The Book: Will It Waffle? by Daniel Shumski. Can you use a waffle maker for unconventional foods? This journalist started a blog about it, turned it into a book, then deleted all his blog posts, presumably so you would have to buy the book. I guess I can’t blame him. The major problem I have with waffle iron cooking, as it turns out, is the mess. They are SO hard to clean. I ended up ordering one with removable plates for easier cleaning, but they don’t cook as well as a standard iron. You just can’t win.
Read more: Cooking The Books: Will It Waffle?Pros:
There is an excellent variety of recipes – breakfast dishes, desserts, even meats. And of course waffles. The photography is lovely and reminds me that I’m still terrible at it. (Note: I finally gave up on the Kodak Pixpro (crap) and found a roughly used Nikon L810 on eBay, which hopefully will produce an upswing in the quality of my shots. I was using my phone half the time because I hated that camera so much.) Instructions are clear and ingredients are easily attainable.
Cons:
Waffle irons are very, very different from each other and there isn’t much information on how to adjust for your particular type. I know he couldn’t possibly test all the models, but I have two that are so wildly different. The cooking times aren’t exactly correct, but that will vary from iron to iron of course.
The Recipes:
Waffled Filet Mignon:
I’m not going to put a $20 piece of meat into a waffle iron. I just can’t do it. I ended up with one of those $5 bacon-wrapped filets that are the lowest possible quality that you can still legally call filet. Possibly it comes from a donkey, goat, or other vaguely farm-adjacent quadruped. This ain’t Wagyu, folks. I unwrap the (bafflingly long) bacon strip to cut down on grease, salt and pepper the “meat”, and into the iron it goes. Around 5 minutes later I have a little waffled steak. It fell apart when the bacon came off, and again – really low quality product, but it’s obvious that this is a legitimate cooking method. Quicker than pan frying, and less splatter, but cleaning the iron afterwards is a nightmare.
Waffled Grilled Cheese:
This is kind of an obvious one, albeit it certainly never occurred to me to try it. I went on a big grilled cheese kick after watching The Chef Show (like everyone else did who watched the show), and results were mixed. The fine line between burned and hard unmelted cheese is hard to walk, resulting in either glory or tears. This technique actually takes away a bit of the guesswork. It doesn’t get quite as crispy on the outside, and leaky melted cheese burns its way into every groove of the iron. But it was a fine sandwich. No real complaints.
Waffle Fries:
Now this one is just neat. It’s an ingenious little recipe and I’ve made it about a dozen times. It uses instant mashed potato flakes hydrated with butter and water to make these crunchy little fries. This recipe makes a waffle iron worth getting, even if you aren’t that in to waffles. They aren’t as great as real fries, but a little spritz of cooking spray vs. two quarts of deep frying oil? Much quicker and cleaner. Seven thumbs up.
So this book, while not thick or exhaustive, yields good results and is fun to play with. It makes you wonder what else you could be waffling – fresh fruit? Soup? Cotton candy? No, of course not – but still – three recipes and three more-or-less successes, including one that’s become a regular in my kitchen.
Verdict: Keep
(Note: Due to my infrequent posting, I have sadly acquired even more cookbooks in between blogs. I really need to buckle down here. I don’t know where they all come from – they just show up on my front porch like stray cats*.)
(*Shout-out to Smokey Joe, Smiley, Georgie-Bro, and Mr. Toes who are always welcome to stop by for a free meal.)
Bonus content! I was hopelessly trying to grill baguette slices for a dip and had a lightbulb moment! Will it waffle? Yes it will! It toasted evenly and far less greasily than trying to do it in a pan. Waffle Power!
illdothedisheslater 