dutch baby.

this recipe has just changed my life.

the dutch baby.

even the name is perfect.

it's simple. it's delicious. and clearly, it's beautiful.

i woke up on sunday with a start. i was hungry and absently went about my usual breakfast routine. boil water for coffee. wipe the crusties out my eyes. stretch and yawn.  brush the crumbs on the counter into the sink. fill up the french press with dark, rich coffee grounds. crack the kitchen window to let in the crisp fall breeze. check for breakfast supplies. stop. we're out of bananas. again. damn. 

i quickly segued into french toast thoughts but with only eggbeaters and low-cal bread, i moved on from that idea before it was even close to half baked. i wanted something decadent. a sunday-worthy breakfast. nothing that required too much effort of course, but something sweet and important. as i curled up on the couch and began a mini pout, i  picked up ms. organette's rendering portrait/recipe book-- homemade life: stories and recipes from my kitchen table. i've been re-reading this for the past few days and as i began the next chapter, i recalled the recipe with the cutest name ever. of course the dutch baby was going to be sunday breakfast today and possibly ever more. a dutch baby is probably the world's most perfect pancake but it is so much more than that. it's easier to make than pancakes. it's tastier than pancakes. and clearly, it's way better looking than pancakes. please judge this book by it's cover.

a note on ms. wizenberg: she is clearly brilliant. she puts her life on the page for her readers to mop up with abandon and a knife and fork if necessary. her words evoke such raw emotion, tenderness and unequivocal poignancy. she writes about a recipe like a prophecy on a mountain, i must keep trying the delicious food she is writing about.

of course after deciding on the dutch baby and checking the fridge and pantry, i had to go to the store for ingredients. even though it has ingredients that most normal people would have on hand. butter. flour. eggs. salt. half and half. powdered sugar. lemon. i actually had the powdered sugar and half and half. oh and the salt. shows you where my priorities are right?

here are all the necessary ingredients. easy right? there isn't even yeast. also there isn't hours upon hours of mixing, kneading, etc. i am hungry before my feet hit the floor in the morning so if i can wait 25 minutes (including pre-heating the oven!) then you can too.

especially if those standard old ingredients will make you this right?
the middle is light and airy with custard like pockets surrounded by warm brown edges, but not crunchy, no never crunchy. just soft and chewy. 

we eat this baby in front of television (although i definitely drowned out the soccer game with praise to the baby), standing up in the kitchen (shaking head in amazement at baby) and walking around the apartment in delight (cursing myself for taking 32 years to try the baby).
seriously, go make this.

Recipe:

4 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup half and half (i only had fat free and it was still decadent. clearly)

1/2 juice of a lemon (i would have used the entire lemon plus zest but nelzo is sensitive to it. eye roll)

liberal powered sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 425

Put butter in skillet (I used 10 inch but Ms. O's recipe called for an 8 inch, our 8 inch had a tragic incident that the guilty party is still disputing to this day)

Put skillet in oven to melt butter for 2 minutes, brush butter up the sides of skillet

Blend eggs, flour, half and half and salt in blender till combined.

Pour batter into warmed and buttered skillet.

Slide skillet into oven, bake 18-25 minutes. Mine took 18 minutes.

Sides should brown and puff, middle should be set. (see porn pics above)

Pull out of oven, immediately douse with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Eat and die.

Variations: next time I"m doing orange zest and cocoa. or maybe crystallized ginger.Next time, clearly being next sunday.