Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Strawberry Butter:
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup strawberry preserves

Soften butter to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, whip in preserves.

Cover mixture; refrigerate. (Or roll into logs, wrap well and freeze.) Bring to room temperature before using.

Yield: 2 3/4 cups.

Popovers:
About 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
1 pinch salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Oil popover tin or muffin tin lightly (oil all surfaces, not just the cups).

Beat eggs with whisk or hand mixer until lemon-colored and foamy. Add milk; blend well, but do not over-beat. Add salt and flour all at once. Beat until foamy and smooth on top.

Pour popover batter into a pitcher so that it can be easily poured. Fill popover tin with batter. (If using muffin tin, fill every other cup so that when popovers puff they will not touch each other.)

Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes more. Do not open door while baking. When ready to serve, remove popovers from pan with a sharp knife.

Yield: 6 servings.