Category Archives: Baking
tuesdays with dorie / baking with julia: popovers
I’m a day late, but I did make these on time. I’d never made popovers before though I’d had them at a very special place, many times.
One of my favorite spots on this Earth is Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Stone meets sea in this magical place. For many summers, we spent a week there, mostly hiking with an annual sea kayaking tour, and lots of lobster dinners. Another tradition was a post-hike snack on the lawn at the Jordan Pond House. I always ordered tea and piping hot popovers with strawberry jam, and Howard had ice cream and lemonade.
Howard on the lawn at the Jordan Pond House (Jordan Pond in the background)
I enjoyed the golden brown airy bread balls. Though they sell special popover pans in the gift shop, it was never inclined to try making them at home. I saved the treat for our summer excursions to Acadia.
I was amazed at the simplicity. Just a few ingredients combined in the blender, and the hot oven does most of the work. Since these are best served fresh out of the oven, I made just a third of the recipe (one egg’s worth). It had never occurred to me to start the day with these delights, but they were in the Morning Pastries section of the Baking with Julia book, so I made them for breakfast.
I don’t know whether it was my oven or my baking cups, but two of my popovers came out lopsided and the other had a valley in the center. The deformities didn’t impact the texture or taste. They were delicious spread with jam. I have to admit that I ate them all myself, and loved every bite. Next time I’m serving breakfast to overnight guests, I’m going to make these. The guests will be impressed, yet it will be oh, so easy!
This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie / Baking with Julia is hosted by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes and Amy at Bake with Amy where you can find the popover recipe. You can also find other takes on the popovers at the LYL post at Tuesdays with Dorie. Try them yourself. This recipe is quite a revelation.
The Olympics Are Over
Over the past two weeks, I haven’t said much about the Olympics, but I didn’t want them to pass unnoticed. I love the pomp and circumstance of the opening and closing ceremonies and, of course, the games themselves. I dutifully watched an hour or so each night between after-dinner and bedtime. While it’s great when USA wins gold, I like all the athletes and most all the sports, especially gymnastics, swimming, and track.
This year, I was skeptical of beach volleyball as a sport rather than a spectacle. When a night of men’s beach volleyball followed a night of women’s, it seemed clear to me that it was all about the bathing suits, but, by the end, when it was USA vs. USA for gold, I had to admit there was more to it than I originally thought.
My sister-in-law Sheryl sent me a fun Olympic baking set with cupcake wrappers and decorations. Much to Howard’s disappointment, I didn’t get around to making cupcakes, but I did make Olympic muffins and brought them to share at work. They were super cute. I made one batch of raspberry and one of cherry. I preferred the cherry.
Cherry Muffins
Makes 1 dozen
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
¼ tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners (or grease each cup well with butter).
Whisk together flour, powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mash half of the cherries with the sugar. This will moisten the sugar with the fruit’s juice. Stir in the almond extract. Add the fruit-sugar mixture, the remaining cherries, buttermilk, egg, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Divide batter into the muffin pans, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake 12-15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
It’s less than two years to wait for the next games in Winter 2014 to take place in Sochi, Russia. I can’t wait!
A Plateful of Happiness 