The comforting American foods of our childhoods-stews, soups, roasts, garden vegetables, pies, cookies, and cakes have been revised and updated for the modern kitchen.
Christopher Kimball, the founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine and author of The Cook's Bible, has spent thousands of hours testing and perfecting his recipes to guarantee that they are both foolproof and delicious. In The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook, he brings us the best methods for making timeless American country dishes, from baked beans to macaroni and cheese, applesauce cake to strawberry ice cream. There are also contemporary versions of recipes from long ago, including Pepper Slaw, Summer Creamed Corn, Sweet Potato Casserole, Crisp and Crunchy Fried Chicken, as well as desserts such as Blueberry Boy-Bait, Chewy Pecan Bars, Black and White Cream Pie, and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Master recipes, complete with variations, detail how to prepare chicken and rice, bean soups, baked potatoes, fruit pies, cheesecake, American layer cakes, and other classics. In more than one hundred illustrations, Kimball demonstrates techniques for coring apples, making a pie, choosing cuts of meat, and more. Equipment has been tested just as thoroughly as the recipes: from electric mixers to baking sheets to inexpensive knives and saucepans, you will learn which brands are best.
Kimball also shares fond memories of growing up on a small farm and charming stories of life in a rural town. You will meet Junior Bentley, who still plants and harvests with a team of horses; Rob Woodcock, who was known to harvest a Christmas tree with a shotgun; and Marie Briggs, the town baker, who cooked for her neighbor Norman Rockwell. You will be invited to the town's annual ox roast, share in the pleasures of making homemade apple cider and beekeeping, and learn about tending to an orchard and milking cows.
Christopher Kimball has compiled the foods whose tastes and smells will transport you to the country kitchen where he learned to cook as a child. The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook provides not only a rare glimpse into the charms and idiosyncrasies of a small rural town, but recipes that bring alive its unique flavors and memories.
These are quite simple to make, but remember to grease the pans thoroughly. You will require a popover pan for this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt and stir to mix. Add the eggs and the milk and whisk to combine completely
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Adjust rack to the middle position. Using a pastry brush, grease the popover pan very generously with the melted butter. A small amount of butter should puddle in the bottom of each cup.
After batter has rested for 30 minutes, pour it into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until they are browned and crisp. Serve at once.
