Toward the end of summer, I had a unique opportunity to help a friend who keeps bees harvest their honey. It was a very special day for me as I have a real interest in keeping bees and this was my first opportunity to get a taste of what that is like.
The day ended up being special for more than one reason. After a day of harvesting, straining and packaging honey, we were treated to an amazing lunch on the patio. One of treats we were served was Tater Tots. Perhaps that doesn’t sound like much of a treat to you, but these were not just any Tater Tots, these were Tater Tots cooked in a waffle iron. You may have heard of this, but it was a totally new idea to me. These were the best Tater Tots I have ever had; they were crispy beyond belief, deeply brown and oh, so crunchy. That was my first exposure to the idea of waffling things other than waffles. Look around online, there are some really fun ideas out there: stick a cinnamon roll in your waffle iron, even donuts, put a quesadilla in there and yes, mac and cheese, too. Of course, I had to play around with this fun idea and share with you both my successful and not so successful experiments.
A lot of the food that is being waffled might be more about having fun than really making something delicious. Don’t get me wrong - I think if you just want to play around with the kids and stick crazy stuff into your waffle iron, go for it. Being a chef I couldn’t help but think: what could I waffle that would actually be better waffled than any other way of cooking. It might have been a lofty goal, and I am not sure I achieved that but here is what I came up with.
The Monte Cristo Sandwhich
A traditional Monte Cristo sandwich is made of bread, ham, turkey, gruyere cheese and mustard. It is battered, deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Unless you own a restaurant with a deep fryer, it is pretty tough to deep fry a whole sandwich at home. It’s a difficult sandwich to make and then of course there is the fact that most people don’t eat a lot of deep-fried sandwiches. It hit me one day, the Monte Cristo could be the perfect thing to waffle! The batter on the Monte Cristo is essentially a pancake batter, so instead of deep frying I could just put the bad boy in a waffle maker and crisp the batter in there. I think the result was pretty stellar.
I chose a bread that was pretty thinly sliced, flavorful but soft enough to contour to the waffle iron. Spread a layer of spicy mustard on one side, mayonnaise on the other, a layer of sliced turkey, and smoked ham. I took the batter and ladled it over the sandwich, hitting all sides, brushed some oil on the waffle iron and popped it in. I was never able to totally close the lid but I was able to press down hard enough to get the sandwich browned pretty evenly. It took just about 2 minutes to brown after the ready light on the waffle iron came back on. I sprinkled a little powdered sugar over the top, and it was ready to go.
Monte Cristo
Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe
Yield: approximately 3 sandwiches
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
For the sandwich:
6 slices of good quality white or wheat bread
6 ounces of sliced ham
6 ounces of sliced turkey
6 ounces of sliced gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or spicy mustard
2 tablespoons mayo
For the batter:
1/2 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Grapeseed oil or non-stick cooking spray
- Plug your waffle iron in.
- Prepare batter by mixing all the dry ingredients and slowly stirring in milk and egg.
- Assemble sandwiches by spreading mayo on one slice of bread and mustard on the other. Layer ham, turkey and gruyere between bread and set aside.
- Ladle batter over sandwich and place in your preheated waffle iron that has been light oiled or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Close the lid and cook until lightly brown and cheese has melted. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
I made these ahead of time for a little get together we had around the bonfire. I warmed them back up in the oven and it made for a fun and very easy party snack.
One thing I walked away with from this experiment is that you don't really need a panini press if you have a waffle iron. You can essentially do the same recipes you can do in the panini press in your waffle iron but not necessarily the other way around.
Okonomiyaki
I have been making the recipe for Okonomiyaki from my favorite cookbook Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant for 20 years. This is essentially a Japanese pancake but it is not sweet; it is a savory dish usually served as a snack or appetizer. I just love this recipe and although I can’t take credit for the recipe I can certainly waffle it!
A waffle and pancake are so similar it only made sense to give it a try. Okonomiyaki contains a lot of vegetables and vegetables contain a lot of water so a traditional version has a rather soft texture, which is not so easy to crisp on the outside. I thought perhaps waffling it would achieve a crispier outside. I don’t think this was entirely achieved, but the exterior was a little crispier than just sautéing the pancake in a pan. It did take quite awhile for the pancake to crisp, about 10 minutes after the ready light came back on.
Rice
That’s right I said fried rice. Here is my thought: in any culture where rice is a staple, the most prized part of the rice is the very brown rice at the bottom of rice pot (Guoba). It is crunchy, nutty and delicious! It’s only natural to assume if I waffle it, we might achieve this delicacy a whole lot faster and crunchier. I’m not really sure if the results were edible or terrible. The rice is pretty hard, but it is also kind of crunchy and nutty. Certainly it is not Gouba, and it took forever to brown so I am not sure the result is anything that would have me do this again.
I also thought fried rice might be really good. Take your leftover fried rice and add a little extra egg to it and pop it in there, it might get crispy and yummy! Not so much, but I tried adding some extra sauce to my rice and I added too much egg so it was pretty wet to begin with. It took forever to brown but the results were pretty tasty. I will try this again for sure… if any of you try it and get good results please share your tips and tricks in the comments section below.
Brownies
Seems like everyone loves the crispy edge of a chewy brownie, so yes let's waffle it! This was a hands-down winner, and it did just what I wanted. Waffling it warmed the center and took my already crispy, chewy crust and made it just that much crispier and chewier. Topping that warm crispy brownie with ice cream took it over the edge!
The brownies only take about 30 seconds in the waffle maker, be careful not to leave them in there too long or they start to melt.
I would love to hear about your waffling experiments in the comments section! Have some fun in the kitchen and share your results with us.
If you are getting tired of your own cooking and want to shake it up a bit, join us for a little fun and inspiration in the kitchen in one of our upcoming classes. In our Bloody Mary Brunch demonstration class at Lincoln Square this Saturday, October 31 at 11am, you can learn how to make Fried Chicken and Waffles with Tabasco-Honey Butter as you enjoy the classic morning beverage and a full meal.
Monte Cristo
Ingredients
- 6 slices of good quality white or wheat bread
- 6 ounces of sliced ham
- 6 ounces of sliced turkey
- 6 ounces of sliced gruyere cheese
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or spicy mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Grapeseed oil or non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Plug your waffle iron in.
- Prepare batter by mixing all the dry ingredients and slowly stirring in milk and egg.
- Assemble sandwiches by spreading mayo on one slice of bread and mustard on the other. Layer ham, turkey and gruyere between bread and set aside.
- Ladle batter over sandwich and place in your preheated waffle iron that has been light oiled or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Close the lid and cook until lightly brown and cheese has melted. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
