why oh why??

Last weekend was the Texas Book Festival. I hadn’t been for a few years, but the programming was so enticing and the weather was perfect for being outdoors, I really had no choice. I could have spent all day Saturday and Sunday, cloned myself, and still not heard all the speakers and panels I wanted to!

try this at home!!

One highlight was watching Lynne Rosetto Kasper craft three salads (in about 30 minutes total!) from How to Eat Weekends. She made it look so easy!

I was honored to meet Ellen Sweets, who was introduced by our own Addie Broyles. And, I heard Elizabeth Engelhardt speak and learned a little about the “tomato clubs”… I am looking forward to learning more as I read “A Mess of Greens”. It was quite a weekend!

Now, my question of the week is, who names these things? Why oh why is it called “Dutch Baby“? I’ve read all sorts of explanations, but none that really make sense to me. Anyone got a thought on this? Oh, and what is it, you may ask. Dutch Baby (I really must find something else to call it) is a sort of huge popover, or vegetarian Yorkshire pudding.

I don’t remember where I heard about it, but it sounded good, not over-the-top eggy (I’m not an eggs-in-the morning girl, remember), easy, and since my friend who was coming over for coffee is one I can set my watch by, safe to make for “company”.

It isn’t tricky at all, other than that it doesn’t sit around well. This is a pull-it-out-and-serve-it-up sort of dish. No worries, though, if you can trust your friends to be on time! Or, if you know them well enough to know they’ll be late (or early), time things accordingly!

It does make for a rather spectacular presentation. It soars above its pan, and it smells divine. My friend peeked into the oven (through the glass door – don’t open your oven or it will fall!!!) and said oh, Dutch Baby! So much for any element of surprise! Still she told me that she liked mine as it was slightly sweeter than hers, so here is my recipe and you are all welcome to it! You will need a heavy (cast iron is good) skillet with an oven-proof handle to make this work. I used an enameled cast-iron skillet and it worked fine. I think you could also use an oven-safe glass or ceramic skillet… try it out and see!

Dutch Baby

exploring new heights!

2 T butter for the skillet (see below)

2 large eggs at room temperature
2 T butter, melted
1/2 C flour
3 T vanilla sugar*
pinch of salt
1/2 C whole milk at room temperature

powdered sugar
fresh lemon

Preheat (with skillet inside) your oven to 375 degrees F. Once the oven is hot, add 2 T butter to the skillet. It should be well melted but not browned when you add the batter.

Once the butter goes into the skillet, place the remaining ingredients into a blender in the order listed above (so the flour won’t clump up in the bottom of the blender) and process for 30 seconds.

Carefully(very carefully,please!) pour the batter into the preheated buttered skillet. Bake (without opening the oven door to peek!!) on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are puffed and light brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and spritz with fresh lemon juice.

***

This one falls into the “crowd-pleaser” category. It gets “ahhhh’s”, and can be dressed with just sugar and lemon, or served with fresh berries or other fruit, whipped cream (yes, please), drizzled with chocolate sauce… you get the idea. And, its not just for breakfast! This makes a fine dessert or even an afternoon snack. Aside from the slightly creepy name I think this is something lots of you will enjoy. Let me know if you try it, and let’s come up with something else to call it, OK?

Have a great week and a safe Halloween!

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