Popovers are one of my favorite breakfast and brunch treats. Here are a few tips for achieving success with popovers:
Always use large eggs when making popovers.
Stir the batter lightly before filling the popover tins or custard cups to keep the mixture well blended.
Bake popovers either in popover tins or in 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins
Grease and flour the tins or custard cups well to make the popovers easy to remove after baking.
Never open the oven door during baking. Just like souffles, cool air is detrimental to popovers, and the slightest draft can cause the popovers to fall.
Prevent overbrowning by placing the oven rack in the lower part of the oven so that the custard cups or popover tins will be in the center of the oven.
Experiment with popovers by using the recipe below.
Popovers MAKES 10 LARGE POPOVERS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and lightly flour 10 popover tins or custard cups. Set aside. Whisk together the butter, milk, flour and salt until smooth. Whisk in the beaten eggs, little by little, until incorporated. Do not overbeat the batter; it should have the consistency of thick cream. Fill the prepared popover tins or custard cups approximately three-fourths full with the batter. Transfer the tins or cups to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the heat of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the popovers for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Before you begin broiling, study these broiling tips from the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen:
Preheat the broiler before cooking, but don't preheat the pan and rack. Doing so can cause them to warp and may cause foods to stick. If you don't have a broiler pan, use a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan.
Position the broiler pan and its rack far enough away from the heat source so the surface of the food, not the rack, is the specified distance from the heat. Use a ruler to measure this distance. Slit the fat and membrane of a steak or chop at 1-inch intervals to prevent the edges from curling.
Brush melted butter or an herb-oil mixture on lean cuts of meat. This keeps the meat surface moist and adds flavor.
Sprinkle salt or seasonings on meat just before the food is turned or when it is brought to the table.
Use tongs, not a fork, to turn the meat--a fork will prick the meat and cause a loss of juices.
Perhaps nothing is as iconic to the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States as steamed hard-shell blue crabs. Summer in Maryland wouldn't be complete with sampling a few steamed crabs. If you've never learned to pick a crab before, here's the 101 Guide to Picking a Crab:
Let the crabs cool slightly before you handle them. Dump them onto sheets of brown paper or newspaper. Begin by breaking off the pincer claws and legs, and set them aside. Place the crab on its back, and insert the tip of a paring knife into the “apron,” the flap on the underside of the shell. Pull it up and back to pry off the shell. Next, pull out the gills and the “dead man” or "devil," the spongy matter surrounding the gills.
Fold the shell inward, and crack it in half. Cracking it inward, rather than outward, makes removing the meat easier. After pulling out the white top meat with your fingers, pull back on the back fin (it looks like a lump) near the back of the shell. This meat is particularly delicious.
Save the claws for last. Insert knife about a third of the way into the softish white joint, then twist to separate the claws into two pieces. Use a wooden mallet to crack the shells.
To see a step-by-step video demonstration of this process, visit the Web site of Obrycki's Crab House in Baltimore, Maryland, at www.obryckis.com.
Whether from a pick-your-own expedition at a local farm or from a purchase at the market, fresh cherries can quickly wilt from the summer sun and heat. If you plan to serve cherries fresh, place them in a bowl filled with ice cubes or crushed ice. The ice will keep them crisp and cool until you're ready to devour them. As the ice melts, replace it with a fresh supply.
Pitting Fresh Cherries
Fresh cherries are packed full of flavor. But removing the pits can be a cumbersome task. Make the job easier with a cherry pitter. These ingenious gadgets, available in fine cookware stores or online at www.cooking.com, can expertly pit dozens of cherries without making a mess of you and your kitchen. If you don't have a professional cherry pitter, try using a paper clip to pit cherries. Simply unbend the clip and use one of the ends to poke through the stem end of the cherry until you reach the pit. Push the pit through to the bottom of the cherry and remove the pit. Since cherry juice will leave stains, cover any clothing with an apron and wipe off stains immediately.
A basket filled with all of the ingredients necessary for making s'mores is a practical gift. The tasty campfire treat--whose name originates from the idea that they taste so good you'll want "some more"--first appeared in a 1927 book titled "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts." Choose a basket and line it with a clean dish towel (look in crafts stores for an assortment of baskets). Add a package of graham crackers, a bag of large marshmallows, a large chocolate bar, and roasting sticks tied up with a length of natural twine. To make the roasting sticks, you'll need 3-foot long hardwood sticks, approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. With a pocketknife, whittle one of the ends down to form a point for skewering a marshmallow. Smooth down any rough edges with a piece of sandpaper. Using a small drill bit, drill a hole in the opposite end of the stick to create a hanging loop--you'll always know where to look for your sticks. Cut a 12-inch length of waxed-linen twine, thread it through the hole, and tie a knot to create a hanging loop.
RECIPE S'mores
Ingredients:
Roasting sticks
Marshmallows
Graham crackers
Chocolate bars
Directions:
Use roasting sticks to toast marshmallows over a campfire or gas-burner flame.
Place one or two squares of chocolate on a graham-cracker square, place the hot marshallow on top and cover with another graham-cracker square.
Everything's coming up blueberries at the DeGrandChamp Farms in South Haven, Michigan. These blue beauties can be seen glistening in the sun on a warm summer's afternoon. Blueberries rank next to strawberries and peaches as one of the most popular summertime fruits. Here are a few tips on growing your own blueberries:
Plant blueberries along foundations or in a border garden. They not only produce delicious fruit, but they also are covered with pretty white, bell-shaped flowers in the spring. In the fall, the leaves turn a deep crimson creating a spectacular autumn display.
Select the type of blueberry plant that best suits your climate and the location you plan to grow them. For gardeners in moderate to cold climates, consider the hardiness factor of the plants before you purchase and plant them.
Pollination is essential to successfully growing blueberries. Cross-pollination between to different varieties is important in order to set a good crop of berries.
Two hardy varieties to consider for small backyard gardens in cold climates are 'Northblue' and 'North Sky.' They will survive winter temperatures to 35 degrees F. below zero. They also are sometimes called "half plants" because they only grow about 2 feet tall, but each plant will produce 4 to 7 pounds of berries. Blueberries from mail-order companies are usually shipped bare-root. Upon receiving them, check to be sure the root system is moist.
One look at a spaghetti squash and your child may back away from this unfamiliar object. Here's how to turn this late-summer vegetable into two child-friendly dishes: To cook a 2 1/2 to 3-pound spaghetti squash, halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly before using.
CANDIED Squash
While the squash cools, in a large skillet heat 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine until melted. Using a fork, remove the stringy pulp from the squash; discard. Cut the flesh into cubes and add to the skillet. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons maple syrup; cook and stir until heated through.
MOCK Spaghetti
While the squash cools, in a saucepan heat 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes. Using a fork, remove the stringy pulp from the squash; discard. Cut the flesh into thin strips and arrange on a serving platter. Top with the crushed tomatoes. Sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Healthy Snacking for Kids
When your children come running into the kitchen looking for a snack, they want something they can grab and eat. Freshly cut vegetables are always a great idea. Of course, it can be difficult to remind yourself to constantly replenish the supply. A simple solution: Just cut up that extra half of sweet pepper or leftover part of zucchini or cucumber whenever you're chopping the vegetables for a salad or for another dish. With bite-size vegetable pieces on hand (and a container of delicious accompanying dip), your children won't have to raid the pantry at snack time.
