Cauliflower Cheese Waffles #WaffleWeek2015

Lots of strong and bitey cheddar and tender cauliflower florets make a savory waffle that is delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I am a sucker for an enthusiastic invitation and folks who are organized. Way back in July, I read a Facebook post from Kim of Feed Me, Seymour proclaiming her love of waffles and inviting bloggers to join her for a celebration of those fluffy squares in far away September. That's what I call planning ahead! (Thanks, Kim!) I had been ruminating already about the possibility of cauliflower cheese waffles ever since I created the loaded baked potato waffles for National Waffle Week last year so Kim’s invitation was just the push I needed. If you love waffles like we love waffles, make sure to scroll down after my recipe to see all the creative variations we are sharing today!

My friend, Jane, has kindly invited me to share a Thanksgiving feast with her dear family twice in the last few years. First when I was all alone and lonely, just before we moved from Kuala Lumpur to Cairo and then again last year when my visit in KL happened to overlap with the holiday. I was delighted to accept because 1. I love her and her family and 2. She makes the best cauliflower cheese. It’s an essential dish in her Thanksgiving line up with its thick, cheesy sauce poured over cauliflower then baked to golden perfection. I could eat just that and be happy forever. I was channeling Jane’s dish when I created these savory waffles.

Ingredients for six or seven square Belgian waffles
Florets from 1/2 small cauliflower (Approximate weight 7 1/2 oz or 220g)
1 cup or 125g flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder – I use Coleman’s.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 cup or 90g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to serve, if desired
1/2 cup plain thick Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 egg
Canola or other light oil for greasing waffle iron

To garnish: a sprinkle of chopped green onion tops

Method
Steam the cauliflower florets for about 5-7 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from the pot and allow to cool in the steamer or in a colander so any excess moisture will drain off. Transfer to some paper towels to dry further.

Once the florets are completely cool and dry, chop them up roughly. You want them in pieces that will show up in the waffles without being so big that they stop the waffle iron from closing.

Combine the flour, sugar, mustard powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Pretend the pepper is there, okay? I did add it after the photo.

Tip the cauliflower pieces into the flour mixture and stir well so they are coated with flour.

Now add in the grated cheese and stir well.

Whisk the egg, yogurt and milk together in a smaller mixing bowl.

Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix!

Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with a little canola oil.

Spoon the manufacturer’s recommended amount of batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking. On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready. I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy. But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Serve topped with a little extra grated cheese and some green onions, if desired.

If you have any batter left over, go ahead and baked the waffles and store them, wrapped in cling film, in the refrigerator or freezer. These reheat beautifully in the toaster.

Enjoy!

Special thanks to Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for our lovely graphic!

Are you ready for Waffle Week 2015? Whether you like ‘em sweet or savory, we’ve got you covered!

Appet-affles

• Cheese & Pear Waffle Appetizer by The Freshman Cook
• Waffled Polenta Crisps with Caponata by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Breakf-affles

• Buckwheat Waffles Benedict by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Churro Waffles by A Nerd Cooks
• Coconut Flour Waffles with Spiced Pineapple Syrup by Aloha Flavor
• Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Pecan Waffles by Rhubarb and Honey
• Orange and Dark Chocolate Waffles by Cookie Monster Cooking
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Stuffed French Toast Waffles by The Spiffy Cookie
• Potato Waffle Eggs Florentine by Eats Well With Others
• Pumpkin Waffle Sandwiches with Apple Butter and Melted Brie by Go Go Go Gourmet

Waffl-ides

• Brown Sugar Chicken and Waffles by GirlCarnivore
• Cauliflower Cheese Waffles by Food Lust People Love
• Chicken and Spiced Sweet Potato Waffles by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hummus Waffles with Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomatoes by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Mac and Cheese Waffles with Honey Bunches Chicken by Baking In A Tornado
• Sweet & Savoury Sausage & Apple Waffles by Fuchsia Freezer
• Sweet Potato Waffles with Horseradish Sauce by Our Good Life

Dessert Dish-affles

• Apple Pie Waffles by Spiced
• Banana Split Waffles by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Homemade Waffle Cones by Eva Bakes
• Neapolitan Waffles by Dinner at the Zoo
• Pumpkin Pecan Waffles by Feed Me, Seymour
• Pumpkin Pie Waffle Cake by Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
• Red Velvet Waffles with Bourbon Cherry Syrup & Cream Cheese Drizzle by Cooking In Stilettos

.

Loaded Baked Potato Waffles #FoodieExtravaganza

Take all the lovely ingredients of a fully loaded baked potato, stir them into waffle batter and bake till golden in a Belgian waffle iron. Perfection squared. 

Last month my Foodie Extravanza group celebrated peaches and I missed the whole thing because of traveling. It made me a little sad, but with the choice of London or cooking peaches, I had to go with London! But it did make me doubly determined to participate this month, especially when I heard that we were celebrating waffles. Waffles can be sweet or savory so, if you know me at all, you know which way I was sure to go. And since my mother, well documented on this site as being a lover of all things potato, was visiting, a waffle with all the fixings of a loaded baked potato seemed perfect. And indeed it was. Serve them plain with extra sour cream, chives and cheese. Or pop a fried egg on top.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see all the lovely waffles we are sharing. Many thanks to Summer from Summer Scraps who is hosting this month!

Ingredients for six or seven square Belgian waffles
5-6 slices streaky smoked bacon (just less than 4 1/2 oz or 125g)
1 cup or 125g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream plus more to serve, if desired
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 egg
1 potato (about 7 1/2 oz or 210g)
1/2 oz or 15g green onions, plus more to serve, if desired
1/2 cup or 45g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to serve, if desired

Method
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it until crispy. Remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels. Put a little of the bacon fat in a small bowl and set it aside. Yep, we are going to grease the waffle iron with it for extra flavor.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add in the grated cheese, crispy bacon and green onion tops and stir well.

Whisk the egg, sour cream and milk together in a smaller mixing bowl.  Peel and grate the potato and add it immediately to the egg bowl and stir to stop the potato from oxidizing and turning brown.

Looks like the grated cheese, doesn't it?

Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with a little of the reserved bacon fat.

Pour the manufacturer’s recommended amount of  batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Serve topped with a little extra sour cream, green onions and even grated cheese, if desired.

If you have any batter left over, go ahead and baked the waffles and store them, wrapped in cling film, in the refrigerator or freezer. They reheat beautifully in the toaster. A couple of days after making these, I toasted one and served it with a couple sunny-side up eggs on top, more bacon on the side. Sadly, I didn’t take a photo but it was wonderful. The runny egg yolk nicely filled many of the waffle holes. Soooo much better than plain toast!

Enjoy!

My helper is always right there, on clean up duty, just in case I drop something. Hope springs eternal.

We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! And each month we all incorporate one main ingredient into a recipe or choose to celebrate a certain dish and put our own twist on it. This month that dish is waffles! We hope you all enjoy our delicious waffles this and come see what next month's new ingredient or dish will be. If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our bloggers Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

Check out all the fabulous waffles we've made this month!

Savory Waffles

• Bacon and Cheese Waffles from Housewife Eclectic 
• Cheddar and Jalapeño Waffles from Rhubarb and Honey
• Lasagna Waffles from Love in the Kitchen 
• Loaded Baked Potato Waffles from Food Lust People Love
• Savory Bacon and Veggie Waffles from Fearlessly Creative Mammas 

Sweet Waffles

• 4 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Waffles from Keep It Simple Sweetie 
• Caramel Apple Waffles from We Like to Learn as we Go
• Cinnamon Swirl Waffles from Summer Scraps 
• Maple Bacon Waffles from Ashlee Marie
• Strawberry Shortcake Waffles from Mrs. Penguin 
• Sweet Potato Waffles from Sew You Think You Can Cook 
• Sweet Potato Waffles with Pecan Honey Butter from Wicked Spatula 
• Pumpkin Pie Waffles from Eazy Peazy Mealz 
• Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait from The Freshman Cook 

Ambidextrous Waffles

• Oat Sourdough Waffles from Passion Kneaded 

Cheesy Ham Waffles

Grated extra sharp cheddar and sliced smoky ham make a great addition to buttermilk waffle batter!


Once upon a time, I saw a post on another blog for cheese and ham waffles.   And I bookmarked it to make on the weekend.  But I must confess that I didn’t read the whole post and when the weekend came, and when I DID read the whole post, I realized that the waffle was just topped with cheese and ham.  And that was certainly not what I had been dreaming about all week.  So I decided to make my own version, the one in my dreams.  And it was perfect.  And dreams can come true.

The End. 

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 475ml buttermilk or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and milk up to the two-cup or 475ml measure.
1/3 cup or 78ml canola or other light oil plus extra for greasing the waffle maker
2 eggs
3.5 oz or 100g strong cheddar
3.5 oz or 100g smoked ham
Butter and syrup, if desired, to serve

Method
Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Grate your cheddar and finely chop your ham.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

Add in the buttermilk (or milk/vinegar mixture which is an excellent substitute for buttermilk) and oil and the eggs.   Beat until thoroughly blended.

Add in the ham and cheese and mix well.

Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with some canola or other light oil.

Pour batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Cooking!

Ready!

Remove!

Serve smeared with butter and drizzled with syrup.  And your preferred beverages.   As you can see, this story has a very happy ending.

Enjoy!

Homemade Buttermilk Waffles

Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.

I’ve got to start out by saying, I am not a breakfast person.  Now that doesn’t mean that I am not a morning person, because I absolutely am.  Cup of coffee and I am good to go.  I just think that Western breakfast foods like eggs and pancakes and waffles are mere convention and other cultures would rarely eat those things, even for breakfast.  

I was delighted when I first traveled to Asia in 1981 and the hotel breakfast buffet included fried rice, fried noodles, various curries and even bowls of chopped chilies to add on to all three. My favorite breakfast is dinner from the night before. Leftover whatever: pork chops, curry, spaghetti Bolognese.  All joy on my morning plate.  That said, occasionally we do have conventional breakfast for dinner!  Which complicates matters for my breakfast the next morning. But never you mind.

First fry up some bacon. Not too crispy.  You want to be able to chew on it.  Okay, that’s how I like it.  Make it crispy if you must.

Then make up some homemade buttermilk waffles.  Glass of wine optional.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups or 220g flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2 cups or 475ml buttermilk or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and milk up to the two-cup or 475ml measure.

1/3 cup or 78ml salad oil

2 eggs

Method

Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.  

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 

Add in the buttermilk (or milk/vinegar mixture which is an excellent substitute for buttermilk) and salad oil and the eggs. Beat until thoroughly blended.

Pour batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to bake when rising. 

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready. 

I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green so the waffles are nice and crispy.  Yes, I know, limp bacon, but crispy waffles.  I am a woman of contradictions.

Serve with butter and syrup with bacon on the side. And your preferred beverage.  Enjoy!  

Pin these homemade buttermilk waffles!