The Easiest of Popovers

Popovers are those amazingly delicious little puffs of bread often only relegated to restaurant or bakery consumption.  But really this shouldn't be the case! They are so easy. And versatile - savory or sweet, fancy or plain, they are just too tasty not to make everyday!  OK, maybe not everyday. I'd need new pants if that were the case. 

We had friends coming over for drinks before dinner one night, and I needed to whip something up quickly! Roasted garlic popovers and Sancerre. Perfect. 

Ingredients:

8 oz milk

4 oz flour

2 oz egg (approximately two large eggs)

Salt 

Melted butter to grease the muffin tin

Directions:

1. Mix milk and eggs add flour and salt, stir to combine

2. Refrigerate batter for at least 30 minutes (I had an hour, so I let mine sit that long), preheat oven to 450

3. Melt the butter over medium heat and coat each muffin cup with melted butter, be sure to leave an extra drop or two in the bottom of the popover (or muffin) pan

4. Distribute the batter evenly across all of the muffin tins, making sure not to fill any cup more than 3/4 of the way so the popovers have room to rise

5. Cook at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and cook another 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven) 

6. Serve hot with extra butter, if you so desire (and seriously, who doesn't?) 

Milk and eggs:

Dry ingredients into wet:

After one hour in the refrigerator:

Filling the muffin tin 3/4 of the way:

Golden brown, puffy and popped-over:

Have you ever made a popover before? Hope you enjoy...

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Brown Butter Banana Bread

I'm a fair-weather banana fan.  Sometimes I'm into them, other times I can't be bothered. But banana bread? I always have time for that. This recipe couldn't be easier or faster. Add what you like, omit what you don't.

Ingredients:

8oz flour

4oz sugar

2tsp baking powder

1tsp sea salt

1tsp cinnamon

6oz milk

2 whole eggs

2oz butter, browned*

1-1/3cup bananas, mashed (I used 3 medium-sized, very ripe bananas)

*same technique as this cookie recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a loaf pan and set aside

2. Weigh dry ingredients with a basic kitchen scale, stir to combine

3. Brown the butter

4. Measure the wet ingredients, add browned butter and mashed bananas, stir to combine

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until just incorporated

6. Transfer to a 9"x5" loaf pan and cook for 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean

What you'll need:

Dry ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

Fresh out of the oven:

Cooled finish product:

What's your favorite way to use ripe banana? Hope you enjoy...

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

How To Juice A Lemon

This is not a joke. As in, I am actually writing about how I juice a lemon. Ground breaking news here, readers!

I don't have a juicer at home (although I did register for one, so it might be in my future), so I was forced to find another method. And another method I found!

I wish I could tell you when I started using this lemon juicing tip. But I can't remember! It's been that long. 

This method is not only efficient, but it also works very well without getting your hands dirty. Efficiency and cleanliness -- sign me up. 

What you'll need:

1 set of tongs

1 knife 

1 bowl

1 lemon

Directions:

1. Cut the lemon into two halves 

2. Over a bowl, place one lemon half inside the open tongs, cut side down, and gently close the tongs to secure the lemon half

3. Squeeze the tongs to juice the lemon

4. Repeat with second half if desired 

And there you have it, folks. How to juice a lemon.

So, what do you think? How do you juice a lemon?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf