Eggnog Waffles

Well we’ve covered the African appetizer, so let’s get to the main course, eggnog waffles. There is absolutely no connection between my choices for tonight’s meal, simply liked how these recipes looked. The recipe for eggnog waffles comes from my favorite cook book, yup, Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! For those of you who don’t know anything about Bobby Flay, he has a TV show called Throwdown where he challenges people from around the country to a cooking throwdown, challenging them to a cook-off of their signature dish. The cookbook I keep returning to is a compilation of some of Bobby’s favorite episodes which includes the recipes of both Bobby and the chef he has challenged. The reason for this short explanation is that to date, I have only used Bobby’s recipes. Tonight marked the first time I’ve ventured to the other side of the aisle and utilized the local chef’s recipe. The episode I‘ve chosen from was titled Chicken and Waffles. The recipe comes from Melba Wilson. She explained that she developed eggnog waffles accidentally. One day while making a batch of regular waffles, she realized she was out of heavy cream and used what she had available as a substitute, eggnog. She loved the result so much, she never went back to heavy cream. No chicken today, just the waffles, but lets get straight into this fun twist on a classic recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups eggnog
2 large eggs, separated
4 Tbsp. unslated butter, melted
Cooking spray, for waffle iron

For the Strawberry Butter

1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
4 oz. strawberries, hulled and sliced
A few drops of grenadine syrup

Directions for the Waffles

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggnog, egg yolks, and butter in another bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Wish the egg whites until almost stiff; fold them into the batter. Heat the waffle Iron. Spray the iron with cooking spray. Pour some of the batter into the middle of the iron, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Close and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. Top the waffles with the Strawberry Butter, and Maple Syrup.

Directions for the Strawberry Butter

Put the butter in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and blend until smooth. Add the berries and grenadine and pulse until combined, but with small pieces of berry still visible.
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