Wouldn’t it be hilarious if there was a Crisis Addict’s Cookbook and it had instructions like, “Let the dough sit for exactly thirty minutes at room temperature or your children will hate you and you will die alone?”
Anyway, thanks for all your advice about popovers. I made them from this mix by King Arthur Flour, which is cheating but I was making a big fancy dinner and I thought it would be fine to cheat on the popovers. They’re in the oven at this very moment, where I have been advised NOT TO LOOK AT THEM because they are fragile creatures and will fall into sad little dough blobs who will never get into a good college if they are exposed to even a tiny bit of peeking before are baked to a golden brown.
This is why I don’t bake. I like dishes that can withstand a lot of stirring, fussing, adapting and accidents. I like recipes that are survivors, dammit!
By the way, we’re having Haystacks for dessert.
Melt one bag semi-sweet chocolate chips and one bag peanut butter chips in sauce pan set over two stove burners placed on top of each other.
Stir in one bag of chinese chow mein noodles and about a cup or so of unsalted party peanuts.
Scoop out onto waxed paper. Chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving. Makes a great Christmas gift. Because, seriously, get these out of the house as fast as you can.
We make haystacks – but we use butterscotch instead of PB and cashews instead of peanuts! I love them!
That’s why they make oven lights. You can peek in there without opening the oven door, and the popovers wil not be the wiser for it. [I know. I did peeked. And squealed when I saw that they had actually popped up! – PB]
Popovers? How cute! They’re also known as Yorkshire Puddings, this side of the Atlantic. For best results, pour the batter into SMOKING HOT oil/fat in a muffin tray, then whack them back into a really hot oven until they’re risen and crispy brown. Letting the batter sit, preferably overnight in the fridge, before cooking, is also beneficial.
Those haystacks (otherwise known by the slightly less euphonious name of “nutty-noodly clusters” are THE Christmas cookie from my childhood, with one alteration–butterscotch chips instead of peanut butter. I have stuff to make them in my cupboard and our porch is even cold enough to put them outside to chill, rather than in the freezer (as long as we watch out for squirrels). I think I’ll get my girls to make some today, since they’ve already eaten up most of their Christmas candy.
(Oh, and they do make a great Christmas gift, unless you’re like me and you put the tin full of them on the radiator at school when you bring them to your teacher.) [Oh noes! *sad trombone* -PB]
I made some butterscotch ones, too! They were SOOO sweet I couldn’t tolerate them. But amazingly enough I DID manage to eat 3 or 4. *rolling eyes* I am now giving them ALL away. Haystacks in the house are dangerous. But I hadn’t thought of using cashews. YUM. – PB
Thanks to you and my Evil Adopted Baby Sister, I have made popovers twice recently, just for my ownself. Try this someday when you’re at home and the popovers aren’t critical: Preheat oven to 450. Grease two or three custard cups or a muffin tin, whichever you have. Half-bakedly beat an egg with a whisk, then add a half-cup each of flour and milk, and a dash of salt, and mix till still kinda lumpy. Fill the cups about halfway and bake about 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake about 15 minutes more, or till deep golden brown.
Oh, and thanks for the stewy sausage soup recipe: It combines two of my favorites–Portuguese kale-bean-sausage soup and 15-bean soup with tomatoes, onions, and ham. I now have a vat of it, ready to put into single-serving freezer containers for easy brown-bagging.
[Well yummy yummy yummy! Thanks for the popover recipe!- PB]