While many of you were suffering through sweltering summer temps, I was surviving the arctic: that special brand of shiver-inducing weather that is San Francisco in July and August. You see, I was lucky enough to have a very short commute in the temperate East Bay for over a decade, and now I know I was spoiled. This summer I spent a good portion of my time commuting to the far reaches of San Francisco—specifically, the Presidio (see X on the map). The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Presidio is delightful . . . if you can actually see it! Which you can’t. Not in the summer. It was so cold that I made a roast in August. A roast! The up side is that making a roast gave me an opportunity to finally try my hand at one of the most British of foods—Yorkshire pudding. Now that it’s almost fall (which, ironically, for us Bay Area folks means heat and sun-sunny-sunshine), I highly recommend having pudding with your meats. It’s really easy to make. Just be sure to keep your noggin away from the oven door when you open it or you’ll melt your mascara when the 450-degree air hits your face.
Yorkshire Pudding
(From Nigella Lawson)
1-1/4 cups milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon beef drippings or vegetable oil
herbs (such as chives, rosemary, and/or thyme) optional
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Mix the milk, eggs, and salt, and add pepper, beating all well together with a whisk or mixer. Let these ingredients stand for 15 minutes, and then whisk in the flour. Meanwhile, add the beef drippings a large heat-proof pan and put it in the oven to heat for about 10 minutes. Pour the batter into the hot pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until well puffed and golden.
You can make one large pudding (as in the recipe above) or you could also make a bunch of individual ones. I did that by pouring the batter into oversize muffin tins. I also used the herbs. Not traditional, but I liked having a little extra flavor, as pudding is a bit bland on its own.
If you want to read more about pudding and enjoy old-timey books, check the delightful The Whole Duty of a Woman, Or, an Infallible Guide to the Fair Sex: Containing Rules, Directions, and Observations, for Their Conduct and Behavior through All Ages and Circumstances of Life, as Virgins, Wives, or Widows : With … Rules and Receipts in Every Kind of Cookery from 1737. (Phew, that’s a mouthful!) There’s an entire section about puddings.
Happy almost-Fall!
austenacious 