Yorkshires and Hockey Pucks

For years when we were raising our family we had "Sunday dinners" on Sunday.  Usually it took the form of a roast - beef, pork, chicken or ham - and the accompanying vegetables.  My personal favorite, and the favorite of many of the kids and Lloyd, was roast beef with mashed potatoes, peas and/or corn, gravy and, following the British tradition prevalent in Atlantic Canada, Yorkshire Pudding.  We all loved these fluffy, hollow, puffs that accompanied roast beef, drowned in gravy.  Some even ate them instead of potatoes.  There's nothing quite like roast beef and Yorkshires.

They can be tricky though.  For years mine were light and fluffy with just the right amount of 'puff'.  Then they started to be not so light and puffy.  At that point #2 son, Mike, decided he'd like to try to make them - he must have been 13 or 14 at the time.  His attempt, which we stuck with for years, were not puffy, light and hollow.  We called them hockey pucks, because, except for the color, that's what they most resembled.  When I took over the chore again, mine too were hockey pucks.

So after all those years of eating delicious hockey pucks that tasted like Yorkshires, I decided to try a new recipe.  We had Amy's family of 6 over for Sunday dinner yesterday and I made the traditional roast beef with mashed potatoes, corn, peas, gravy and Yorkshire pudding.  Using my new recipe, here's what they looked like.

Finally, Yorkshires the way they were meant to be...puffy and light, golden brown with an enticing hollow just waiting to be filled with gravy.  And they tasted soooo good. 

The recipe I used was from the Company's Coming - Muffins & More cookbook.  I have a lot of the Company's Coming cookbooks but this is the one I use the most - for tea biscuits, dumplings, coconut banana loaf, etc.  I'm not going to print the recipe here because I'm not sure of the copyright restrictions regarding cookbooks.  I'll gladly share the recipe with anyone who asks for it though - just not on a public blog.

And to Mike and Sara, you'll love these.  Let me know if you want the recipe.