Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Comfort food for Dean
Dean has beer pancakes, but no waffles.
CNE Hot Ice Cream Waffle, originally uploaded by Squeakyrat.
The waffle of my dreams. I had never, ever imagined sandwiching vanilla ice cream with two hot-off-the-iron waffles, but the idea is compelling. Certainly beats the usual dress-up with strawberries (yucky frozen berries all soggy and nasty and dripping with strawberry blood) or bananas or name your fruit.
But a well wrought waffle needs no ice cream. Maple syrup, yes. Yes indeed. The well wrought waffle should be light, yeasty, a little salty, a little sweet. It should dissolve in your mouth with minimal mastication.
How to leaven your waffle:
A. Yeast. Great flavor, but the preparation is time-consuming, and if you’re not careful, you’ll develop the gluten, too. Tough waffles.
B. Stiffly beaten egg whites folded into the batter. This makes for a crispy, light waffle. One of the best strategies.
C. Double acting baking powder. Fast, reliable, but if you’re not careful, you’ll have bitter waffles. Also, unlike options A or B, baking powder adds no flavor to the finished product.
My favorite: combine options A and B.
I tried to find a photo of Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, but Flickr didn’t have one. Yes, Google undoubtedly does, but I’m going to ask you to use your imagination.
A pile of waffles.
A big ol’ hunk of fried chicken.
Syrup.
Gravy.
A heart attack from this lipid-laden dish is, well, not unlike dying in the arms of your dream boff. Trouble is, the heart attack usually arrives long after the chicken and waffles have exited. Which is why you should always have some chicken and waffles frozen away. In case of heart attack, take one aspirin, call 911, thaw out the chicken and waffles in the microwave, and eat ’em up on the ambulance drive into the hospital.
D.
“…or bananas or name your fruit.”
I’ve named my mango Mervyn. (Say it like a 1950’s Jerry Lewis.)
When in university, they had a Belgian waffle maker in the cafeteria and it was my Friday treat. Two inch thick, crispy, sweet (I seared of at least an inch of thumb skin on the hinge, but worth the bandages). With tons of butter held in each cup and swirling with maple syrup. I’ve never had another Belgian waffle as good, as they’ve never been so thick, or the squares so deep. Obviously, industrial sized is the way to go.
waffles, ice cream, milk chocolate topping, beach, sun, FARGGI… ^_^
my friend cory introduced me to a chinese frozen treat–icecream FILLED waffles. dont ask me how, but inside each little square of the waffle (like, INSIDE, so you cant see it from the outside) there was ice cream. i was leery at first, but was convinced to try it, and it was GOOD. mmmm…i heart waffles. and at my house, they’re always chocolate chip! sometimes at school i’ll give myself a treat and make a belgian waffle (lyvvie, most schools have those!) and put mini-chocolate chips from the ice-cream bar on there. and syrup. lots of syrup.
i’m curious about the egg-white thing though. how many, and when in the preparation, and what recipe do you use? in my house, it’s Aunt Jemima all the way, so basically our waffles are pancakes in a different form. i still love ’em.
One of these days I’ll have to measure the amounts I use — mostly, I just wing it. But here’s the basic idea:
Dry ingredients: flour — one or two cups, depending on how many waffles I’m making; sugar (something like 1 to 3 teaspoons); salt (not too much!) Mix well.
Wet ingredients: milk (warmed in the microwave to about body temp), vanilla, 2 egg yolks, 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Nice additions: a tiny dash of almond extract OR some lemon zest. Yum. Mix well.
Two egg whites: beat to stiff peak stage.
One packet of yeast proofed in 1/4 cup warm water with a dash of sugar.
Combine the dry ingredients with the first set of wet ingredients and the yeast solution. The goal here is to have a batter that’s just a wee bit too thick. Then you’re going to fold in the egg whites.
Resist the temptation to leave the batter sitting around (in order for the yeast to rise). That’s not the point of the yeast. The yeast is there for added flavor. You can indeed use yeast as a leavener, but if you include the egg whites and if your folding skills are good, the egg whites will do the whole job for you.
Mmm. A good, chrome waffle iron was one of the first appliances I asked for when moving out on my own. Love ’em!
When I was a kid, one of our favourite treats on the Jersey boardwalk was the waffle-and-ice-cream sandwich. Two crisp, fresh quarter-waffles filled with ice cream (my choice was usually the Neapolitan) and dusted with powdered sugar. A classic.
We prefer the egg whites method around here. Also, ever had pumpkin spice waffles? Le yum!
hmmm…that recipe sounds delish, except for the yeast part–we are not fans of yeast in this house, i dunno why. i dont think we have any, even. can i make ’em without the yeast??
I prefer waffles with small holes, not the belgian kind – my parents had a waffle iron with 1/2″ indentations. My favourite way to eat them is to fill the holes with melted butter, then the darkest brown sugar I can get. The little holes provide a superior waffle:butter:sugar ratio.
shaina — I don’t see why you couldn’t do without the yeast, since you can use Bisquick for pancake or waffle batter.
Shaina: yup, like ps said. You can just use egg whites by themselves and leave out the yeast.
I’d be tempted to add a little malt powder if I left out the yeast, just to give the flavor some complexity.
Goddamn.
Just …. goddamn.
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