Overnight Waffles

Last night the newscaster mentioned that she loves waffles with peanut butter for breakfast.  Waffles with peanut butter?  Genius!!

So there it was 10:30pm and I have a craving for waffles.  The problem is that Wednesday mornings are our most rushed morning.  Not only do we have to get Ethan off to school, but Asher and I attend BSF so I have to get our bags ready too.  Then I remembered that Bittman has an overnight waffle recipe!  The perfect solution.

I had tried these waffles before but I only let the batter rest for a few hours.  These were much more yeasty tasting and the recipe yielded 6 of these giant waffles instead of just four.  The results were scrumptious!  I have to say that I did take the extra step and broke out my hand mixer to whip those egg whites until they held a soft peak.  I know this is an extra step and three extra dishes but it was well worth it!  It really increased the volume of the batter and added to the lightness of the finished waffle.

The other plus about this batter is that we ran out of time this morning (see previous note about Wednesday mornings) and I didn't have time to cook all the waffles.  No problem!  I just covered the batter and stuck it back in the fridge.  When we got home this afternoon I reheated the waffle iron and finished cooking the last two waffles.  They look just like the ones from this morning so I'm expecting they will taste the same.

You might be wondering how the peanut butter went; it was delicious!  On one side of the 2x2 waffle I drizzled our favorite syrup (Steen's) and on the other side I spread peanut butter.  Then I folded the waffle over on itself and I had breakfast to go!  I will definitely be making these again and again (even on Wednesdays). 

HTCE p.816

HTCEV p.204
Full Recipe 

Simplest Omelet (Denver Variation)

I wish I could eat this all over again!  Unlike Mark's suggestion I just cooked the onions, bell peppers and ham in the same skillet I was going to cook the omelet in.  I also was doubling the recipe and added 3/4 cup ham for two omelets.  With the Denver Omelet fixins and a handful of cheddar it was plenty of filling!!  I also add all of my filling on one side and then flip the other half of the omelet over the filling.  Like so:

This recipe lists the servings number as 2, and maybe for breakfast with 5 eggs you could split just one omelet, but in our case I used 4 eggs per person and for dinner we both were able to eat the entire thing.

So good.....

HTCE p.802

HTCEV p.172
Full recipe

French Toast

Recipe: French Toast

Page: HTCE p. 794

HTCEV p.177

Full Recipe
Rating: *****

This was truly amazing.... I should confess that I used day old (homemade) French bread that I sliced and left sitting out all night. I also made sure I soaked it well in the egg/milk mixture. I didn't add the optional sugar, used whole milk, and cinnamon instead of vanilla. My daughter wasn't a huge fan (don't know what her problem was) but my boys ate it up. I personally loved it. We served it with syrup.

Everyday Pancakes Revisited (Alton Brown's Variation)

So, as I mentioned before in my first review of this recipe my family didn't like this recipe at all, but we love Alton Brown's version.  Well this morning while I was making AB's tender, delicious pancakes I was struck by how similar the recipes were.  Here are the changes you can make to Mark's recipe to end up with Alton Brown's recipe:

• Increase baking powder to 1 tsp.
• Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• Increase sugar to 3 tbl.
• Use 2 cups of yogurt or buttermilk instead of milk (I love to use yogurt here)
• Increase melted butter to 4 tbl.

This is the second recipe where I have just noted the changes in my HTCE book so that I don't have to have two cookbooks out. The instructions are really similar with one important change (which you will want to note).  Mix the batter exactly as Bittman instructs, but then let the batter sit for 5 minutes. You'll see why this is important after 5 minutes.  This rest time allows the leavening to make a ton of little bubbles in your batter.  With yogurt this batter is thicker than normal pancake batter but I just spread it out with the back of whatever I'm pouring the batter with and it works out. One of the great things about the recipe is that it can easily be halved if you are just cooking for two people (or one adult and one toddler).

It's important to note that in the pancake variation table (HTCE p.813, HTCEV p.202) that buttermilk is the first one that Mark mentions.  That variation would be similar but not exactly like the one posted above.  If the batter is too thick for your personal preference you of course could add milk to the batter as Bittman suggests here.

I would have taken picture of these pancakes, but frankly they are all gone!!

HTCE p.811-812
HTCEV p.200
Full Recipe

Everyday Pancakes

My family did not like these pancakes. We really, really didn't like them! My normal pancake recipe is Alton Brown's and in the future we will be sticking with it. His recipe is another example of something that is easy and much cheaper than buying a pre-made mix from the store. I haven't kept Bisquick stocked in my pantry since I found this recipe. We even included this recipe in the last "bulk cooking" day that Betsy and I had. Even though Alton doesn't mention this option I have substituted 1/2 of the flour in this recipe for whole wheat and even though they looked different the taste did not change.

HTCE p.811-812
HTCEV p.200  
Full Recipe 

Everyday Buttermilk Waffles

These are amazing! I do have to say that I do not separate the eggs and these were still great (and a bit less complicated). I'm sure this has to do with the fact that there is a half a stick of butter in the recipe.

Also, Bittman doesn't label this recipe as make-ahead but you could certainly do so. When reheated in a toaster the outside will be much more crisp, but they are just as tasty the next day. If you have a ton left place them in a plastic bag and freeze them. Then reheat just like they are the name brand Eggos! To make them last as long as possible squeeze (or suck out with a straw) as much air out of the bag as you can. This will help prevent freezer burn.

HTCE p.815
HTCEV p.203
Full Recipe

Everyday Buttermilk Waffles: Whole Grain Waffles Variation

I have to say most of the time when you use whole grain flour in place of regular flour (esp. if you only substitute about 1/2 of the amount) the result will be very similar to the original recipe. For some reason this is not one of those recipes. I tried this variation and it was terrible. I would maybe try it again and only substitute 1/3 of the flour for whole wheat instead of 1/2. Whole wheat flour just absorbs a different amount of water then AP does so I think that was the issue that made the final product inedible.

HTCE p.815
HTCEV p.204 
Full Recipes

Sourdough Pancakes (Variation of Everyday Pancakes)

Recipe: Sourdough Pancakes (Variation of Everyday Pancakes)

Page: HTCE p. 812

Rating: ****

Since I have a sourdough starter that needs feeding and using up during the week, I thought I'd give the sourdough pancakes (p. 812) a whirl.

I'm not sure how to describe these: very chewy and dense with a texture similar to that of good French toast made from French bread. They're very good and you could use a number of toppings on them other than syrup: fruit syrup, peanut butter, honey, etc. Leftovers hold up well, too. If you wanted to try to recreate one of those decadent breakfast sandwiches that use pancakes as the "bread," then these would be a good candidate. We really liked them and will make them often. They're not a true substitute for regular pancakes, though, if you're in the mood for the usual light and fluffy-soak-up-as-much-syrup-as-possible pancakes.

Question (I constantly question the editing of this book since there are definitely some errors)

Bittman says to halve the milk, flour, and other ingredients. That would make the amount of milk needed for the sourdough variation 3/4-1 cup. But, when he's giving the mixing directions, he says to add 1/2 cup of milk. That's what I did, but my batter was much thicker than the thin batter he described. Perhaps I should have added half of the milk, meaning 3/4-1 cup, not 1 half cup? I liked the pancakes a lot, but next time I may add the extra milk and see what the texture is like--they might not be as chewy.

HTCE p.812
HTCEV p.201
Full Recipe

Crepes, Sweet or Savory

This is a great and relatively easy recipe. One of the things that I like the most about it is that you can easily half the recipe if you aren't serving a large crowd. Bittman even suggests a way to make them ahead of time, but I have not tried this. You can also make these for dinner and then save any leftover batter for the next morning.

In HTCE, there is a diagram on how to fold a crepe, but in Paris the french just folded them in half and then in half again. This made them easier to eat as you were walking down the street, but also the goodness collected at the bottom of the crepe making it better as you went along!

I found that the single recipe makes 14 - 18 little crepes or 7 giant ones (like the ones we got in Paris). For fillings we used variation #2 (Nutella) but we add bananas and for savory crepes we have egg and cheese filling to which we sometimes add ham.

To make these savory crepes just beat two eggs right before you are ready to cook the crepes. I have found that it is best to go ahead and salt and pepper the eggs so that you don't forget during cooking. After a crepe has cooked on the first side and you have flipped it add cheese (and ham) so that your eggs won't run everywhere. Then carefully spoon one or two tablespoons of beaten egg onto the crepe and fold one half over. Cook as directed and then flip. To tell when the eggs are done it is best to just poke the crepe with your finger. The crepe should not feel liquidy inside, instead it should feel quite firm.

We have these for dinner at least twice a month and they are great!

HTCE p.817
HTCEV p.196

French Toast Variation: Caramelized French Toast

Bittman's variation of French Toast called "Caramelized French Toast" is great! I just simply sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the bread after it was on the skillet and it made a nice crunchy finish.

HTCE p. 795
HTCEV p.177

French Toast

I know how to make French Toast but I get pretty inconsistent results since I do not use a recipe. I tried Bittman's recipe and found it way too wet for my liking. To make it again I reverted to my "red plaid" cook book and found that they used half the milk that Bittman used. Since I am using plain white sandwich bread I found that to be a much better consistency.

HTCE p. 794
HTCEV p.177
Full Recipe