Lemon-Kissed Waffles

At first I wasn’t sure about posting a waffle recipe. After all, to make waffles you need a waffle maker, and if you have a waffle maker you probably already have a recipe for waffle batter that you’re at least reasonably happy with. Eventually I decided to post Lemon-Kissed Waffles this week because I think the recipe offers a couple of things most others I’ve seen don’t.

First, there’s a hit of lemon zest that gives the finished waffles just the right touch of tartness to complement the sweetness of the syrup, fruit, etc., that normally are put on top. Second, there’s just a little bit of corn meal that adds a nice bit of texture without being overwhelming. A waffle shouldn’t be just a neutral flavored holder for toppings.

The picture at the top of this article shows what looks like a Belgian waffle, with its large size and deep openings to hold the toppings. A true Belgian waffle (meaning the kind they make in Belgium, not the kind you get at carnivals) is made from a yeast batter, which gives the waffle a very light texture. Although I used a Belgian waffle maker, the waffles I cooked were made from an American style batter, which uses baking powder for leavening instead of the yeast. Not to worry, however; as you’ll see, the recipe also includes beaten egg whites for a bit of added lightness. This is especially helpful if, like me, you reduce the fat content by using egg substitute which, as I’ve mentioned here before, tend not to fluff when cooked quite the way that fresh whole eggs do.

This recipe makes six to eight 8” waffles; they’re best eaten right after being made.

Begin preheating your waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To make the batter, first combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl: 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup whole wheat flour; 2 tablespoons of corn meal; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 tablespoons sugar; ¼ teaspoon cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and the zest of 1 lemon. (Note: if you prefer to use 2 cups of all-purpose flour and no whole wheat flour, that works too; the taste of the cooked waffle just won’t be quite as deep.)

Form a large well in the mixed dry ingredients. Place the wet ingredients - 2 egg-substitute eggs, beaten; 1-1/2 cups skim milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla; and 3 tablespoons of butter substitute, melted - in the well and mix until the wet ingredients are completely combined. After the wet ingredients are combined, mix them into the dry ingredients until a batter forms. (Note: Most recipes call for you to combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix them into the dry ingredients. You could do that here too, but why make more dishes to wash later?)

Put two fresh egg whites and a pinch of salt into a bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form.

Carefully fold half of the beaten egg whites into the batter. Repeat with the second half of the beaten egg whites. If necessary, add additional all-purpose flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the desired thickness is achieved. The batter should be on the thick side as shown in the video. (Don’t bother getting popcorn and settling back; the video is only about seven seconds.)

                     

Allow the batter to rest for five minutes.

Make the waffles according to the waffle maker manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately, topped with butter substitute, syrup, fresh fruit, and whatever else suits your fancy! (I also served mine with turkey bacon slices. They’re not shown in the photo, but you already know what they look like.) Or keep them warm in a 200 degree F oven until you’re ready to serve.

And there you have it: Lemon-Kissed Waffles!

I hope you enjoy these waffles as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you. If you’d like a cookbook-style, notebook-ready copy of the recipe, just mention it in a comment or e-mail and you’ll have it post haste!

Stop back next week for another easy, fun, reduced-fat recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Baked Onion Rings with Bacon Beer Batter

One of my favorite things in the kitchen is to find oven-baked versions of foods that are traditionally fried. Once you get the hang of battering and breading something tasty, then spraying it with oil and baking till it’s crisp, it’s amazing how many reduced-guilt foods you can make. This recipe, for baked onion rings with a bacon-beer batter, is a good example.

As with most food that is breaded and baked, the recipe itself is easy; the steps for coating the food, while simple, need to be done with some care.

In general, breading food (the onion rings, in this case) starts with coating it lightly with flour, dipping it in batter, then pressing it into the breading, all done in a way that a) coats the food and b) doesn’t make a big mess on the counter, your hands, or anywhere else. If you’re doing a few larger food items (such as fish filets), applying the coating is easy, since there’s not much opportunity for your batter to mix with your breading and turn it into a pasty mess that sticks to your hands but not to the food. With onion rings, however, you’re coating a large number of small food items, so batter messing up your dry breadcrumbs can be a real problem. Through trial-and-error (mostly error), I’ve found it’s your hands, not the onion rings, that drop too much batter into the breading. There are a couple of ways to deal with this.

The first is to have the flour and the breading in sealable plastic bags. The other way is having them in bowls, and – here’s the key – using a spoon to move the battered rings into the breading and press them into the breadcrumbs. (For either approach, the batter is in a bowl.) Regardless of which method you use, I’ve found it’s still a good idea to reserve some of your breading mixture at first, and add it to the bag or bowl now and then during the process to help keep the breadcrumbs as close to dry as possible, which is the key to making this work.

This recipe yields 3 to 4 servings. (One onion may not sound like much, but if it’s really a large one you might be surprised at how many rings it makes. The rings on the platter in the photo all came from one large onion.)

Let’s make some tasty onion rings...

Peel the onion, slice it into ¼” thick slices, and separate slices into rings. Discard the smallest inner pieces or store for use in another recipe.

Cook 2 slices of turkey bacon in a pan or microwave oven. When the bacon is done, mince it and set the pieces aside.

Combine 1-1/2 cups each of Panko and plain bread crumbs. (You can also use just plain bread crumbs, but I like the mix of textures you get from combining them with the Panko.) Put half of the mixture in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag or a bowl. Set the other half of the mixture aside, and add it to the zip-lock bag or bowl as needed to keep the breadcrumbs dry while you’re breading the onion rings later. Place 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl or 1-quart zip-lock bag.

Prepare the batter by combining 12 ounces of beer, 2 egg-substitute eggs or beaten regular eggs, and ½ cup of all-purpose flour. Whisk until a well-mixed batter forms. Whisk in additional flour as needed (up to another ½ cup) until the batter is thick enough to stick to the onions. Add the minced bacon to the batter and mix well.

Place the onion rings, a few at a time, in the flour bag or bowl to coat them lightly. Dip them one at a time into the batter, making sure some bacon is included in the batter that’s on the onion ring. Let the excess batter drain off until the onion ring is still coated but not dripping, then place in the ring in the breadcrumb bag or bowl and coat by shaking (if using a bag) or by pressing with a spoon (if using a bowl). If necessary to coat the ring, repeat the batter and breadcrumb steps. Place each coated ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment. (Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may need two.)

Put the baking sheet(s) with the onion rings in your refrigerator to rest for about 30 minutes. While the rings are resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the dipping sauce by mixing the following ingredients and refrigerating until ready to serve: 1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise; juice of ½ lemon; 2 teaspoons of brown mustard; ½ tablespoon fresh or prepared horseradish; and ½ teaspoon of paprika. (When serving, sprinkle a little additional paprika on the dip as a garnish.)

After the breaded onion rings have finished resting, spray them with cooking spray and bake for about 25 minutes until the coating is crisp. (Turn the baking sheets half-way and swap their positions for more even baking.) If you’re not sure if they’re done, grab a sample and give it a taste. (Even if you are sure they’re done, grab one for a taste anyway. You deserve it!) Season them with salt to taste and serve hot, with the dipping sauce on the side. And try to finish them the first day; leftovers can be reheated the next day, but when stored and reheated they lose a good bit of their delicious crunch.

So there it is: beer, bacon and onion rings. What’s not to enjoy?

If you prefer a cookbook-style, notebook-ready copy of this recipe, say the word and I’ll send it along.

See you next week with another easy, fun recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Oh Crepe!

Ok, I admit it. I messed up.

Normally I'm fairly rigorous about my mise-en-place, that French cooking term which translates, roughly, to "Exactly how dumb would you have to be to start cooking without checking first if you have all your ingredients?" (It does lose something in the translation.)

A couple of weekends ago, my vision of a perfect-50's-television-family Sunday morning breakfast of freshly made peach crepes came crashing back to reality when, part way through mixing the batter, I found I didn't have the milk called for in the recipe. Rummaging through the refrigerator, the closest thing to milk I could find was sour cream. Hardly an ideal substitute, but it's my firm belief that if an idea is the only one you have, it doesn't matter much if it's good or bad. (MacGyver would be so proud.)

As you might expect, the sour cream made for a much thicker batter than would the milk. If you've ever made crepes, you know that, while they're not at all hard to make, the thickness/thinness of the batter is critical. I found that increasing the amount of water called for in the original recipe brought the batter back to its intended thickness, while still allowing the nice flavor added by the sour cream to come through. The disaster for which breakfast was originally headed was, I am happy to report, avoided. It turned out so well that the sour-cream version has now become my go-to crepe recipe.

Crepes, of course, are one of the great, versatile foods. Fill them with fruit for breakfast, with meat for dinner; I've even heard of filling them with lunch meat and cheese, similar to a wrap, for lunch. Remember, it's your crepe. Have fun with it! (My son did try using peanut butter and it was terrible. Even crepes, it would seem, have their limits.)

For the filling, a peach-compote of sorts was easy to make using an approach that will probably seem familiar to anyone who has ever made fruit jam.

To make about 8 crepes, combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of butter substitute (melted), 2 egg-substitute eggs, 1 cup of low-fat sour cream and 1/2 cup of water in a bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer on high. Add additional water, ¼ cup at a time, until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

After the batter has finished resting, heat a non-stick sauté pan over low heat. When it's heated, remove it from the stove, melt about a teaspoon of butter substitute in it, and add about ¼ cup of the batter. (Unlike pancakes, crepes are very thin.) Swirl the batter around to cover the surface of the pan, put it back on the stove and increase the heat to medium. (I recently saw one of my favorite tv chefs, Michael Chiarello, add a teaspoon of toasted chopped hazelnuts to the batter at this point. What a great idea!) When the crepe is browned on the bottom and firm enough to be flipped (usually about two minutes, but keep an eye on it), flip the crepe or use a spatula and your fingers (carefully!) to turn it over and cook it on the opposite side until it has the desired brownness. (If you're new at flipping, don't be discouraged if the first few flips don't work out. It's really the only challenging part of making a crepe, and it does get much better with just a little practice. The first time I made crepes I had to throw out the first three or four attempts. Stay with it. And this is a case where a good pan really does make a difference.) Repeat the process until all the batter is used, rebuttering the pan after each crepe, and stacking the cooked crepes as they finish. Keeping the stack covered with a clean towel to prevent them from drying out.

Of course, even good crepes need a nice filling.

For the filling, combine in a medium saucepan 1-1/2 cups of sugar and the juice and zest of 1 lemon. Heat it over very low heat, stirring often, until the mixture is melted. (This should take a few minutes.)

Once the sugar mixture is melted, add 6 peaches, sliced into eighths, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of butter substitute, and increase the heat to medium. Cook until the peaches are soft and the liquid is reduced. Turn off heat and let the peach mixture rest to allow the liquid to thicken. Fill the crepes, roll them up, sprinkle them with a little confectioner's sugar, and serve warm.

(An equally nice apple filling can be made by using apples instead of peaches, and 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon along with the nutmeg. I used golden delicious and it was delicious, but experiment with whatever your favorite apple is.)

After you've filled and folded over the crepe, don't forget to sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top!

Till next week, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)