I quickly stopped into my favorite thrift store earlier this afternoon and found an assortment of treasures. The best among the haul was a six-cup non-stick popover pan. I've wanted a popover pan ever since a brunch at a friend's house a few months ago and discovered how hollow and high popovers can get when baked in a pan designed expressly for them.
When I was seven years old, I was given a cookbook called "For Good Measure: A Cookbook for Children." I loved this book and would pore over it, reading and re-reading the recipes for Hopscotch Scones, Brownies and Old Time Strawberry Jam. My favorite recipe, and the one I made over and over again on Saturday mornings for my babysitter and younger sister, was for popovers. On my last trip out to Portland, I went through most of my childhood books, packing up the ones I wanted to keep and getting rid of the rest. This first cookbook of mine went into the keep pile. It's a little musty from years of storage in my parents' garage and there are a couple of pages that are stuck together, but I still love it. You can find the popover recipe after the jump.Popovers from "For Good Measure"
Because it was designed for kids, this is a fairly basic recipe. There are others that require warmed milk, melted butter and the use of a blender. This one always seemed to turn out pretty well, but I admit that it's been about 20 years since I made it.
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
Crack egg into bowl. Add milk and beat with eggbeater (I always used a whisk) until blended. Add flour and salt and stir with wooden spoon. Try to get some of the lumps out, but don't worry if there are a few left. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, half full and place in cold over. Turn to 450 and bake for 30 minutes. Don't peek. Makes 4.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-12-2007 @ 9:02AM
Louisa said...
oh i love popovers! if anyone lives in new york city, the popover cafe on the upper west side has amazing homemade popovers and fresh strawberry butter...it's a great spot for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
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8-12-2007 @ 5:34PM
Allison said...
Marisa, always enjoy your submissions. As an ardent foodie, cookbook collector, but alas, also an anal-compulsive editor, I'm hoping you actually "pored" over your cookbook rather than "poured" -- or no wonder it smells a little musty and some pages are stuck together.
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8-12-2007 @ 6:57PM
Marion in Savannah said...
I don't know about non-stick popover pans. I was raised (starting 61 years ago) by a woman who made simply amazing popovers in cast iron muffin pans. It always amazed me as a child how such a small amount of batter could turn into such a BIG popover. MMMM... crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.... I'm drooling just remembering them!
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8-13-2007 @ 1:26PM
Fran said...
I make popovers in pyrex custard cups, like my great-aunt Clemma always did at her "camp" up in the Adirondacks. My family has never had good luck with any sort of popover pan. I got my custard cups at a church rummage sale, and I could use a couple more, for when I have visitors!
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9-26-2007 @ 10:56PM
Michelle said...
I did a fun Science In The Kitchen class this week with a group of 8 and 9 year olds. We made popovers and talked about why popovers "pop". One of the students told me he went home and made them for his family's dinner right afterwards :-)
I wrote a recipe and the explanation on my blog:
http://whatscookingblog.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/science-in-the-kitchen/
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