Deceptively Easy Popovers

One of our family's Christmas traditions is eating a left-over lunch from our big Christmas Eve dinner with my mom's family (after spending all morning in our pj's playing with our new "toys"). The menu includes things like shrimp cocktail, spinach dip, and stuffed mushrooms, but new this year were these beauts: amazingly easy popovers, made in muffin tins (not requiring fancy popover pans,) full of tender, eggy, steaming goodness.

Side note: Did I mention that I gave up veganism over the holidays? I decided that a Christmas with my family as a vegan, would be quite depressing (for me and them) and that I would ease up to more vegetarian standards of eating.

The preparation of these puffed wonders couldn't be any easier, with only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time. Just be sure not to open the oven door or go stomping through the kitchen while they are baking, unless you want pancakes instead of popovers.

Here's the recipe (courtesy of Real Simple Magazine):

Secretly Easy Popovers

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-[urposr flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oven to 400° F. Brush the cups of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, butter, and salt until only a few lumps remain (do not over-mix).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake until puffed and a deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. (Do not open oven door before 30 minutes or the popovers will collapse. Remove 1 popover to check that the underside is browned.) Serve immediately.

I served these babies hot out of the oven with lemon curd and apricot-raspberry preserves. Every one was waiting intently at the table at the ready to dive in, each little puffed wonder billowing out steam as it was pulled apart and slathered with fruity goodness. They were a hit. I want to try a savory version in the future, incorporating fresh herbs (perhaps a lemon-thyme and black pepper popover?)

A New Year and Christmas Past

Hello 2012.

Much of what's happened in the last year has been joyful, exciting, and new, while other parts seemed uncertain, painful and sometimes monotonous. I am so excited for a new year- for new beginnings, new commitments and a fresh start.

I've heard before that man is a creature of cycles. We take comfort in the certainty and recurrence of things (weeks, seasons, years, etc). There's something about coming full circle to a time of reflection on the year past and the one to come. There's closure and there's expectancy and even though it's just another year, I am happy to have the reminder and reason to think about the future (and move forward from the past).

One of the last happenings of the year was Christmas celebrations with my family. Somewhere along the way I adopted a hand-made theme for my gift giving. For weeks leading up to Christmas, my room was strictly off limits to any outsider as it was transformed into what I liked to call Santa's Workshop. Card table was set up, sewing machine threaded, ironing board tripped over multiple times, and wrappings strewn haphazardly- it was a pretty awesome (though festive) disaster.

The result? A collection of work that was well received and so joyfully given. I loved the time contemplating and figuring out what I would make for each recipient.

I gathered the supplies for the gift for my brother and sister-in law a couple of weeks before Christmas. The crucial element was picked up from an abandoned, dilapidated barn down the street. I found the idea from this wonderfully creative blog and loved the concept of using the ampersand to convey the unity and love of marriage.

Finished product:

I want to adapt this idea in the future and try out different techniques, letters, shapes and materials. Mine is quite a bit smaller than my inspiration- about 17"x8". I used kite string found at my neighborhood hardware store and silver nails.

"Christmas is not a time or a season but a sate of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." Calvin Coolidge.