Perfect Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Somehow, someway, the holiday season is already in full swing.  I feel like it was just summer time, as if I was just running errands in flip flops and out walking Dexter in shorts and a tank top.  Come to think of it, I was just wearing flip flops and tank tops.  I live in Arizona now, after all.  Unseasonably warm weather aside, December crept up on me this year.  2011 in general has been a whirlwind, but these last few months in particular have flown by.  I know that Christmas morning will be here before I know it, which means I better get a move on my Christmas shopping.

As much as I like buying the perfect gift for a loved one, I'd rather make someone's face light up through the perfect holiday meal instead.  Cooking in my kitchen, glass of wine in hand, is simply more enjoyable, as far as I'm concerned, than fighting the crowds at the mall during this time of year.

Growing up, my family spent Christmas Eve celebrating with several other families.  Each family provided a certain dish of either ham, dips, appetizers or a simple dessert.  The idea was to mix and mingle and munch.  Every Christmas morning my mom would make breakfast burritos and cinnamon rolls, keeping the food simple so that she could spend as much time with my brother and I, helping us set up and play with our new toys Santa had so lovingly left beneath the tree.

As I get older, I am starting to think about the traditions I want to eventually instill in my family.  Do I want to go the way of a Christmas feast, complete with a roasted rack of lamb, or do I want to follow in my mother's footsteps, providing an uncomplicated, yet heart warming menu.  Knowing myself, I'll probably do a little bit of both.  But there is one item I know I'll include.  It has that impressive quality that I typically like to showcase, but it's also deceptively simple to make.  Enter the popover.

I can always count on popovers to induce "oohing and ahhing" from my guests.  Not only are popover's sky high heights a sight to behold, but they are also airy, eggy and simply delicious.  I usually serve popovers with a side of honey butter.  This time around, however, I thought I'd try something a little different, strawberry butter.  Boy, am I glad I did.  This butter helps popovers make the move from  simple side to main event, tasty enough to be served up as dessert.

Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Recipe Adapted from Neiman Marcus via Grouprecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups whole milk

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

6 large eggs, at room temperature

Strawberry Butter (recipe follows)

* special equipment: nonstick popover pan

Directions:

1. Place milk in a bowl or glass measuring cup and microwave for two minutes or until warm to the touch.  Set aside.

2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together into a large bowl.  Crack eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, whisk on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until foamy.  Turn mixer speed down to low and gradually add the warm milk.  Next, gradually add the flour mixture and beat for 2 minutes.  Let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour. 

3. Preheat oven to 450º F.  Spray popever pan generously with nonstick spray.  Fill each well almost to the top with batter and place the popover pan on a cookie sheet.  Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn the heat down to 375º F and continue to bake for 10 minutes longer, until the popovers are deep golden brown.  Remove pan from oven, pop out the popovers and let cool on a wire rack.  Serve hot with Strawberry Butter. 

* There will be extra batter left over.  Just set aside and use once the first batch of popovers are finished.

Makes approximately 18 popovers

Strawberry Butter

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature

1/2 cup good quality strawberry preserves

Directions:

1. Place butter in a medium sized bowl and beat with an electric mixture until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the strawberry preserves and continue to beat until fluffy, about 2 more minutes. 

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

I am writing this post with extreme jubilation.  Or perhaps it's just the after effects of pure relief.  I had an intensely nightmarish occurrence happen to me last week.  My computer crashed.  Upon updating the software on my laptop, only after I was prompted to, the only activity I could get out of it was a blank, white screen.  After doing a little research, I quickly learned that this screen has been maliciously dubbed "the white screen of death."  My heart sank.  My stomach dropped.  I was suddenly unable to swallow past the lump in my throat.  And a single tear ran down my cheek (followed shortly by an unstoppable river).  All of my photos, music, recipes and meticulously crafted spreadsheets (oh yeah, in case you didn't know, I'm OCD- it's unofficially diagnosed, but painfully apparent- I like to think of it as "super-duper-organized").  Basically my whole life was digitally saved and compressed onto this one, tiny little laptop.

I suddenly felt like Carrie Bradshaw.  Everyone started asking me if I had "backed-up." To which I would reply with a snarl.  Backing-up had never occurred to me, even though I had seen that particular episode where Carrie's computer crashes and she loses everything she had ever written.  How could I be so naive?  So before I had the chance to take my laptop into the Apple store and receive it's official sentence, I mourned the death that I was certain had befell my computer.  This is the point where my dad, mom, and brother would all tell me I was over reacting.  That I was being a drama queen (like I've never heard that before, ha).  I didn't care.  I felt I had the right to act irrational, because for all I knew my computer was dead and all my memories and work were buried among the intangible space along with it.  

I needed to take my mind off the loss.  I needed something to distract me from the harrowing thoughts of what was to become of my computer.  Ahh, yes.  A tart of some kind. The only suitable option for this sort of occasion, because nothing calms the nerves quite like a flaky pie crust does.  I had been itching to make a free form tart anyways, so this seemed like as good a time as any.  I rushed to the grocery store, grabbed what I am certain was the last of the season's rhubarb, and headed home to bake the tension out of me.  I wasn't in the mood to plan or be painstakingly precise, so I threw together a fruit filling concoction, tweaking here and there upon tasting, and placed it in the oven.  The result was surprisingly good, especially considering my state of mind and this spontaneous style of baking that I am unaccustomed to.  The galette did help to alleviate the stress of the evening and I even managed to get some sleep that night.  Perhaps, it even served as a little good luck charm, because, despite the "white screen of death," the Apple geniuses were able to recover all of my files.  So maybe I did over react just a tad, sobbing at what would now be a non-loss of all my photos, music, recipes, and meticulously crafted spreadsheets.  But I learned a valuable lesson.  You better believe I bought myself an external hard drive that day, and now I know to make a habit of backing-up.  In fact, I think I might go do that right now.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette 
by Karlie Kiser

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 medium lemon, zested

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed

Filling:

2 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb, about 1/2 pound

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, divided

2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, divided

pinch of salt

3 tbsp cornstarch, divided

2 tbsp uncooked, quick cooking tapioca, ground fine in  a spice mill, divided

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp chopped mint

about 6 tbsp toasted, sliced almonds

1 egg yolk

1 tsp water

2 tbsp turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)

1 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces

Topping (optional):

4 oz crème fraîche

1 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:

1. For crust: combine flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest in a food processor (or large mixing bowl).  Add butter and pulse (or rub in with fingers if using traditional method) to combine until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

2. Add the egg yolk and ice water (1 tbsp at a time) and pulse (or again, work into the mixture with your hands) just until combined.  (Do not let the dough form a ball in the food processor, pulse just until the mixture comes together.)  There should be enough moisture in the dough so that it binds together without being too wet or sticky.  If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

3. Pour the dough mixture onto a lightly floured surface and bring together forming a ball.  Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour.

4. After the dough is sufficiently chilled, separate into four equal portions.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a circle, about 1/4-inch thick.  Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper, place dough circles on top, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5. In the meantime, combine the rhubarb, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt, 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon ground tapioca in a medium mixing bowl.  Set aside and let stand for 30 minutes.

6. In another mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, mint, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon ground tapioca.  Set aside and let stand for 10-15 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 350º F.

7. Remove the dough rounds from the fridge.  Working one at a time, sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted almonds on center of dough round, leaving a 1-inch border.  Place a mound of rhubarb (about 2 spoonfuls) in the center of crust.  Layer strawberry slices in an overlapping circle around the mound of rhubarb, making sure to leave the 1-inch border of dough.  Repeat on remaining dough rounds.  You should have strawberries left over.  Reserve for later use. 

8. Beat the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water together to make an egg wash.  Brush the border of each dough round with egg wash.  Bring the edge of crust over onto the filling, leaving the fruit exposed in the center.  Gently fold and crimp the dough to seal any cracks.  Repeat on each galette. 

9. With the remaining strawberry slices, evenly divide and layer on top of other exposed strawberries on each galette.  Combine any strawberry and rhubarb juice remaining at bottom of mixing bowls.  Evenly distribute juices among each galette, spooning onto the center of each.  Chill in fridge for 15 minutes.

10. Brush the edges of each crust with remaining egg wash.  Sprinkle each crust with about 1/2 tablespoon turbinado sugar.  Dot each galette with the small pieces of butter.  Place the galettes (still on baking sheet) on the center rack of oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Let cool to room temperature and, if desired, serve with crème fraîche sweetened with 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Enjoy!

Makes 4 mini galettes, about 5-inches in diameter 

*This recipe might have a lot of steps and sound complicated, but I promise you it is easy, breezy!  I just wanted the recipe to be as detailed as possible so as to avoid any confusion for novice bakers.