I'm a pushover for popovers

Popovers have changed my life! Not really, but I'm completely obsessed with making them, both in the morning and evenings. They work well with sweet AND savory.

How do you make a popover..simple.

First you're going to need a muffin tin, non-stick.

Now, heat your oven to 400F.

The batter for popovers is simple.

2 parts liquid
1 part egg
1 part flour
Salt

The "parts" in the recipe should be done by weight. So for example, take 4 ounces of milk and add 2 ounces of egg (about one large egg). Mix. Then add 2 ounces of flour and a pinch of salt. Mix. Let sit while your oven heats.

Pour a little bit of canola oil in the bottoms of the muffin tin. No more than a 1/2 teaspoon. Fill the tins up 3/4 of the way with batter.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to 375F. Bake another 20 minutes. Voila.

To serve sweet, top with a little butter and a good quality jam or preserve. Artisan made would be ideal.

For savory meals, these make a great addition to grilled or roasted meats. Use 'em to sop up the juices!

Take steak to the next level

Steak by itself is wonderful. Technically, there's no need to sauce it up. The flavor of a nice fatty ribeye can hold it's own, no problem. However, if your looking to take steak to the next level, try topping it with a salsa verde.

Salsa verde. There are many permutations of what translates to "green sauce". Mexican culture's version is very different than an Italian-style salsa verde. I'm not showing you either. This is what I'd like to think of as an American salsa verde.

The list of ingredients is simple: Parsley, shallot, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper (It goes without saying that these should always be flat-leaf, fresh, fresh, extra-virgin, kosher, and fresh-cracked, respectively.)

The ratios of each can vary according to personal taste, but here's my loose measurements for two steaks worth.

1 cup (loosely packed) of parsley, stems removed. Finely chop after measuring.
2 tablespoons of finely minced shallot
1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch salt
pepper to taste

Mix the chopped parsley, shallot and garlic in a mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix more.

I would suggest grilling your steaks (Ribeye preferably) to medium-rare / medium. Let rest for 5 minutes after cooking. Do NOT cut into them beforehand!

Top with the salsa verde. Eat. Feel like a hero.

Making Salads Better

Update: Don't worry about the smoke coming out of the oven, the olive oil dripped off the sheet pan onto the oven bottom. It looked much worse than it was. Please note, use an oven safe dish with sides to prevent the same thing from happening to you...

Video Recipe: Parsnip Puree

I blogged this recipe for parsnip puree a few weeks ago. If you're comparing notes with my past post and this video recipe, you'll note that the ingredients and method are slightly different. That's just how I roll.

VIDEO RECIPE: Chicken with garlic and shallots

New rules for airlines...or how you can pay me to deal with the misery that you cause

I flew the most excruciating flight in my life last week. US Airways red-eye from San Francisco to Philly, then a second leg from Philly to Orlando.

Both of the US Airways planes I flew were complete dumps. Each looking like it had participated in been on the ground during the bombing of Dresden.

Why can't your planes be like Virgin America's planes?



This post however is not about how your planes lack polish...

US Airways, lets talk about water. The substance that spawned a mission to Mars. The essential ingredient to life. The thing that if I go without for three days, I will die! And on US Airways, when I wanted to wet my lips with this sweet nectar of life, on a five hour cross country flight, it cost me two dollars. There is one word to describe you US Airways, and that word is "chintzy".

My experience also got me thinking about some new rules for airlines. Rules that'll help to flush the bad taste from the mouths of many of your customers. These rules center around rebates for bad experiences.

On one flight, the back of my seat butted up against a toilet and wouldn't recline. This was not an option I chose to reduce my ticket price. I paid the same price for an experience that was less than I expected.

So new rule. When I am stuck with a seat that doesn't recline, leaving my body stuck at a 90 degree angle, I should be able to invoke the 90 degree clause, obligating you pay me ten dollars for every hour of my misery.

On another flight, I was seated next to a man who's body spilled over into my seat. I didn't pay for 3/4 of a seat. US Airways, I paid you for a whole seat.

So new rule. When I'm seated next to a person who's arm rest has actually become a containment device for their body, I should be able to invoke the sidecar clause, obligating you pay me ten dollars for every hour of my misery.

What do you think of my clauses? What new clauses do you want to see?

I support bailout salary caps

While driving to work, I heard an NPR news blurb about a proposal being kicked around in the Whitehouse - capping salaries for employees at companies that accept bailout money.

This is something I fully support.

The recent reports of billions of dollars in bailout money being distributed as bonuses makes me sick. Companies are accepting bailout money because they are in trouble. So why in the hell are they giving out bonuses?

When I think bonus, I think,

"Job well done" and "You've really made a difference"

not

"Thanks for the mismanagement" and "Way to lose our asses"

The cap proposed is $500,000. Executives can be further compensated in stock that can be redeemed once the bailout money is re-payed.

This is a good plan.