Pop Art

What do Ladies Who Lunch at Neiman Marcus’ Mariposa restaurant in Beverly Hills have in common with black-clad, tattooed neo-hipsters glowering behind their sunglasses at Cafe Tropical in Silver Lake?

If your answer is nothing, you’d be 90% correct. That’s about the percentage of steam-flavored air in a popover, the pastry that was as ubiquitous in the 1950s as Heinz and celery stalks slathered with cheese spread.

Neiman Marcus has been serving popovers since 1953, the year it opened its first in-store restaurant, the Zodiac Room, in Dallas. These days, just about every Neiman Marcus in the country does popovers, including the Beverly Hills branch. They are served before the meal in lieu of bread, and are usually accompanied by strawberry butter, which is a prettily pink blend of strawberry preserves and unsalted butter.

“It’s a serious thing for us,” says Kevin Garvin, the executive chef for Neiman Marcus. “I open up restaurants and people call me and say, ‘You’re going to have those popovers, aren’t you?’ It’s a prerequisite.”

In some ways it’s not surprising that the popover would thrive among the Prada and Chanel-bedecked ladies at Neiman’s and the retro-sensitive denizens who frequent Cafe Tropical, a ragtag though lovable spot in Silver Lake where Che Guevara posters cover the walls and the display cases are filled with guava empanadas and other Latin specialties, as well as beautiful, misshapen popovers as big as softballs with moist, eggy interiors.

What is surprising is that popovers are regaining their broad popularity, causing a huge sensation when Laurent Tourondel placed basketfuls before diners at his BLT steakhouse in New York when it opened last year.

And they are finding their way into the repertoires of home chefs. My friend Howard Sadowsky is one of those impossibly good home cooks. He makes complex dishes most of us would never attempt and probably should never attempt, at least not without professional supervision or a cadre of assistants.

At a recent dinner party, Howard pulled out all the usual stops. But the dish that garnered the most oohs and aahs and unbridled gustatory happiness was rather haimish, at least by Sadowsky standards: popovers--straight out of the oven, golden, toque-shaped beauties. His guests (myself included) greedily tore into them. Just a gentle tug at the crisp exterior let loose a soft burst of steam and revealed the hollow interior, a bit of culinary magic.

“There’s an art to making them,” says Neiman’s Garvin. “You gotta practice.”

Along with having a properly calibrated oven, “because it’s all about the pop in the popover,” Garvin offers several other tips to achieving the perfect pop: “The milk has to be warm. It’s best if the eggs are whipped gently to incorporate air. You need to use a good quality all-purpose flour, a brand name.”

That’s not all. “You gotta spray the pan down, ‘cause if they stick you’re out of luck. You gotta let them rest.” And last, “You have to be sure the oven racks are spaced appropriately, because this thing is gonna pop up.”

If all this advice hasn’t completely scared you off, then happy baking. The rest of you? See you at Neiman’s. Or BLT steakhouse. Or Cafe Tropical. Or Howard’s.

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POPOVERS

From the Neiman Marcus Cookbook

By Kevin Garvin with John Harrisson

Makes 1 dozen popovers

3 1/2 cups milk

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 large eggs, at room temperature

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the milk in a bowl and microwave on high until warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Crack the eggs into the work bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until foamy and pale in color, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the warm milk. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Turn off the machine and let the batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Generously coat a 12-cup capacity popover pan with nonstick cooking spray. Fill the popover cups three-fourths full with the batter and place the pan on a cookie sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the popovers are deep golden brown on the outside and airy on the inside, about 30 to 35 more minutes. Turn out the popovers and serve hot with strawberry butter.

Chef’s note: The key to great popovers is to have the eggs and milk warm before mixing. It’s also important to let the batter sit for an hour before baking it. Popovers do not freeze well, and pre-made batter may not work properly the next day.