Bonus Recipe: American Popovers (2024)

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Ogden Nash On Popovers

Let’s call Yorkshire pudding
A fortunate blunder:
It’s a sort of popover
That turned and popped under

This funny American riff on the British Yorkshire Pudding, which were also called Laplanders, first appeared
in a domestic cookbook published in 1856. I have baked quite a few varieties, including some lamentable hockey pucks. My favorite version comes from a stained green brochure I have had for over 40 years, along with two wire-rimmed aluminized steel popover pans that we sold before the bakeware company, Chicago Metallic, pursued the deadly Teflon route. They have now switched to a safer silicone lined version. My daughters are looking to inherit one each. There are some pretty good homey recipes on the tattered pages, but the one I am most afraid to lose is the popover recipe.

This particular technique, which includes the preheated pan with a bit of melted butter in each indentation, will give you a nice but not too thick crust and a yummy custardy interior, just like that proper pillow that is the stuff of our dreams . I grease the interior of each cup as well as the lip, as the batter balloons over while baking. The volume of each cup is a bit over 1/2 cup (120ml), and I put just over 1/3 cup(80ml) in each one. Straining the batter through a fine sieve makes for a poofier finish. Have your towel- or napkin-lined basket or tray ready, the butter and jam on the table and your hot drink brewed, as these lovely morsels wait for no man, woman or child.

By the way, as a child, I loved reading, memorizing, reciting the short poems and limericks of’ Ogden Nash. So you might want to give a book of them to your children or grandchildren for a different sort of fun when you want your cell phone back. In the meantime, they might also enjoy the results of this easy-peasy popover recipe.