Waffles, Part the Second
Since my last wafflecentric column, I have had a little more time to play with the waffle iron. I am quickly and assuredly coming to the conclusion that this previously-seldom-used appliance has been woefully under-appreciated, and that waffle batter, in turn, is a wildly adaptable culinary blank slate. (And for all my former English teachers that still read this, my apologies for the excessive use of adverbs in the previous sentence.)
A few years ago I listened to an episode of the podcast, The Sporkful, where hosts Dan and Mark put all kinds of things into their waffle batter. I can’t even remember everything they tried, but some were savory (like chicken) and some were sweet (like Reese’s cups.) The consensus was that some things worked well in a waffle, while others worked … less well. But that concept was filed away in my “to cook” list and lately I’ve finally taken the time to see for myself.
Last weekend I was off from my day job on Saturday, and that usually means a big breakfast is in order. I had some Aunt Jemima pancake/waffle mix in the cabinet that really needed to be used, and that became the canvas for my waffle art. The first waffle out of the iron was a plain one, per Daughter’s request. She’s making progress when it comes to trying new things, but she was hedging her bets, and in any case it’s good to have a “control” for comparison and contrast when one is experimenting. (And for all my former science teachers who may be reading this, please note that I did learn something about the scientific method.)
Next out of the iron that morning was a spin on one of the most popular dishes circulating in restaurants today - chicken and waffles. Not long ago I saw a YouTube video of a guy who made his waffle (plain) first, then took a patty of ground chicken meat and cooked that by itself in the iron. The chicken waffle was then placed on top of the … waffle waffle…and his wife declared it good. Me? I’m not that into ground chicken. I may try this one day, but before I do that, I have other chicken to fry. In this case I took frozen chicken tenders and cooked them according to package directions. (And for all my former math teachers who have stuck it out this far, see how I can follow instructions in … word problems?) Then I sliced them into slivers, poured the waffle batter into the iron, and laid about 4 chicken slivers on top. When the waffle came out, the batter had formed around the chicken and voila: chicken and waffles. Or chicken in waffle. How was it? Not bad, but I think it would have been better with some Oby’s chicken tenders or something of similar quality.
With the remainder of the Aunt Jemima batter, I took a half bag of Hershey’s S’mores bits (tiny graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate chips) and dumped them in. This was a tasty waffle, though the graham cracker bits and marshmallows got kinda’ lost in the batter. Still, any kind of chocolate, butterscotch, or cinnamon chip - even mini M&M’s - would be great in a waffle.
Back on the savory side, Younger Brother recently sent me a pic of a low-carb bacon cheeseburger waffle he’d made for his family. Easy recipe: ground beef, bacon, eggs and cheese. When I inquired about the recipe, he passed me on to his wife, who ended up sending me a second recipe for a similar waffle featuring chicken, ham and Swiss that she claimed was even better. She was right. The bacon cheeseburger deal was okay, though I would alter the proportions if I did it again. The chicken version, however, was great. If you are looking for some variety in your breakfast for dinner menu, this is a definite candidate: Waffle Cordon Bleu?
You wouldn’t believe all the things people have cooked in a waffle iron. If I haven’t convinced you yet, Google it - I haven’t searched anything yet that didn’t have a recipe. And in looking for one recipe, I have found links to some very intriguing ideas using foods I wasn’t even thinking about, such as the tater tot grilled cheese. Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese? And you may not want to admit it, but a well-cooked tater tot is hard to beat: crunchy on the outside, almost creamy in the middle. Now combine those. In a waffle iron. I loaded the iron full of tots, closed it up, and cooked till crispy. Then I did it again. Then, I added shredded cheese and bacon to the top of tot-waffle number two, and put totwaffle number one on top of that, closed the iron again, and melted the cheese. Here’s a hint: let the tots thaw first. Frozen tots make it really hard to close the waffle iron.
For Easter dinner (as promised) the waffle of the day was polenta. If you aren’t familiar with polenta, it’s just a fancy word for a type of grits. I bought it in a roll, pre-cooked, and put a slice in each quadrant of my waffle iron, creating 4 little crispy discs. It was an interesting side dish, made even better as leftovers with a little slice of Vallagret cheese melted in between.
Someone asked me today how in the world there could be more to say about waffles. Well, I’m two columns in and have yet to mention the cornbread, the red velvet, the stuffing, and the sweet potato hash brown. Or the stroopwafels that I adore. Or the antique cast iron waffle maker that I intend to clean up and use. I don’t think we’re done here.