Dutch Baby Pancake with Nectarines

Do you like popovers? Have you ever had one? 

They are crispy on the outside (yay butter) and almost pillowy on the inside. Like a marshmallow and a dinner roll had a baby. 

Now, instead of individual cupcake-sized servings of dinner roll/marshmallow goodness, envision one HUGE popover. Mmmmm, baby!

A Dutch Baby, apparently.

And for some reason, they (both popovers and Dutch babies) have intimidated me in the kitchen. I think it's the soufflé complex popping up again. Pun fully intended.

So, Sunday morning of Memorial Day Weekend, with a sick baby and recovering adult population - I decided to face my fears. 

And it was so, so worth it!

(My basil plant from TJs is still living! It's been a month! Woo hoo!)

Besides, Martha promised that it would take 30 minutes to make and we were hungry! And Martha has yet to steer me wrong.

Melt butter in a medium-sized cast iron skillet. Set aside.

In a bowl (or a blender) beat flour, eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and a touch of almond extract (optional) until frothy.

Pour batter into pan.

Put in oven. Wait 20 minutes. Pull out of oven.

Now the race begins! Dob on butter and pour on fruit and race to the table as it deflates.

Not that it's less pretty or less tasty when it's fallen, it's just fun to watch it fall together.

Eat large pieces. Yum!

Dutch Baby Pancakes with Nectarines

Adapted from Martha

2 tbsp butter
3 eggs
3/4 c milk
1/2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional, but tasty)

2 nectarines, cut into chunks and tossed with a bit of sugar for topping
A little butter, syrup, or whatever else you want to put on (chocolate sauce? I won't judge)

Heat your oven to 425 degrees. 

In a medium cast iron skillet (or any pan that can go in the oven) melt butter over medium heat. Set aside. 

In a medium sized bowl, mix eggs, milk, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, and almond extract until frothy (about a minute or two). You can also mix in a blender, as Martha suggests, but I always pierce myself on the blender blades. Electric mixer is safer. 

Pour batter into buttery pan. Put in oven for 20 minutes. Watch as it puffs! Remove from oven and top with fruit, butter, etc. 

Enjoy!

Perhaps a watermelon dish will be appearing soon!

The Rut

Mr. S has been on a lot of business trips recently, including one that stretched from Thursday to Wednesday (yes, over the weekend).

And there are a lot more coming.

We're just in that season of life right now. Me working part-time and taking care of The Bean 24/7.

And let me tell you, I am in a Rut the size of Texas. 

It's not that I'm not cooking. I am. Sorta. A girl's still gotta eat. But what I'm not doing is spending hours making, photographing, and writing.

When the end of the day comes, after The Bean is finally asleep (7:45), bottles are washed and filled for the next day (8:00), and I've had a chance to talk with Mr. S, there's not much energy left. Thus, a dinosaur bowl full of tortellini with pesto. There's a bowl of roasted broccoli too, it just didn't make the photo.

So we continue on, with this little corner of the internet getting as dusty as the knickknacks on my book shelf. 

There is something I made recently that I want to tell you about - a cross between a quiche and chicken and dumplings. It's delicious, even several days later, reheated in the microwave. 

But I'll get to that later. For now? Rest. 

Cause tomorrow I do it all over again. Me and The Bean. And I wouldn't have it any other way.