How to Make Popovers - Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Ever since I ate a popover many years ago at The Zodiac Restaurant in Neiman Marcus I've been in love with them. These light airy hot little puffs of soft delicate bread captured my heart and palate.

Of course, I'm not the only one. Both my children fell in love with them as well when they dined with me for the first time at Neiman Marcus.

I knew this was something I had to learn to make. So over the years I've tested various ways of making and baking them to finally come up with a version that seems to be tried and true.

Now each Thanksgiving my family insists that I make popovers. They are perfect for the Thanksgiving meal that's typically filled with carbohydrates and fat.

Of course what would Thanksgiving be without some sort of bread at the table? Why not a piping hot, fresh out of the oven, light and airy popover puff? They satisfy that bread craving without filling you up too much.

Many of my clients and friends over the years have asked me how to make popovers. So this year I decided I would put together a video to share with them and all of my viewers. I included every single step plus I've posted the recipe below this video.

I had to shorten the video to fit on my blog and other sites but it's still about 10 minutes long. I know that sounds like a long time but you're sure to get the full details on how to make these luscious puffs.

I hope you enjoy my video on "How To Make Popovers" and have the chance to try them this Thanksgiving.



Perfect Popovers
Makes 12 small or 6 large

Ingredients:

3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature (I use skim)
3 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 cup, all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Popover Pan

Instructions for cooking in Convection mode and Bake mode:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees in either convection/bake mode or just bake.

While preparing the batter spray your popover pan with a non-stick cooking spray and place in the oven to heat up.

If eggs and milk are not at room temperature heat eggs (removed from their shell) for approximately 12 -15 seconds and milk for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave.

Whisk eggs, milk and oil together. Sift flour and add to the egg mixture. Add the salt and beat mixture together until it's smooth and free of any clumps.

Take popover pan out of the oven and place a small bit of butter into each popover cup (as shown in the video).

Pour batter 3/4 way full into each popover cup. If you run short and one of the cups is empty add water filling up about 1/2 way.

Place filled pan into the 400 degree oven and bake for:

Convection/Bake 20 minutes

Bake: 30 minutes



(This is how they will look after the first 20-30 minutes)

Then, leaving the oven door closed, reduce heat to 325 degrees.

At this time if you were cooking in the convection mode switch to BAKE. Cook for an additional 5-15 minutes keeping a close eye on the popovers.

You'll know that they are done when they turn a nice golden brown, as seen in my video and at the top of this page.

Note: You can use a muffin pan if you like, but the popover pan produces a much prettier popover.

Popovers are best when baked just before serving. Serve hot with butter, strawberry butter, pumpkin butter, plain or with whatever you desire.

Enjoy!

How to Make Pesto & A Caprese Pasta Salad - Video

As many of you know, I teach in-home culinary classes. Of all the recipes out there my most requested one from my students, friends and strangers is "how to make pesto"? So I decided I would show & share this simple recipe on my blog for everyone else out there that would like to learn how to make it.

Below is the recipe along with a video that I put together. Bear in mind I'm still new at putting these videos together but hopefully I did a good enough job so that you'll be able to reproduce this on your own.

In addition I've also included a demonstration on making a Caprese Pasta Salad. This salad uses pesto to create a light, refreshing and luscious dish. Use as a side salad or entree. To make it a heartier dish add some chicken, or shrimp.



Pesto
Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3 tsp pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove
Pinch of sea salt
½ cup plus 3 Tbsp. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 ¼ cups extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, place pine nuts, basil, garlic, and sea salt and process to a paste. Add the cheese and drizzle in the olive oil. Store in a jar, topped with oil.

Pesto can be used in many dishes. From dips, to spreads, with fish, chicken, meats, on sandwiches and pasta just to name a few. Make up a batch of your own for a fraction of the price that it would cost to purchase the ready-made variety in the stores and you'll never buy it again.

Enjoy!

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

First of all Happy Passover to those of you celebrating the first night of Passover this evening and all week. I hope you have a wonderful Sedar filled with lots of love and great food.

Last April 9th, 2009 I prepared some Easter Bunny Cupcakes on Great Day St. Louis. In case you weren't able to view that clip or would like to make the cupcakes this year I have attached the recipe, photo and video for you.

With Easter coming up this Sunday I thought this could be a fun project to do with the kids. I hope you enjoy it. To view the video please click on the arrow.



Bunny Cupcakes

What you will need:

Cake: 12 cupcakes (can use whatever recipe you like or a box mix if wanting to save time)

Icing: recipe for Chocolate Glaze below

Decoration: 1/4 cup white confectioners coating(pink candy color) and 1/2 cup white confectioners coating to make ears, eyes, smile, cheeks and whiskers;
1 1/2 cups of white nonpareils (all online at kitchenkrafts.com or at Michael's Craft Stores or Sallie’s on Manchester Road)

Miscellaneous: one 12-mold muffin pan, pastry cones, bunny ear templates, parchment paper

How to do:

1. Bake the cupcakes and let them cool completely. Freeze for 1 hour to overnight.
2. Prepare the glaze.
3. Melt the ½ cup confectioners coating for outside of ears and ¼ cup confectioners coating(to be colored pink) for inside of ears, separately. (this can be done in the microwave for 30 seconds, then check if needed for 15-30 more seconds by stirring)

Pour the ½ cup white confectioners coating (cc) into a pastry cone then blend the ¼ cup of melted white cc with pink candy color for the insides of the ears. Keep the cc warm on a heating pad or a pan placed over a hot water bath, since they will be needed in various steps throughout the directions.

4. Place the bunny ear templates that you have drawn on a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan or counter and tape down. Lay another sheet of parchment paper or cellophane on top. Lightly secure the parchment paper with one or two pieces of tape. Using the templates as a guide, pipe out 12 sets of white cc exterior bunny ears. For added impact, pipe the center with the pink cc. Set aside to harden. Don’t make these too thin or when you remove them they will break. Remove gently with offset spatula.

5. Glaze the cupcakes.

Take the cupcakes out of the freezer - just a few at a time so they do not sweat. Hold the cupcake firmly by the paper liner and invert it into the pot of melted glaze. Submerge the cupcake just up to the paper line and move it about to insure the entire surface is covered. Pull the cupcake straight up and gently spin it above the bowl by rotating your wrist, to allow any excess glaze to drip off. Flip the cupcake and carefully place it on a wire rack to set. Allow the glaze to set for 3 to 5 minutes at room temperature.

6. Pour the nonpareils into a small bowl. Carefully dip entire cupcake or three quarters of the cupcake into the nonpareils, depending on the look you are trying to create. If only dipping ¾ of the cupcake into the nonpareils, try to create a straight edge where the glaze and nonpareils meet. The glaze will act as the bunnies head.

7. Pipe 2 white dots for the eyes (or use ½ white jelly bean for each) and dot with pink for eyes. To pipe a dot, hold the chocolate pastry cone perpendicular to the surface of the cupcake. Keeping the tip stationary, squeeze and hold in place until the dot is the desired size. Release pressure and pull straight up.

8. Pipe a pink nose, white cheeks if you like and a little pink heart for the mouth. Then use the pink confectioners coating to pipe whiskers.

9. Use the tip of a knife to score the cake where the ears will be inserted. Press the ears gently halfway into each cupcake.

10. For fullest flavor, serve the cakes at room temperature.

Chocolate Glaze
Makes 2 ¾ cups

This glaze covers cakes smoothly and beautifully and is an absolutely delicious chocolate icing. The icing can be made with semisweet or milk chocolate; the semisweet has a darker, richer glow.

The icing can be used immediately or cooled and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Reheat slowly in a double boiler before using if chilled. This recipe can be doubled.

In a double boiler or in a medium metal bowl placed over a hot-water bath, melt:
• ¾ pound semisweet chocolate or milk chocolate (can use bag of choc. chips)

In a small saucepan, heat over medium-high heat:
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup light corn syrup Stir until the butter melts, then continue to heat to just before the boiling point (bubbles will form around the pan’s rim).

Slowly pour the scalded liquid over the melted chocolate, whisking constantly until smooth. Strain the icing through a fine sieve.

How to make a pastry cone

You can make them out of cellophane, wax paper, or parchment paper.

If using parchment paper, to start, roll your parchment paper out. You want to get a perfect square, and actually you’re going to cut that square right in half to make a triangle.

One trick is to just fold one edge up until it meets the top edge, then crease it, and then cut along the outside or unfolded edge. Now open it up, and you’re going to use the crease that was formed when you folded the parchment as a guideline to cut your triangle out.

Now it’s time to form the cone.

Draw a line right in the middle of the longest side of the triangle. And that’s where your point is going to form. To do this, take one corner, and roll it in on itself, so that the corner lines up at the point of the triangle. Wrap the other side around to the back, and you’ll see that the two sides will line up right down the middle.

Now you want to tape, and wrap it around the tip. This will prevent the bag from opening while you’re squeezing it. So there’s your pastry cone.

To fill it, hold it in your hand, take a spatula, put some frosting on it, and place it slowly into the bag. Then, pinch your fingers down on it and slide the spatula out. Now, fold the edges down, and you have your pastry cone.

You can cut a small hole, or even a large hole depending on what kind of piping you’re doing. You can always use a zip lock bag as well to put your icing in and then cut a hole in one tip to pipe.

I hope you have fun making the cupcakes. As with any recipe, make sure prior to starting that you have all of your ingredients in place. This is called Mise en Place.

HAPPY PASSOVER & HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Passover & Easter Dish

Passover begins this coming Monday evening, March 29th. Many of you may remember that I appeared on Great Day St. Louis last year at this time. I demonstrated how to make both an Easter and Passover recipe. If you missed it I've attached the link to the video clip plus the recipe for my Salmon Roulade below, which can be made for both holidays.

I mean who says you have to have the traditional brisket for Passover or the traditional lamb for Easter? Why not have something light, healthy and refreshing this year?

Try my Salmon Roulade. I think it's wonderful!

Next week I'll post my Easter Bunny Cupcake recipe and video. To view the Salmon Roulade video click on the arrow below.



Salmon Roulade with Cilantro Pesto On a Bed of Gazpacho Salsa
Serves 4 (recipe can be doubled/tripled easily)

1 ½ lb. salmon fillet, skinned and butterflied

Gazpacho Salsa

• 1 small yellow pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/8 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
• ½ small cucumber, seeded, and cut into 1/8 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/8 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
• 1 small celery rib, cut into 1/8 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
• ½ small red onion, minced (about ¼ cup)
• ½ small jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use. The salsa will keep for approx. 4 days.

Cilantro Pesto

• 1 cup chopped cilantro (packed)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic

Combine ingredients in food processor and set aside until ready to spread on the butterflied salmon.

Make the Gazpacho Salsa, cover and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Make the filling for the salmon roulade by following directions for the Cilantro Pesto.

Place the salmon on a cutting board and carefully butterfly it. Starting at one of the long sides, make a horizontal cut with a sharp knife, and continue to cut within an inch of the opposite side--keep top and bottom layers as even in thickness as you can, being sure not to cut completely through the flesh at the end.

Open the salmon like a book and cover the surface with a piece of plastic wrap. Pound evenly but firmly with a mallet, all over the surface to a thickness of about ¼ inch.

Remove plastic wrap. Place a piece of parchment on the counter and lay the pounded salmon on it (short edge) closest to you and the top edge of the parchment paper. With a spatula spread the pesto over that side of the salmon facing you leaving about a ½ inch border along both ends.

To start the roulade, fold over the edge closest to you making a roll and continue rolling from that side until rolled up like a cigar. It’s like making a jelly roll cake or sushi. (You can use the parchment paper as an aid in rolling up the fish, just as you would a bamboo mat to make sushi. Be careful not to roll any of it in with the fish.) Your roll should be in the mid-range of tightness. It cannot be too tight, as it will expand as it cooks, and it cannot be too loose, or it will fall apart.

To finish, take completed roll and remove from parchment paper and place on top of a piece of heavy duty foil. The foil must be wider and longer than the salmon roulade. With the shiny side of the foil in, roll the roulade tightly in the foil. Twist ends to secure. Chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to firm the roll.

When you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. With a sharp knife cut the ends off the roulade where it’s been twisted with the foil. Then with a sharp knife cut the roulade through the foil in ½ and then ½ again giving you 4 equal pieces. Each section will be approximately 2 inches thick. Do not remove the foil.

With foil left on place individual roulades on a foil lined baking sheet in the oven standing upright with pieces close to each other as they were in the entire roll. This can be cooked in one large piece however it would have to be chilled prior to cutting otherwise it will tear apart.

Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on if your oven in convection (10 minutes) or conventional (15 minutes).

To Serve: Place a large ladle of the Gazpacho Salsa on the center of a plate and set the Salmon Roulade on top. Remove the foil wrapping from around the roulade and serve.

Vietnamese Vegetarian Summer Rolls

It seems that when spring arrives everyone starts eating a bit healthier. Maybe it's in anticipation of summer coming and knowing you'll be putting on a bathing suit. Either way, healthy eating shouldn't just be reserved for the warm months of the year, but year-round. A refreshing recipe that you can make and take to work, pack in your childs lunchbox or have as a snack or appetizer is a Vietnamese Summer Roll. It's even a great way to eat a salad on the run! Whether you add seafood, chicken, beef or just prepare it with vegetables and herbs it makes for a delicious and light treat.

This month I will share from my Asian Appetizer Class how to make this healthy roll, in a video. If you're looking for a fun culinary class check this out. For more information please contact me: vkb2@hotmail.com

WARNING: This is the first video I've ever done and edited myself using my Flip HD video. Click on the arrow below to view.