. Beat egg mixture into flour mixture until batter is smooth. Return batter to measuring cup. Return batter to 1-quart measure and pour into prepared cups, filling each three-fourths full.
3) Bake, without opening oven door, until popovers are crisp and golden, about 35 minutes. Twist gently to loosen from pan, then cool. Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

Strawberry Butter...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons strawberry puree or preserves

Directions:
Beat butter and cheese in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and strawberry puree and beat to combine. Transfer to a 1-cup ramekin. Cover with clear plastic wrap and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving. Yield: 1 cup.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Gluten-Free Pancakes - One Perfect Bite
Maple Butter - One Perfect Bite
Brussels and Liege Waffles - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.