Go Dutch, Baby

Whenever I can convince my dear husband to whip up this breakfast treat, I consider myself blessed indeed. Of course, we've also been known to enjoy it for brunch, birthday celebrations, random Mondays and just because. It's just that good. What follows are Matt's instructions for making your very own Dutch Baby. Feel free to forward to your own husbands!




Total Time: 45 minutes (this of course implies that you have ALL the ingredients, which thankfully for this recipe you should, apart from the lemon which seems to be a luxury in our house)
Prep: 15 minutes (spot on)
Cook: 30 minutes (this can vary, just set it for 25 minutes or so and watch for the last few. Once you smell what's cookin' you won't stray far from the kitchen)
Yield: 4 servings (HA! no way...4 servings? They must mean 2 servings, with 2 left over for seconds!) 
Level: Intermediate (I think the only thing making this intermediate is having a seasoned 10-inch cast iron skillet available)

Assemble the troops.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. (Actually calls for 2 3/8 ounces, but who bothers to measure by weight? A 1/2 cup seems to have worked just fine)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• "A little" vanilla. (I've never measured. "A little" seems close enough. Maybe 1/2 to 1 teaspoon?)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk, room temp. (I've used skim, 2%, and whole. Not sure my palette can tell the difference)
• 2 large eggs, room temp. (I've used up to 4. Any more than that and it starts tasting too much like quiche)
• "A little" cinnamon, if you're feeling inclined.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Get yer cast iron ready! Place 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven (I don't think I've ever bothered to melt the butter first, it takes roughly 14 seconds to melt in a 375 degree oven, so what's the big rush?). 
3. Wait around 10 minutes before assembling other ingredients (Huh? I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen this line in the recipe. Oops!)
4. Place the flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, milk, eggs, and remaining tablespoon of melted butter into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Carefully pour the batter into the preheated skillet. 

Blend.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown. 

Out of the oven.

Careful, it's hot.

Sprinkle with additional vanilla sugar and serve with lemon wedges. (Again, another line I don't think I've ever read. We've always used powdered sugar, probably because we always have it on hand thanks to Kristine's scrumptious Mexican Wedding Cookies recipe. But I digress, sprinkle and top with whatever you'd like. Fruit would work, whipped cream, syrup, you could really use anything. Thanks to the neighbors we've become partial to butter, freshly-squeezed lemon, and a little powdered sugar.).

Hello Heaven.

 Courtesy Alton Brown (who else) via FoodNetwork.com (and where else?)