Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Dessert

It's always time for Popovers

Popovers are super versatile and while they can be a little tricky (my first batch were a little dense and flat) they can go so many places once you figure it out. I have used a basic recipe from David Lebovitz author of “Room for Dessert” and “The Great Book of Chocolate,” (his latest book, “The Sweet Life in Paris,” will be published in May) to make several variations including delectable savory popovers. You will definitely have the best result if you can get ahold of a popover pan (I found mine at target for $10) one pan makes 9 popovers and that was plenty for what I am doing if you plan to serve them for a larger group or a dinner party you may want two pans because they really are best fresh from the oven served quickly.

I will give you two versions of the recipe one sweet and one savory to give you an idea of how I use the popover base. Then I hope you will run amuck with this great quick bread discovery!

Sweet Popovers
Great for breakfast or dessert
Ingredients:
1 ½ c. whole wheat pastry flour *you could use all purpose flour or half whole wheat half all purpose if you can't find the whole wheat pastry flour
1 c. milk
½ c. almond milk *optional you could use all cows milk
¼ c. maple syrup *you could use brown sugar, honey, or agave syrup
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tbl butter, melted
2 tbl cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425° and grease popover pan with cooking spray or a little butter.
2. Mix milk, eggs, syrup, butter and salt until light a foamy; you can use a hand mixer or a blender.
3. Add the flour a little at a time and mix until smooth and bubbly.
4. Quickly pour the mix into the pan filling the cups 2/3 of the way full. They are going to bake up above the rim like puffy golden brown balloons so don't worry about how much goes in each cup.
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°, until the puffs are well above the rim of the pan then reduce heat to 350º and continue to bake for 20-25 min. The popovers should be a dark brown, if you take them out to early the centers will not be finished and they will fall inwards. Give them the full amount of time and resist the urge to remove to soon.
6. Remove from the oven, give them a quick minute to cool and remove them from the pan. Serve immediately!

Serving suggestions:
Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
Brush with butter drizzle with honey and serve with fresh fruit
Brush with butter and drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with toasted candied nuts
Top with whipped cream and serve with fresh fruit or your favorite berry coulisse or syrup

Or you can serve them how I did in the pictures with a cream cheese lemon glaze and strawberries.
Cream cheese lemon glaze:
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2-3 large lemons juiced
4 tbl cream cheese
½ tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer until a smooth glaze forms. You can adjust the thickness to suite your preferences by slightly altering the ratio of the cheese/ juice/sugar ratio.

Savory Popovers
Great for serving alongside dinner or lunch, I suspect they can replace many starches or grain side dishes.
Ingredients:
1 ½ c. whole wheat pastry flour *you could use all purpose flour or half whole wheat half all purpose if you can't find the whole wheat pastry flour
1 ½ c. milk
4 large cloves of garlic
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 small onion
¼ c. finely shredded hard cheese *I used an aged parmesan with black truffles
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh chopped herbs and fresh ground black pepper:
I used rosemary and thyme but you could use basil and oregano or any favorite savory combo.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425° and grease popover pan with cooking spray or a little olive oil.
2. Smash the garlic cloves and roughly shop the onion, then gently heat them along with the olive oil in a skillet until fragrant. (Do not heat on too high of heat you just want to infuse the oil with lots of flavor.) Remove the oil from heat and let return to room temperature; remove the chucks of garlic and onion. If you are using dried herbs you might get a better result if you add them to the warm oil to help release their flavor.
2. Mix milk, eggs, infused oil and salt until light a foamy; you can use a hand mixer or a blender. If you are using a blender you could even through in a clove or two of the garlic and a few chunks of the onion.
3. Add the flour and cheese a little at a time and mix until smooth and bubbly.
4. Quickly pour the mix into the pan filling the cups 2/3 of the way full. They are going to bake up above the rim like puffy golden brown balloons so don't worry about how much goes in each cup.
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°, until the puffs are well above the rim of the pan then reduce heat to 350º and continue to bake for 20-25 min. The popovers should be a dark brown, if you take them out to early the centers will not be finished and they will fall inwards. Give them the full amount of time and resist the urge to remove to soon.
6. Remove from the oven, give them a quick minute to cool and remove them from the pan. Serve immediately!

Notes and Serving Suggestions:
You could use pan drippings from bacon instead of the oil and substitute some sharp cheddar for a breakfast version to serve alongside eggs.
You could use these in place of rolls at any meal.
I recently served mine under beef tips with a mushroom and red wine reduction alongside some grilled asparagus.
I could also see them as an accompaniment to soup or served with a few slices of cheese along with a salad.

April Events at Vinology

Vinology in Ann Arbor Michigan is celebrating local wine this month.

Vinology has committed to sourcing as much of their food locally as possible, of course this means that they are also going to be featuring Michigan wine pairings to really showcase the best of what local producers have to offer. They have two major events this month both are sure to be amazing evenings filled with fine food and wine.

Wine Tasting Wednesday April 15th 7-9 pm

A blind tasting of wines from around the world. The challenge is to pick out the local selections. A relaxed, enlightening atmosphere will be the canvas for discussion with a focus on the textures, aromas, and flavors of what you will be tasting.

Cheeses and charcuterie served along with 6-8 wines.

$35 per person (plus tax and gratuity)

Reservations requested 734-222-9841

Wine Dinner Wednesday April 29th 7 p.m.

A four course meal from Chef Brandon's Michigan inspired hyper-local cuisine will be served along side delicious award winning local sparkling varietals. If this were not enough, Larry Mawby, of Mawby Vineyards and M. Lawrence Sparkling Wines will be joining you for a seminar on local wine making.

$60 per person (plus tax and gratuity)

Reservations required 734-222-9841

I hope you will take the opportunity to enjoy all of the amazing events Vinology has to offer and if you do attend an event please tell me about it.

Befelicitas@gmail.com

Best wishes,

Brittney

Vinology

www.vinologyrestaurant.com

110 S. Main St.

Ann Arbor, MI

48104

Traditional Herb Rubbed Hens

Accompanied by the most amazing pan toast!

Those of you who have never given the pan drippings of roasted foul a second thought this post may change your universe. I for one, had never been a huge fan of gravy from chicken but I usually used the pan drippings for stock bases and other recipes. Now I am a total convert to "pan" toast. The first time I tried this method of roasting I shamelessly burnt two of the toasts and yet I ate them regardless of the blackened appearance. I couldn't help myself one piece was just not enough; I had to have more. This is coming from the girl who has here toaster permanently set to light; but there I was eating the most glorious toast burnt and all. Since then I have made a few cooking adjustments and now my "pan" toast in the perfect incarnation of savory, golden, crispy, heaven. I can not tell you in any amount of words how easy and how amazing this method is, you will just have to take my word for it and try it yourselves.

I like to use Cornish Game Hens but any whole bird would be fine.

Ingredients:
2 cornish game hens
4 slices of hearty bread *I use ½ inch thick slices of rustic bread that may be a little stale
1 small lemon
1 small onion
½ head of garlic about 6 cloves total
½ c. extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°
Pat your birds dry with a paper towel
Rub inside and out with olive oil
Peel and smash garlic cloves (you could roughly chop them if you prefer)
Slice lemon in halve and onion in quarters
Stuff birds with one half the lemon in each along with the garlic, onion and some bunches of fresh thyme and rosemary.
Rub the outside of the birds with fresh pepper and sea salt, along with some pieces of thyme and rosemary.
Place the sliced bread in a roasting pan in a single layer drizzle with a little olive oil and with as little or as much of the spice/herb mixture as you like. *I usually just go with a little salt and pepper.
Place birds directly on top of the bread, you want to completely cover the bread.
Place in oven uncovered for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until birds are deeply golden brown.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 min before carving.

Notes:
The toast will not be soggy I promise! You will have to worry about burning them to a crisp before you worry about mushy toast. I have no idea why this works only that it does and the flavor of the toast is unbeatable. Serve these little hens with the pan toast and some fresh steamed greens and you will get people begging on their knees for your secret to the most amazing toast ever. (The secret of which is to cover the toast with the birds to avoid the burning if I haven't made that totally clear.) I also save all of the stuff from the inside of the birds for use in stock later in the week.

With Love
Brittney