I was talking with two of my very close friends recently and they were talking about their amazing lunch at Neiman Marcus and in particular the Neiman Marcus Popovers with Strawberry Butter they enjoyed. It immediately took me back to lunches that I used to share with my mom at the luxe Neiman Marcus restaurants and all of the memories I shared with her.
My mom was old school and loved the crisp tablecloths, fine napkins and of course the doting that comes with all things Neiman Marcus. After hearing my friends speaking of these heavenly bites I found the recipe in my Neiman Marcus Cookbook and made my own batch of these scrumptious, eggy, airy bites of heaven.
A few of the chef’s notes in the cookbook states that it is important to make sure to have the eggs and milk warm before mixing. Also, make sure to let the batter sit for an hour before baking them and always make these fresh. Popovers that are frozen or trying to make popovers from batter that has been pre-made tends to not work well. So, in a nutshell, you must commit when making these. No shortcuts for these little babies.
There is something that is irreplaceable when recollecting memories with loved ones that have passed on. I will never forget the lunches I shared with my mom at Neiman’s and making these delicious popovers brings back so many memories filled with love, nostalgia and deliciousness.
Popovers
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups milk
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 large eggs, at room temperature
Directions
To make this recipe, you will need a Teflon-lined popover pan with a 12-cup capacity. These are available at kitchen equipment and specialty stores, and some cooking mail-order catalogs.
Preheat the oven to 450° F. Place the milk in a bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until warm to the touch. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.
Crack the eggs into the work bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until foamy and pale in color. Turn down the mixer to low and add the warm milk. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Turn the machine off and let the batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
Spray a popover tin generously with nonstick spray. Fill the popover cups almost to the top with the batter and place the popover tin on a cookie sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to 375° F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer, until the popovers are a deep golden brown on the outside and airy on the inside. Turn out the popovers and serve hot with strawberry butter. Yields 1 dozen popovers.
Strawberry Butter
Ingredients
1 pound butter
1 1/4 c. strawberry preserves
Directions
In an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add the preserves and mix until just combined.
I love when a recipe only uses one pan or pot. As the primary person cooking in my house I am all about less mess which is why I love this Sweet Brown Sugar Dutch Baby Recipe that is made in one pan. For those unfamiliar with Dutch Babies they are similar to a popover, but they are sweeter and are much larger and flatter. This is due to the large round skillet Dutch Babies are cooked in as opposed to traditional popover pans that are deeper and look more like muffin tins.
There are so many reasons I love this recipe, I am just going to list them (after all I do love me a list):
- One pan (yes, stated above but I love this so I am mentioning again)
- All ingredients are those I always have on hand
- This is one of those recipes where countless variations can be made – extra sugar, no sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, berries, apples, lemons, lemon zest, orange zest…you get the idea.
- Easy to make
- Looks impressive
I usually make this as a breakfast treat served with warm maple syrup, a touch of velvety butter and some fresh berries. However as noted above, the variations are limited to only ones imagination. One thing to note as that these will puff up in the oven but once you remove the little “baby” from the oven it will deflate as you will see in the pictures below.
OK, so you need to try making on of these. Not only are they so simple to make, these are so much less work compared to pancakes. Aside from not having to flip flapjack after flapjack I actually prefer the taste of dutch babies with its light, eggy consistency. These are so good (and easy) though don’t just make this for breakfast make it whenever! Lunch, snack, dinner – why not?
Hope you try these and love them as much as my family does!
Sweet Dutch Baby Recipe
Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Berries, dusting powdered sugar, maple syrup (optional and to your taste)
Directions
Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet inside oven and preheat oven to 475 degrees.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a whisk until light. Add milk and stir. Gradually whisk in flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt.
Remove skillet from oven and reduce oven heat to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt butter in the hot skillet so that inside of skillet is completely coated with butter. Pour all the batter in the skillet and return skillet to oven.
Bake until puffed and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the top of the Dutch Baby with brown sugar. Return to oven for two more minutes. Remove promptly and sprinkle with powdered sugar, maple syrup, fruit or whatever you like.
I am a little obsessed with Jennifer Lopez. It is amazing how she has managed to actually age backwards. Looking at pictures of her from ten years ago, I can’t believe how much better she looks as the years have gone on. So, while I was perusing the July 2015 issue of InStyle magazine and came across her recipe for a green smoothie I knew that I had to try it.
The smoothie features her BodyLab Vanilla Whey Protein Complex which I unfortunately did not have on hand so I opted for my Trader Joe’s Whey Protein in vanilla. I am guessing they are pretty similar, so I moved forward with the recipe. The smoothie includes rice milk, spinach, banana, chia seeds, sunflower butter and protein powder. This was a convenient recipe for me since I usually have all these ingredients on hand. Not having too many ingredients was very helpful.
Now for the taste, it was surprisingly good. I honestly wasn’t sure how the sunflower butter would marry with the rest of the ingredients but the banana and sunflower butter take over most of the flavor and the spinach adds a freshness without being to overpowering. I may even actually pick up a container of the BodyLab protein powder when I am done with my current protein powder to see how the BodyLab version compares to the Trader Joe’s variety.
I would definitely recommend trying the recipe for this shake. Looking at J-Lo, there are many things she is doing right and I will try one of them to see how it works continuously. Not only is it delicious, but if this is one of the items J-Lo is eating I am going to give it a try as well.
*For an additional Maca smoothie recipe as well as an extremely knowledgable post about Maca and all the amazing benefits, check out this article on superfoodliving.com. Some of the benefits noted are increased libido and hormone balance (something I could definitely use, especially a few days a month).
J-Lo’s BodyLab Green Smoothie (1 serving)
Ingredients
1 cup rice milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 handful spinach
1 frozen banana, sliced
2 T. chia seeds
2 heaping teaspoons sunflower butter
1 dry scoop BodyLab Vanilla Tasty Shake Complete Whey Protein Complex (I used Trader Joe’s Vanilla Whey Protein)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve.
I have read about the many, many benefits of Maca Powder and wanted to come up with some tasty and delicious ways to work this magical ingredient into my day.
I was perusing Pinterest one day and wanted to know how to incorporate this item into my daily life and came across this article from the Paleo Mama highlighting 14 Benefits of Maca Powder. They are numerous so before I share a couple of my favorite ways to incorporate Maca, here are the reasons why you should pick up some Maca for yourself.
- Increases Energy – Maca has a reputation for boosting energy levels without stressing the adrenals (like coffee can)
- Increases Libido and Sexual Function – Maca is a known aphrodisiac among native Peruvian culture. It has been known to increase the libido among men and women!
- Improves Fertility – Black Maca has been known to increase sperm count and volume in men and Red Maca has been known to balance female hormones and ovulation cycles.
- Regulates Hormone Balance – Maca has a vast variety of amino acids, which are known as the building blocks of hormones.
- Reduces Depression – When you take Maca regularly, Maca can work to increase positive emotional moods. Maca has a very unique nutrient called macamides, which aid in decreasing depression and anxiety.
- Reduces Anxiety – Maca has a positive effect on your individual mood and can help to reduce any self-perceived anxiety.
- Helps with Menopause – Many Maca uses report a significant decrease in hot flashes after using Maca powder.
- Enhances Mental Clarity – Black Maca has been shown to have a beneficial effect on learning and memory. Maca is safe for both children and adults!
- Improves Blood Circulation – a very interesting property of Maca, is that it has been seen to improve blood circulation.
- Improves Acne – When acne is related to hormone imbalance, taking Maca can be very productive for improving hormonal acne.
- Improves Muscle Gain – More and more athletes and bodybuilders are using Maca powder to increase their athletic performance.
- Improves Thyroid Function – Due to the hormone balancing properties in Maca, it has been known to stimulate thyroid function.
- Improves Strong Teeth and Bones – Black Maca is great for increasing bone density and strength.
- Improves Skin Tone – Maca has a strong nutrient content and hormone balancing effect on our skin.
- Improves Hair Growth – Maca has been traditionally used to stimulate hair growth, as well as prevent hair loss.
I don’t know about you, but ever since reading this I have been trying to incorporate Maca into my everyday life. Here are a couple of my favorite recipes using Maca. The first is for a Maca Iced Coffee. This drink is super simple to make and a very refreshing way to enjoy some iced coffee. The second recipe is for Maca Oatmeal Cookies. These are a yummy snack and I often enjoy these as a delicious breakfast cookie. Feel free to add dried fruits or nuts, anything that suits you!
I hope you enjoy try these recipes and incorporate this healthy powder into your everyday life.
I hate mornings. I always have. Since I have two boys I have experienced many early mornings. Luckily I married a guy who is also an early bird so most of the time I am able to get a little bit of extra shut-eye in here and there. The hating mornings aside, I do love a piping hot breakfast which is why I love Paula Deen’s French Toast Casserole. Not only is it prepared the night before so I don’t have to worry about getting up and making three hungry guys a warm breakfast, but it is decadent. Of course it comes with lots of butter, sugar and fat which is a prerequisite in all Paula Deen recipes, so while you may not be able to make this all the time, on the occasional Sunday or holiday, it is definitely worth it.
A couple of things to note, I deviated from the recipe on the Food Network site to adjust it to my own tastes and textures. I cut down the eggs by two and cut down the half-and-half listed to only one cup instead of two. By doing this the casserole is less “soupy” and lighter & fluffier. I also modified the Praline topping a bit, using less nuts. Some may think I am crazy, but again, this is just to my tastes. For Paula’s Exact Frenct Toast Casserole recipe, just click on this link. Yes, the image I used is from the Food Network site because no matter what I do my casserole never looks quite as pretty as Paula’s, but trust me, it is fabulous!
