Yorkshire Puddings and Rare Beef

Last night my husband cooked Prime Rib, which is probably my favorite preparation of beef. So tender, and so easy to make - you just season it, cook at 450 for 15 minutes, and then at 325 for an hour or two, depending on how many ribs you are cooking. One important thing is that it is best served rare, so the high temperature at the beginning creates a nice sear, and the middle is left rare and tender.

I made some roasted herbed potatoes, and thought I would break in my new popover pan by making some Yorkshire puddings. I love Yorkshire pudding, but rarely have it in this country - it is the fare of a traditional Sunday pub meal in the UK, and makes the perfect accompaniment to juicy roast beef. Traditionally, the fat used in the pan would be the drippings from the meat, but I used salted butter and they came out just fine. If you have a small oven like I do, you can start them when the beef comes out and is resting, and they will be done by the time it is carved.

The batter is similar to pancake batter, and couldn't be easier - the ratio is 1:1:1, so you can halve it or double it as needed. I used the same method as for popovers - make the batter a couple of hours ahead of time and refrigerate. They came out big and beautiful, and the recipe made about 12 total. The outside is crisp, and the inside is like custard, and if you have leftovers, they are great for breakfast the next day.

Yorkshire Pudding

• 1 C. plain flour
• 1 C. egg (about 4-5 eggs)
• 1 C. milk
• salt
• salted butter

Preheat the oven to 425.

Combine the ingredients and beat with a mixer or by hand until the batter is smooth. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Put a generous pat of butter on the bottom of a muffin tin or popover pan, or use pan drippings.

Put the pan in the oven until the fat is melted and bubbling.

Take out the pan and quickly fill each cup about halfway with batter. Return the pan to the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes until they have risen up and are brown and crispy on the outside.

Locals Only

Amy and I had the pleasure of co-hosting Book Club on Thursday night. What fun. The book was The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer, which was a wonderful read, which I highly recommend. It takes place in San Francisco in 1953, so in keeping with the theme of the book, we did a very simple American dinner using all locally sourced ingredients and recipes with some connection to San Francisco.


We started the preparation by going behind the house and picking fresh blackberries, which would accompany the lemon tea cake I had made that morning. This was my first time picking berries, and what a treat it was! Not easy, either - blackberry bushes are nasty creatures with thorns-a-plenty that like to grab onto your clothing and prick your fingers at every turn. However, it makes your berry harvest that much sweeter, knowing that you really worked to get them. Amy's daughter Faeryn was an excellent berry-picker (and eater) - fearless and enthusiastic - and as a result, we collected a sizeable amount.


For starters, we served candied salmon, which Amy bought that morning at the San Rafael Farmers Market that morning, with a sour cream/yogurt/shallot spread and saltines (how 50's is that!), and a block of White Cheddar from Spring Hill Cheese Co.


For the main course, we decided to serve a summertime staple - fried chicken from Hard Knox Cafe in the Dogpatch. It's my favorite fried chicken in the city...so far.


I assembled two salads, a corn and tomato salad with red onion and basil, made the night before and marinated in an olive oil/red wine vinegar dressing:


..and a shaved asparagus salad, made with lemon juice, olive oil, and a generous amount of parmesean cheese:


The real centerpiece of the night was one of the few food items mentioned directly in the book - popovers. Amy had a brand-new popover pan that her mother had given her, and we made two batches of the airy, puffy things. Steaming hot and fresh from the oven, with a generous pat of raw butter melting on them, these were a real treat.


As the sun went down, we engaged in the act of devouring our food, drinking wine and having good conversation. It was a wonderful summer night, full of simple pleasures and the company of friends.