We have made it to winter’s midpoint! Poised between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox, February 2 is Candlemas. This ancient holiday celebrates the longer and brighter hours of daylight we now notice and enjoy.
Traditional foods for Candlemas usually contain grain of some sort, in celebration of the stirrings of crops deep beneath the still frozen ground. These foods are also often round and golden to mimic the sun.
Last night my family and I enjoyed a winter treat that nicely embodies those criteria—popovers. SOMEWHERE I have my grandmother’s recipe for cheese popovers; I recall that she gently folded 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese into her popovers. We had these at Christmas, and they were lovely.
I couldn’t find that recipe this week so instead I used the basic popover formula shared by most cookbooks I have on my shelf, a proportion of 1 cup of of milk and 1 of flour to 2 eggs.
Instead of folding the cheese in, I tried sprinkling a bit of cheddar on top of the popover batter. Alas, it fell in a bit, making little holes in most of my popovers. They were still awfully tasty, however, so I wasn’t upset.
The recipe appears below. Before we get to it, however, here is a story that celebrates another name for February 2, Groundhog Day. As you know, on this day the groundhog is alleged to wake up from hibernation and peer out of its den to look for its shadow.
If the shadow is visible (that is, if the day is sunny), winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring will come early.
Where I live in Massachusetts we are ALWAYS guaranteed another six weeks of winter (at least!) on February 2. The holiday retains its appeal, however, and my nephew Michael certainly enjoyed writing about it.
He also enjoyed eating the popovers.
THE PROBLEM
by Michael Weisblat
by Michael Weisblat
This is a story of how two groundhogs get mad at each other, fight each other, and fix their problem.
One day in a hole two groundhogs are so peaceful and happy. Their names are Michael and Collin.
Collin said, “It’s almost Groundhog Day. Who will go up?”
Michael answered, “Me. I want to go up!”
Collin said, “No, I want to go up!”
They both started to argue about who would go first. Then Michael had an idea. “Let’s make the hole of our house wider. Then we could pop out at the same time.”
So that’s what they did. They lived happily ever after.
THE END
P.S. They did not see their shadow.
Whether or not you see your shadow today, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Happy Groundhog Day (and Candlemas)………
Cheese Popovers
Ingredients:
1 cup milk at room temperature
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (use a little more if you wish, but don’t overdo!)
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (use a little more if you wish, but don’t overdo!)
Instructions:
In a bowl vigorously whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. If you wish to add the cheese now, do so gently. Let the mixture sit for 1/2 hour.
While the batter is resting preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly butter the insides of 9 muffin tins. When the oven has preheated place the tins on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven for a minute or two to preheat.
Take the sheet out and quickly fill the muffin tins with the batter. If you have not yet added the cheese, put a small amount in the center of each muffin tin. If you are using a set of 12 muffin tins, be sure to pour a little water in the empty tins to keep them from burning.
Put the filled muffin tins back in the oven and bake the popovers for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake the popovers until they are brown and firm and nicely puffed up—15 to 20 minutes.
Do NOT open the oven door to look at the popovers until 15 minutes have passed—unless of course you smell something burning horribly! (This should NOT happen unless your oven thermostat is way off.) If you do, your popovers won’t pop over.
Remove the popovers from the oven and serve immediately. Makes 9 popovers.
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Tags: Candlemas, Candlemas Recipes, Cheese Popovers, Children's Stories about Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day, Michael Weisblat, Popovers
A fun story! And a great ending. Well, Phil has already made his decision and has seen his shadow today. I will twitter this and get back to tax-doing and coffee. Have a terrific day!
Thanks, Tinky….popovers are my favorites…love Michael’s “pop-up” story,
too! Happy Groundhog’s Day…for your information, here in the hill towns,
it is slightly overcast with light coming over the hills…but not sure if
there is enough light to see shadows…maybe.
Great story, Michael!! I loved it. “Michael” sounds downright Solomon-like.
Cheesey popovers, those sound good, I’ll be trying them soon.
Michael, great story and great smile!
Oh Tinky, these Popovers look soooo yummy. And Michael’s story is great! I will share it w/ my girls tonight. Maybe even make some popovers (in their dreams, and mine… I ain’t nothing to sing home about when it comes to baking).
I have to tell you I saw that photo of Michael doing his homework at the kitchen table, and romanticized this entire scenario: how willingly THIS child is doing homework (true or not?), and thought this is a perfect incentive photo for the girls and to do THEIR homework!! I even felt a pang of envy …
Jill–I cannot tell a lie: he is a very good child in general, but I don’t think I’ve ever met one who did homework willingly. Maybe the popovers helped?
Anyway, thanks to you and everyone for the lovely comments; I’ll share them with our boy. Maybe being an inspiration will inspire him!
Hi Tinky – I was interested to read that you call these popovers – we call them Yorkshire puddings, and traditionally eat them with roast beef, roast potatoes and gravy (but without the cheese!) However, we wouldn’t butter the tins – rather we would put fat or oil in, heat it in the oven until smoking hot, then pour the batter in. A variation is to cook sausages in a large roasting tin, then when they are almost cooked, add the batter – this is called ‘toad in the hole’. Love, Anne
I LOVE Yorkshire Pudding–but popovers are a nice variation when you don’t have roast beef! I had heard of Toad in the Hole but didn’t know what that was; I have a feeling my family would love it. But we have to recover from the calories in the popovers first. Thanks, Anne!
Oh, so THAT’S the true story of ground hog day! I make popovers several times a month, but I use a six section popover pan. The 1/1/2 ratio works perfectly with that size. I’m like Anne. I put a little oil in the bottom of each cup and get it very hot. Then take the pan out and fill quickly. The batter should sizzle. Like you, I bake at 450 at first (about 15 min.) and then turn down the oven to 350. They come out puffy and perfect every time. I only tried cheese once. I used parmesan grated on a plane and added to the batter just before filling the cups. Perfect with soup. I am always amazed at the science behind the whole puff-thing.
Oh, and we call Toad in a Hole: A piece of bread with a hole in the middle, put into a skillet of hot butter. Fry until golden on one side, flip over. Carefully break an egg into the hole. Cook until white is firm and yolk is still soft (might have to flip over). Yum.
Grad, your version is more what I pictured for Toad in the Hole, but I’m open minded!
Love Michael’s story! And I love popovers but never had them with cheese. I’ll have to try that.
Being married to a Brit, I also love Yorkshire puds and toad in the hole.
And I must concur, mine doesn’t do homework willingly either.