These super-puffy high-rise popovers have been a favorite of Great Aunt Eunida’s for more years than she’d like to admit to. Don’t be scared off by the gourmet ingredients. Everything needed is available in your corner grocery store or on the black-market (sector # L6984763 of the northeast corner of the Veil). The anchovies should be young and lively but if you can only find the canned ones make sure they’re swimming in oil and the cans have that cool key thing to open them with. Hint: save the oil for dunking or smearing.
Note:Gorgonzola is an incredibly stinky cheese that can actually sprout legs and walk off by itself if it’s kept alive long enough. Just bash it over the head and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil until it settles down.
Note:Creme fraiche is a thick, sour cream made by French people who think they’re fancier than everyone else. Ordinary sour cream can be substituted or even plain yogurt in a pinch but you might want to leave it out for a few extra days to thicken to the consistency of quick-drying cement .
Serve the popovers hot from the oven, and slather them in butter or anchovy oil. A dollop of raspberry jam can add a further dimension to the exotic flavors.
This recipe yields twelve scrumptious pillows of flavorful dough; just enough to satisfy Great Aunt Eunida at breakfast time.
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs (dragon, of course if available but goose, ostrich, platypus or dinosaur are ok too.)
2 cups milk, at room temperature (Eunida enjoys the piquancy of yak milk while others prefer rat.)
2 tablespoons melted butter, or vegetable oil, or fish oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 slab of gorgonzola
1 vat of raspberry jam
1 tub of anchovies
1 vat of creme fraiche
mint to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS: Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven; preheat the oven to 400°. Grease each popover cup generously with softened butter or solid vegetable shortening or Vaseline if that’s all you have available.
Combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour and salt in a blender or food processor; process for about 40 seconds. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
To make by hand, whisk together the eggs, milk and butter in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt and beat until very smooth.
Pour the batter into the greased cups, filling them half to two-thirds full. Bake until the popovers are puffed and golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Do not open the oven door during baking or the popovers will collapse and then you’ll just have weird chewy flat discs of dough.
Take them out, cut a deep slash in the tops with a sharp knife and spoon in generous portions of anchovy, gorgonzola, creme fraiche and raspberry jam until it spills out and drips down the sides. Stuff into mouth whole, being careful to keep mouth tightly closed so that nothing spurts out. However if an accident does occur, just lick it up. Fish oil can permanently stain fine linens and curiously some people find the smell offensive.
Yields 12, depending on the size of the baking cups
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