Popovers

This past weekend, my parents were in town visiting for Easter, and we decided to make some popovers.  I went through a brief popover phase a few years ago, but then they fell out of my rotation.  I had a hankering for them again recently, and remembered how I used to make them in muffin tins, but always wanted to try them properly in a popover pan.  I quickly ordered one off of Amazon, and I must say it makes a big difference!
We decided to make two versions - one plain, and one topped with parmesan and fresh thyme.  The plain popovers are great with some jam, and the savory popovers are perfect with just a little butter.

Basic Popovers
1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 4 eggs 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Put the popover pan in the oven (if it sits awkwardly on the rack, set it on a baking sheet) to warm the pan with the oven.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and set aside.
Warm the milk, cream, and salt slowly on the stove until the temperature reaches approximately 125 degrees.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the eggs while continuing to whisk.  Don't incorporate too quickly or the eggs will begin to scramble.
Sift the 2 cups of flour into the egg/milk mixture, and gently incorporate just until there are no large lumps left.  Do not over-whisk or the popovers will be dense and flat.
Remove the popover pan from the oven.  At this point, I used a good non-stick popover pan, so I didn't need to grease/butter the cups.  However if you don't have a non-stick, definitely generously butter or spray your cups.  Then use a small pitcher or a turkey baster (I'm telling you, this works!) to fill each cup half-full with batter, and no more.  Work quickly to avoid the pan cooling too much.
If you are topping the popovers with any savory items such as cheese and herbs, add them now to the top of the batter in each cup.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 and bake for another ~10 minutes, or until the outside is brown.  Make sure not to open the oven during the cooking process, or the popovers will begin to deflate.  
Remove the pan from the oven and serve popovers immediately.