Thursday, May 28, 2009

L'Eggo My Eggo...

For me, the ultimate, ne plus ultra comfort food is anything made with waffles. When I feel I just have to nosh on something, waffles will do the trick every time. There are about a million things you can make with waffles, and all of them are scrumptious. They make wonderful desserts as well, with berries, icing sugar and ice cream, and maybe some chocolate or caramel sauce. Yum.

Waffles are really easy to make, and I still have my mother and father's waffle iron. I remember my father making waffles on Sunday mornings, with real Canadian maple syrup and his wonderful coffee. The waffles never looked as tidy as they do in this photograph, however. There was waffle batter spilling over the sides, and sticking to everything. That was my favorite part -- what I used to call the "scrumbly bits". My least favorite part was having to wash the waffle iron afterwards, which of course was always my job. Now I understand why.

Anyway ... I have promised that my blog would be a "recipe free" zone, mainly because all your recipes are so much more wonderful than mine -- but I just have to share with you a recipe I discovered invented that is so good, you have to try it. If you don't want to go to the fuss of making "real" waffles, Eggo makes really good "store-bought" waffles. Anyway, make (or buy) a cinnamon waffle with raisins, cover it with thick slices of old, old, old brick cheddar cheese, and put it in the oven at about 425 degrees until the cheddar cheese melts and gets a bit bubbly and crispy. You'll know by looking at it. When you take it out of the oven, sprinkle it with with cracked pepper. The combination of sweet waffle, tart aged cheese, and peppery pepper will make your taste buds do the dance of joy. I know it sounds really peculiar, but the Munchkins love it when I make this for them. It's really good with an ice cold beer. (Don't serve that to your Munchkins, however...)

"Try it, you'll like it.."

So ... what strange food combinations do you enjoy?

17 comments:

Alissa Grosso said...

Your waffle fetish makes me think of the Amy Poehler character in the new "Parks and Recreation" show. It's a sort of running gag that whenever she goes out she always seems to get a big Belgian waffle with whipped cream.

Your recipe actually does sound tasty. I used to make a sandwich for myself with cinnamon raisin bread, a sun-dried tomato spread, and veggie pepperoni. It sounds really weird and I certainly got some strange stares if I brought it to work for lunch, but it was really good. Haven't hand one in awhile, but now I'm sort of hungry for one.

Another weird combination is Doritos dipped in chocolate. Again, sounds weird, but it is actually strangely tasty. I wouldn't eat more than a few, though.

Hilary said...

This doesn't sound strange at all.. and it does sound delicious. I was going to say how I love the salty/sweet combo of alternating chocolate with potato chips.. but Alissa's got that beat!

Anonymous said...

Chocolate chip cookies and orange juice. Whenever people hear that I love that combination, they think I am totally weird. Why isn't it weird when it is a orange flavored chocolate bar though?

ivan@c reativewwriting.ca said...

You are obviously female, but I've heard it said gay men like to write about food being served. Discuss. :)

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Now I want a waffle, but with my homemade applebutter. My husband and his mother like toast topped with peanut butter, twoslices of crisp bacon and a slice of raw onion on top. I haven't tried it since I am not a fan of raw onions.

Pyzahn said...

When I was a junk food junkie, I LOVED Hostess Cupcakes dunked in milk and combined in my mouth with crunchy potato chips. That sweet salty combo.

When I lived in the south, I often frequented Waffle House and got hooked on Pecan Waffles. Yum.

Charles Gramlich said...

I like waffles but have to spread them out over time. I'd get tired of 'em day in and day out.

Essie said...

Sunday waffles in the iron are a family favorite.I have to admit your suggestion sounds weird, but we are going to try it, the hubby said its just odd enough to sound good...especially with beer. I used to be a cook, and my specialty was medium rare top round or rib steak served over cous cous and covered with Bearnaise sauce. I would sometimes use Hollandaise if I couldn't get Bearnaise. I served that with lightly steamed asparagus and sea salt. This is the hubby's favorite.

Nancy said...

I can't think of anything weird, unfortunately. But now I want a waffle...

kenju said...

I love waffles and I will try that cheese and pepper trick tomorrow.

When I was a teenager, I used to eat sandwiches on whole wheat of crunchy peanut butter, sliced onion and mustard. I ate one after I got married and grossed out my husband with it.

Jo said...

Alissa, I have heard of that show. I'll have to watch it! Your sandwich sounds delicious. I'm going to try it. :-)

Hilary, I have never tried the chocolate potato chip thing, but I'm going to try it. Thanks!

Cat, yes! Chocolate and orange are made for each other! Yum!

Ivan, *heh* Gosh, food being served? Hmmmmm....

Kathy, homemade apple butter. I'm a goner...! And your husband's toast dish sounds kinda good. Another one for me to try. :-)

Pyzahn, I'm hearing a lot about the chocolate and potato chip thing. I'm really going to have to try it!

Charles, oh, yes, you would not want them every day. I could eat cheese every day, however. :-)

Mean Mama, can I come over to your house, and will you cook that for me? I think that would quickly become my favorite dish. It sounds wonderful!

LoverOfLife, I also love waffles with fresh raspberries and a little bit of icing sugar. Yum!

Kenju, whole wheat, crunchy peanut butter, sliced onion and mustard. It does sound just weird enough to be delicious! Another thing for me to try!

Essie said...

Jo, of course you can come over, and I would love to cook for you!

Essie said...

Most people have said this dish sounds weird though!

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I like "mixed" food. Antthing sweet and sour (salt) just makes my day.

At one stage I constantly had a craving for a sandwich with peanutbutter, syrup and polony.

Rachael @ The Little Birdie said...

That sounds DE-LISH! I will have to try it out on the hubby this weekend. (He loves waffles too!)

Thanks!

Patsy said...

Jo! Ok, the best part about your post is that you have a waffle maker. I have been fighting the urge to buy one because of all the talk about calories. However, I buy Eggo Waffles and even the Ralph's brand waffles and they are fine.....

Do you have a regular waffle recipe? I mean, I would probably end up using Bisquick, but do you have a recipe?

Ok look.... that recipe sounds odd and I do not want to try it. I feel like a provincial chauvinist for saying it.


~Lorna




~Lorna

Paula Slade said...

Actually Jo, it sounds like an interesting combination and I think I will give it a try! I had to laugh when you mentioned your family's waffle iron - my dad used to make us waffles on the weekend, and they tasted great, but sure didn't resemble that picture either. I also remember what a chore it was to clean the waffle iron. :-p