Will It Waffle?: Bacon and Eggs to Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Bibimbap to Chocolate Chip Cookies–53 Irresistible, Unexpected Recipes to Make in a Waffle Iron by Daniel Shumski
My rating: 5/5 cats
this is my august project, so it’s gonna pop up every now and then throughout the month. however, because this one is a cookbook, i’m not going to do one a day. but i will do many!
i’m a little disappointed with the title of the book, since apparently, all included recipes will indeed waffle. i think it would be more fun (if terribly wasteful) if the outcome of some of these recipes was, “no. no, it will not waffle at all. dammit. what a bad idea.”
but i guess what it loses in adventure it will make up for in yumminess.
Gridded Grilled Cheese
WILL IT WAFFLE??
we’re going to ease into this project – no need to go straight for the steak, after all. but i did make FIVE variations on the theme, because moderation is for suckers. all grilled cheeses had both cheddar and gouda, and then i added the extras:
TOMATO
AVOCADO
so far, sooooo good
APPLE
soooo cheesy
PEAR
AVOCADO, TOMATO, BACON BITS
bounty!
they were all excellent, and no mess at all! they TOTALLY waffled!
Green Chile Waffled Quesadillas
WILL IT WAFFLE??
(and yes – Stranger Things is on in the background. i multitask)
also very delicious! and it made some nice waffled-cheese for me to snack on
Toasted Cheese Wavioli
WILL IT WAFFLE??
maggie is intrigued by the egg-bath/bread crumbs process
and LO! it waffled!
with some marinara dippin’ sauce
they didn’t brown up as nicely as they did in the picture from the book – many of them were soft instead of crispy, and it made a hell of a mess in the griddle – all sorts of loose bread crumbs blackening and wedging into the griddle squares. it was easy enough to clean, just a bit annoying to get into all those crannies. and i forgot to photograph the mess, oops. however, so far this project is fun and educational! oh, and tasty!
Crispy Waffled Bacon and Eggs
WILL IT WAFFLE?
okay, so this one…this one might not actually waffle. not gracefully, anyway.
i decided to let sean of the house do this one, since he’s the resident breakfast chef. he started getting the bacon pan ready and i was all, “what the crap are you doing?” “making bacon, karen,” he replied, as though talking to an unbright child. “no, sean, you’re using the waffle iron, remember?” in pretty much the same tone. “for BACON??” he shrieked.
sigh. it’s like he doesn’t understand my projects.
once i managed to convince him, “YES, sean – bacon and eggs in the waffle iron, that’s the whole point of this. but have no fear, the book assures me it will waffle.”
we learned that some fear is healthy and appropriate.
he started with the bacon:
which retained none of the waffling pattern, which is the only reason one would make bacon in a waffle iron, because it’s certainly not faster. four minutes, my ass! but whatever. he made 3/4 of the bacon in the waffle iron before giving up and making the rest in a pan, which is the only way bacon should ever be made.
and then… the eggs.
“wait, you want me to make the EGGS in the waffle iron?”
yeah, it was a long night.
it started out fine:
no broken yolks, everything’s just dandy. but again – it took forever. and once it was decided that they were “done enough,” they were…not really done enough.
i mean, you can see the salmonella bubbles lurking under the surface there. that is not a cooked egg, man.
he decided to try it one at a time. NLGM.
hooray on the waffle-patterning, but have you ever seen more unappetizing eggs in your life?
we ended up finishing all four eggs in the oven, because no one wants to puke all night. then i made some toast in the waffle iron, even though that was not part of the official recipe. but i needed a success, especially since i was watching the kitten summer games, which were very inspiring.
and toast – toast WILL waffle
eggs – you’re on your own.
but at least sean made the plate look pretty, if awfully peppery
conclusion – book is LIES when it comes to bacon and eggs.
Waffled Pineapple Dusted With Chili Powder
WILL IT WAFFLE?
thankfully, this was a happier event. good waffle marks, there.
the recipe called for a dusting of chili powder, but offered ground ginger as an alternative. i took it a step further and ALSO tried cinnamon:
book also suggested eating it with cottage cheese
this time, book did not lie, although it did not warn me about the loud gagging noises that would come from sean of the house when confronted with cottage cheese.
Waffled Pajeon
WILL IT WAFFLE?
sean of the house took over on this recipe, too. maybe over his shame at the bacon and eggs disaster, maybe just because he could tell i was sleepy, but in any case, this one was not an unqualified success, so it may be the last the waffle project sees of sean-as-chef.
into the waffler!
the first one turned out “doughy and weird,” in sean’s assessment
the second one wasn’t much better
it was supposed to take a total of ten minutes to make 4 of these things, and it ended up taking more than 2 hours. they just weren’t browning up nicely
so we ended up putting them into the oven to bake further
which was sort of successful
at any rate, they were really tasty. i made the sesame-soy dipping sauce
and that was also yummy. it took a really long time and they still weren’t as brown as sean would have liked, but still – a tasty treat. and i’m growing scallions now, as the book tells me i can do quite easily, so i will report back here if that makes any decent progress. scallion farming in queens!
Waffled Ham and Cheese Melt with Maple Butter
WILL IT WAFFLE?
yes, i know. this is just another grilled cheese, so why make it? well because 1) i needed a success after a couple of rough recipes and 2) MAPLE BUTTER
and yeah, these were excellent and everything went right.
so there. a bit of a cop-out, but whatever – i’m not complaining about “too much cheese and butter” in my life.
i was supposed to make the mac and cheese last night, but instead, i had ice cream for dinner. and i regret nothing.
Waffled Macaroni and Cheese
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this one is the new favorite. it’s not quick, but it’s worth it.
so, the day before, you make some mac and cheese:
you make it extra cheesy
then the next day, you cut out a wedge of it, and bisect each wedge into 1/2-inch slices
while a cat pretends not to notice
then you dip each wedge into flour, then an egg/salt/pepper bath, then into a bread crumb/parmesan cheese coating and then you’re ready to waffle
ohhhhhhhhhh
the best thing i have ever made in a waffle iron. holy moly.
Blueberry Cinnamon Muffles (Waffled Muffins)
WILL IT WAFFLE?
waffled muffins? what a country!
this one is easy and straightforward. just make some batter
and waffle it
and ta-daaa – muffles
even if you get wild blueberries the way the recipe suggests you do in order to avoid this, you will still get some blueberry flecks stuck to your waffle iron. make someone else clean it – you’re very busy.
Crisscrossed Crab Cakes
WILL IT WAFFLE?
okay, this is my new favorite recipe. i almost didn’t make it, because lump crabmeat is EXPENSIVE, but i was at trader joe’s and it wasn’t cheap, but it was less expensive than i’ve seen it, so i decided to go for it and oh my god – i am so glad i did.
mixture:
this recipe also includes sriracha mayo:
and they just came out perfectly – they browned nicely, they had nice waffle-patterns, and they were delicious
the recipe made 10, and i had mine on a bed of greens with lemon
completely forgetting to add the mayonnaise that i had resting in the fridge! when sean came home, he ate his half, claiming they were the best things he’s ever eaten, ever, and proceeded to use the entire bowl of sriracha mayo, so it’s probably good that i didn’t have any. i had a bite of his with the mayo, and it was great, but even with just lemon, these are damn tasty. a definite winner.
tonight i will be trying TWO recipes. hold onto your hats!
Waffled Fries
WILL IT WAFFLE?
i have never used potato flakes before. i never even understood what they were. so i was excited to have an excuse to see what they could do. this is what they can do:
they can make tiny, delicious french fries. in a waffle iron.
Classic Waffleburger with Cheese
WILL IT WAFFLE?
i gotta confess, i did not have high hopes for this one. considering how long it took to make a freaking egg in the waffle iron, i figured there’s no way i’d be able to make a burger that would not be deadly if eaten. and yet
not only did they cook through, they were actually a bit too well-done for my tastes! what a surprise!
it does make a bit of a mess
and i didn’t take a picture of what happened after i tried, as per the book’s instructions, to make these into cheeseburgers. maybe it works with a heartier cheese, but i don’t recommend it with kraft singles, which is what i like on my burgers. instant horrific melting-and-sticking.but tasty if melted in the oven. and yes, i put the fries on the burger for an added treat
sean had his without greens, but he made a new batch of sriracha mayo
a very exciting discovery, these waffle burgers…
and for those of you who are dying to know how my scallion-farming is going:
it is going very well, indeed
Cheesy Waffled Arancini
WILL IT WAFFLE?
yes, but it’s not a perfect recipe. or maybe just an imperfect chef. i had a lot of difficulty making the rice balls stay in ball-form, especially when i went to put them in the egg wash and then roll them in the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. they kept falling apart. these were some of the more successful ones.
but then i had the inspiration to put the balls in the freezer, and after that, it worked very well, although, obviously, it took longer to waffle them, so this turned into a two-day project
from batch 1
this is batch 2 – you can see i got impatient and ended up making one huge one, but no regrets. very tasty, but i definitely recommend freezing.
Wapple Pie (Waffled Apple Pie)
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this one involves more stovetopping than the others, but well worth it. first, you make the apple filling:
then you make the waffle/pie crust batter and you fret because it looks yukka
but it makes tasty waffles
then you stuff in the filling, like it’s an actual pie!
then you cover it all up with vanilla bean ice cream (unless you’re sean of the house and you think you’re fancy with your salted caramel ice cream)
apple pie in a waffle iron – it can be done!
Zucchini-Parmesan Flattened Fritters
WILL IT WAFFLE?
yes! and apparently my milk will be good until october. which seems suspicious, but who am i to argue with a cow about milk?
so much tasty green zucchini!
you make tiny little cakes outta them:
they took a while to cook, and still seemed underdone (but very vibrant!)
i put them in the oven for a while to finish, which made them more dense, but less green
and then i just hid ’em all under parmesan cheese, so color was irrelevant
these all got eaten up in one sitting, and are sean’s new favorite. i think i made ’em too salty, but that might have been what he liked so much.
Crispy Sesame Waffled Kale
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this recipe stresses the importance of the kale being thoroughly washed (duh) but also thoroughly dried before waffling, to ensure crispness. i don’t live the salad-spinner-having lifestyle of this book’s author, but with some paper towels, a powerful overstove light, and the merciless and pervasive presence of summer, you don’t need to have fancy things, and i was already feeling a little too showy because my store only had the frilly kale and not the more sensible flat kind today.
it crisps up in the waffler (and takes longer than you’d think, despite being so well-dried) and then you drain off the oily residue
before tossing it with some sea salt and sesame seeds. which is recommended in the “variations” section of this recipe, and since i have a ton of these buggers around from that pajeon recipe, i might as well get through ’em.
the recipe warns The kale will cook down significantly, so start with more than you might think you need. considering sean’s stance on kale, i figured a single leaf would be more than i would need, but once i covered the kale in salt, he grudgingly said it “wasn’t gross”
Waffled Portobello Mushroom with Italian Herbs
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this recipe was a bit of a cheat. and a lesson in ‘never assume your spice rack contains all the spices ever.’ because i was somehow out of both basil and rosemary (i usually buy it fresh, i guess, because it’s more economical), i had to cheat and use some herbes de provence (which contains both of those herbs and then some other stuff) and oregano. so it’s more accurately Waffled Portobello Mushroom with European Herbs. whatevs. marinate, grill
use the variation of the recipe that suggests you top with cheese because duh. i used fontina
and follow this very important instruction: A little cheese may be left behind on the grid. This is for the cook
sean did not like this at all. he said it was soggy and weird and i ended up eating his. more cheese for me!
Waffled Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
WILL IT WAFFLE?
waffled cookies! a wonderful idea! in theory. the next few recipes were not the most successful wafflers of all time, but there’s still time to get back to the glory days of the beginning of the project.
first of all, thanks a lot, summer
oh, actually…thanks a lot, summer! yum!
these are just weird. i took a lot of pictures of the next few recipes, but i’m short on space (again), so i had to edit. long story short, these cookies lack density, which is what i like in a cookie. they were too airy and muffinlike for my tastes, although the 3 people i shared them with enjoyed them.
fine, not great. and not really cookies
Sweet and Savory Waffled Sausage Patties
WILL IT WAFFLE?
it started off ok. i bought lots of extra pork because i had good feelings about this one, even though i was just using supermarket maple syrup because poverty. i made the balls with all the herbs and stuff
but they were a little weird: dense and a bit dry, and i had to finish them in the oven because they were too poison inside
they definitely win “messiest,” although it was really easy to clean, despite how horrific it looks
sean liked these more than i did, so he can finish ’em.
Waffled Hash Browns with Rosemary
WILL IT WAFFLE?
sure, eventually.
the recipe made a big point about how dry the potatoes needed to be in order to crisp, and i swear, i dried the crap out of them, but they just kept steaming and steaming and not being crispy
until they basically incinerated
sean likes crispy, salty things, so he ate ’em right up, but they took forever, and they did not look nearly as good as the one in the book, which is freaking perfect:
show-off
and on that theme
Caprese Salad with Waffled Eggplant
WILL IT WAFFLE?
i went out of my way to find nice, colorful tomatoes to make this pretty
but the eggplant refused to be as pretty as in the book after i waffled it. and it was soggy even though i salted the crap out of it for a really long time
as far as my presentation, well, that one’s on me
although this one corner is photogenic
it was delicious, but i’m going to need some lessons in plating. the book’s is so much more elegant:
Waloumi (Waffled Haloumi Cheese) and Watermelon
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this was absolutely delicious; worth tracking down haloumi in a haloumi-less town and worth removing watermelon seeds when i couldn’t find seedless.
salty, sweet, refreshing. pictures will speak for themselves
Waffled Chocolate-Stuffed French Toast
WILL IT WAFFLE?
this was what i asked sean to make me for my birthday. it was perfect.
he made whipped butter and stuffed the brioche with chocolate chips, peach-apricot jam, and raspberries.
messy birthday to me!
Waffled Chicken Fingers
WILL IT WAFFLE?
another winner! it’s involved; lots of pounding of chicken breasts and many dip-stations before waffling
but they waffle really well and they stay juicy with a little hot sauce kick
Waffled Mochi with Green Tea Ice Cream
WILL IT WAFFLE?
the happiest surprise is that it WILL, against all expectations. because i honestly didn’t think that this
would turn into this
in a freaking waffle iron! and yet – ta-daaa!
very tasty stuff, and apparently i can also make mochi pizza in my waffle iron, which i will try soon!
Waffled Sweet Potato Gnocchi
WILL IT WAFFLE?
running out of room with 5 recipes to go, so i’m just going to breeze through. gnocchi balls!
gnocchi!
covered in a crispy waffled sage and butter sauce!
gnocchi is kind of a pain in the ass to make; very sticky and messy is the dough, but worth it. and i only made half that tray, so there’s tons for leftovers!
Waffled Filet Mignon
WILL IT WAFFLE?
it freaking does! i was so worried, since they seemed so thick
but i rolled it in salt and pepper and crossed my fingers
the bacon totally fell off
and it was a little more done than i like, but still a success, and a lesson in trusting the book
Stuffles (Stuffing Waffles)
WILL IT WAFFLE?
make stuffing
waffle
simple perfection – no room to say more!
Pressed Potato and Cheese Pierogi
WILL IT WAFFLE?
first, you make some dough
then make little pockets of potatoes and cheese and stuff
and waffle!
until the middles spill out
apply sour cream
a bit dry, but yum anyway
S’mores (Waffled S’mores)
WILL IT WAFFLE?
fun! so, first you make the “graham cracker”
then you put the middles in place
because i knew i overdid the quantity of middle-tasties, i wisely decided to put it in the oven instead of waffling it
so, it was a little cheaty, but i’d rather have more melties than a gold star for following directions
Bibimbaffle (Waffled Bibimbap)
WILL IT WAFFLE?
yes, but no room to elaborate. colorful, messy, tasty. also, i did NOT make the egg in the waffle iron, b/c i learn from my mistakes
WAFFLES! WAFFLES! WAFFLES! WAFFLES! SO MANY THINGS CAN WAFFLE!
