8 tablespoons salted butter, divided
1–2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
8 fresh sage leaves
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; reserve the remaining butter for later use. Add garlic and sage leaves; cook 3-4 minutes until butter begins to brown and sage turns crispy. Remove garlic and sage from the skillet, and set them aside to use later in the sage-garlic butter. Adjust oven rack to the lower third of the oven, then preheat the oven to 450°. Place 1 teaspoon of the remaining butter into each cup of a 6-cup popover pan (or, for smaller popovers, divide it among 10 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan). Place the pan in the oven to preheat and melt the butter. Meanwhile, vigorously whisk together in a medium bowl the milk and eggs; whisk for about 1 minute, until frothy, then add the browned butter (from which garlic and sage have been removed), flour, cheese, salt, and pepper. Mix together only until just combined — small lumps are fine. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and swirl the melted butter around in each cup to coat the sides. Evenly divide the batter among the cups, filling each one about ¾ full. Bake 20 minutes at 450°F without opening the oven door. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 15–20 minutes more until popovers are puffed, golden, and crisp. Mash the reserved garlic with a fork until smooth, and finely chop the crispy sage leaves. Mix both into the softened butter until fully combined. Immediately serve warm popovers with a generous dollop of sage-garlic butter.
This very tasty-looking recipe really caught my eye this morning as I rested on the sofa — “rested” for the 24th straight day, I might say, of Bob sleeping on his new recliner/bed, and me trying to sleep on the sofa. ☹️ As many of you know, I have been my husband’s 24/7 caregiver since his stroke on 02/01/2024 — but that scene recently changed at our house — very suddenly and unexpectedly. Bob still needs the assistance of a 24/7 caregiver — but now I am currently being treated for severe, intense and unexplained pain on my right side. My doctors are still trying to figure out what’s what and what’s next. Two handicapped people trying to care for one another is not a good combination, I can attest, so in the meantime we have called back our caregivers who initially helped Bob last year. I am certainly not in any shape to care him when I can’t even walk unassisted across the room, so they are a real lifesaver to us right now. Between our caregivers (five days a week) — our two sons, Scott and Matt, who live nearby — and our very good friends, Kathy and Roger Brownlee — we are managing just fine. It certainly has cut into the time that I intended to be posting to my blog though! I have been saving up some delicious treats to use in my Blog at some time in the future, but for now I just thought I’d try posting something easy and see how it goes.
This recipe is not mine — in fact, it was in a recent post that I saw on Facebook from a lovely young lady named “Mia”, whom I’ve never met. Judging from her write-up, I doubt that it’s her own recipe either — probably just one she was sharing with her own audience on her regular blog, I’m not sure. When I can get back into my kitchen to prepare these popovers, I’ll do my usual “tweaking” and come up with something similar and yet different that my family really likes. In the meantime, this version looks very delicious to me — I hope you’ll let me know how you liked it!