Yorkshire Puddings

As you may have surmised by now, I like to cook. And I also like to keep trying to get a recipe just right. Or keep trying new ones, until I find the perfect recipe. And by gum, I think I done it. Found the perfect recipe for Yorkshire Puddings.

I love my Yorkies, really I do, but up til now my attempts have been a hit and miss affair. I get recipes from friends, and they swear by them, I make them once and they turn out OK, but the next time I do it, flop. And while I may eat the 'hockey puck yorkshire puds' I still want giant, towering, light, airy, crisp puddings. Something I can ladle my gravy over, something I can butter a little later on and eat as a snack.

Just for fun I googled recipes yet again, and this time I found 'THE RECIPE' here , at a place called British Food on About.com.

I made them according to the instructions, in the morning, thinking if they turned out like little hard biscuits, I was out two eggs and a little time. But they didn't.

I did twiddle with the recipe, just a teeny bit, but that's because I had already cracked two eggs. I then proceeded with the recipe instructions and they turned out so well.

I was a very happy cook at this point. I promptly inhaled two of them, and I called them breakfast at that point.

Here's the recipe I used. And I got a dozen lovely, tasty, airy puddings out of it. Basically you use equal measurements of each of the three main ingredients.

2 eggs (I've been using Jumbo eggs lately cause they've been so inexpensive) cracked into a measuring cup.

I get a half cup of eggs from the two Jumbo eggs.

Whisk the eggs and milk together, really well, or use a hand beater. Let this sit for about 20 minutes and then sift the flour into the egg/milk batter, beating very well, until it resembles a thick cream. If you happen to get any lumps in there, just sieve them out. Set the batter aside for a minimum of 30 minutes or several hours if you can. I think the ones I baked later on in the day rose higher.

Prepare the pan. I used a 12 hole muffin pan, but if you have a pop over pan, use that. Or you can also use a good sturdy roasting pan as well. Put a pea sized piece of lard or shortening into each hole, if using a muffin tin, then place the pan into a very hot oven, 425-450 deg., until the oil is smoking hot. But don't burn it. This really just takes a couple of minutes.

And here's my newest tip of the week, or maybe it should be the hint of the year. Really, it is that good. And one I wish I'd thought of myself.

One of the main tricks of making sure that Yorkshire Pudding rise is not letting the pan with the hot fat in it cool down. So, you keep the pan in the oven, and hope you don't let out too much heat as you're pouring the batter in. Then you hurry up and shut the door, and cross your fingers you're not going to pull hockey pucks.

Here's the hint/tip/LIGHTBULB over the head. Turn on a large element on top of the stove, doesn't have to be on a high temp, then place your pan on top of that as you're pouring the batter into the cups/pan. No loss of heat.

Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, just til they are all puffed up and golden.

Serve them alongside a lovely rib roast, or a nice roast chicken or gee, I might just make some for myself, just because.

They were the perfect accompaniment to the Standing Rib Roast.

I hope your Christmas was a good one. I know we ate well on Christmas eve at our house. My guests brought a wonderful assortment of vegetable side dishes as well as some desserts. And there are no pictures of that because, I wanted to sit down and enjoy their company.