Very Low Carb Cheesecake
First, make the Pecan Nut Pie crust. Very simple.
Use 1 cup of pecan pieces. Frozen is good but not required.
2 Tbsp of butter (Real chefs do NOT use margarine. That would be gross, disgusting, etc.)
2 Tbsp of artificial sweetener if you wish. Personally, I don't need it.
Use a food processor to pulse the pecans until they are about the size of lentils. I actually just put the pecans in a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. It takes longer but you can get better consistency.
Add the butter, mix in evenly and then quickly dump into a pie pan. Push it into the corners and up the sides if you wish.
Next, make the cheesecake filling.
Use one 8 oz package of cream cheese and don't use the cheap stuff, dammit. Philadephia or nothing.
1/3 cup of Splenda
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp of vanilla extract. Again, use the good stuff, not that imitation crap
Mix cream cheese and Splenda with a mixer until well blended
Whip cream in a separate bowl with vanilla until soft peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture
Spoon mixture into a pie crust.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight if you can stand to wait that long.
If you wish to top with anything, you can choose to avoid things with carbs. Take your pick!
Total carbs for the pie is about 11 carbs. Don't eat the whole thing all on your lonesome!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Alfredo Sauce
This is the easiest. And the best.
You can memorize it right now and go get the stuff for it and have the very bestest Alfredo sauce in the world. Preferred use is with Angel Hair pasta.
You need:
1 block of that Philadelphia Cream Cheese, the silver foil package
1 stick of butter
1 of those little cartons of Half-n-Half
That's the base recipe. We'll talk about what else to put in it later.
Now, take a minute to memorize that. It isn't that hard. Three things. One of each. And ferkryin'outloud, do NOT use margarine. That would be a sin. I would have to ban you from the kitchen. Don't make me come over there.
Okay, this is the important part: Instructions.
In a saucepan over LOW heat, cut up the butter and the cream cheese into the bottom and let it start to melt. Cutting them up into little pieces make everything melt significantly faster and more thoroughly.
You HAVE to keep an eye on it. Let everything melt together and note that it will NOT appear to be blending. That's okay. We'll solve that problem next. Be careful it doesn't boil too much. When it's plenty melted and moving well in the pan, go to the next step.
Next step: Take the half-n-half and SLOWLY pour little dabs in at a time. About two tablespoons at a time, give or take. Then stop and stir until it heats up again. You want to pour slowly enough to keep the mix from cooling off too much or too fast. As you keep adding a little at a time, you'll see that everything will start to blend together better and better. If you let it sit, though, it will start to separate again. You'll know you need just a little more half-n-half if that's the case.
Overall, you won't need more than about a cup of the half-n-half. You'll know if you got it right when the leftovers do NOT separate. For now, though, just wing it. I assure you, that if you follow your instincts about what it looks like and how it behaves, you'll be pleased. It will look like a sauce, okay? Okay!
That's it, folks. Sounds too easy, eh? It is and it isn't. Just don't rush it and whatever you do, stay there and work it. You do not want to walk away from the stove with this much fat going! (That's just funny right there!)
Okay, what to do with it. Best thing ever is to put garlic in it. Yup. Season to taste with chopped garlic. Use fresh chopped garlic please and note the above comment about banning you from the kitchen if you DARE to use garlic powder or some dang thing.
At this point, you may wish to put in some minature sauteed scallops or shrimp. Most of the time, we spoon the Alfredo sauce over the angel hair pasta, then add sauteed mushrooms or chicken or shellfish of some kind. Toss a few sun-dried tomatoes on top and you're in for a REALLY nice treat!
I recommend not blending too many things into the Alfredo Sauce base but feel free to experiment. We put the mushrooms in the sauce one time and it made it turn gray. Bleah. It was still very very good, make no mistake but the appearance was unappetizing. You don't want to spoon that onto your guests' plates!
Pour some wine and serve up!
Let me know what you think!
--Wag--
You can memorize it right now and go get the stuff for it and have the very bestest Alfredo sauce in the world. Preferred use is with Angel Hair pasta.
You need:
1 block of that Philadelphia Cream Cheese, the silver foil package
1 stick of butter
1 of those little cartons of Half-n-Half
That's the base recipe. We'll talk about what else to put in it later.
Now, take a minute to memorize that. It isn't that hard. Three things. One of each. And ferkryin'outloud, do NOT use margarine. That would be a sin. I would have to ban you from the kitchen. Don't make me come over there.
Okay, this is the important part: Instructions.
In a saucepan over LOW heat, cut up the butter and the cream cheese into the bottom and let it start to melt. Cutting them up into little pieces make everything melt significantly faster and more thoroughly.
You HAVE to keep an eye on it. Let everything melt together and note that it will NOT appear to be blending. That's okay. We'll solve that problem next. Be careful it doesn't boil too much. When it's plenty melted and moving well in the pan, go to the next step.
Next step: Take the half-n-half and SLOWLY pour little dabs in at a time. About two tablespoons at a time, give or take. Then stop and stir until it heats up again. You want to pour slowly enough to keep the mix from cooling off too much or too fast. As you keep adding a little at a time, you'll see that everything will start to blend together better and better. If you let it sit, though, it will start to separate again. You'll know you need just a little more half-n-half if that's the case.
Overall, you won't need more than about a cup of the half-n-half. You'll know if you got it right when the leftovers do NOT separate. For now, though, just wing it. I assure you, that if you follow your instincts about what it looks like and how it behaves, you'll be pleased. It will look like a sauce, okay? Okay!
That's it, folks. Sounds too easy, eh? It is and it isn't. Just don't rush it and whatever you do, stay there and work it. You do not want to walk away from the stove with this much fat going! (That's just funny right there!)
Okay, what to do with it. Best thing ever is to put garlic in it. Yup. Season to taste with chopped garlic. Use fresh chopped garlic please and note the above comment about banning you from the kitchen if you DARE to use garlic powder or some dang thing.
At this point, you may wish to put in some minature sauteed scallops or shrimp. Most of the time, we spoon the Alfredo sauce over the angel hair pasta, then add sauteed mushrooms or chicken or shellfish of some kind. Toss a few sun-dried tomatoes on top and you're in for a REALLY nice treat!
I recommend not blending too many things into the Alfredo Sauce base but feel free to experiment. We put the mushrooms in the sauce one time and it made it turn gray. Bleah. It was still very very good, make no mistake but the appearance was unappetizing. You don't want to spoon that onto your guests' plates!
Pour some wine and serve up!
Let me know what you think!
--Wag--
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Gumbo
Someone else sent me this recently and I can't wait to try it. It's obviously going to require some prep time for the stock (I won't buy a canned stock to save my life) and some other things. Obviously, you'll need to learn some things if you aren't already at least a mediocre cook. When I make this, I'll let you know how it went. If the recipe disappears, it either means that I sucked at making it or it just, well, sucked.
Cheers!
--Wag--
Gumbo
* 1 cup oil
* 1 cup flour
* 2 large onions, chopped
* 2 bell peppers, chopped
* 4 ribs celery, chopped
* 4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 quarts chicken stock and 1 quart of vegetable stock (homemade is best but I won't scream at you if you use store bought)
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (careful with the salt here, most creole seasoning is pretty heavy on salt and you've already added that)
* 1 large chicken (young hen preferred), cut into pieces
* 2 pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces (If you can't find andouille, use a local smoked sausage or kielbasa or whatever smoked sausage you like.)
* 1 bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped
* 2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
Season the chicken with Creole seasoning, and salt and pepper and brown quickly. Don't try to cook the chicken all the way through, just get the skin browned well.
Brown the sausage, pour off fat and reserve meats.
--------------------------
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux-making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux. Do it over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.
Add the vegetables and stir quickly. This cooks the vegetables and also stops the roux from cooking further. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.
Add the stock, seasonings, chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then cook for about one hour, skimming fat off the top as needed.
Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and heat for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice in large shallow bowls. Accompany with a good beer and lots of hot, crispy French bread.
This recipe scales very easily. Depending on how many people you are feeding you can double or even triple everything without any problems. Like most foods of this type, it's even better the next day. I routinely make it on Saturday night for serving on Sunday.
Cheers!
--Wag--
Gumbo
* 1 cup oil
* 1 cup flour
* 2 large onions, chopped
* 2 bell peppers, chopped
* 4 ribs celery, chopped
* 4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 quarts chicken stock and 1 quart of vegetable stock (homemade is best but I won't scream at you if you use store bought)
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (careful with the salt here, most creole seasoning is pretty heavy on salt and you've already added that)
* 1 large chicken (young hen preferred), cut into pieces
* 2 pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces (If you can't find andouille, use a local smoked sausage or kielbasa or whatever smoked sausage you like.)
* 1 bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped
* 2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
Season the chicken with Creole seasoning, and salt and pepper and brown quickly. Don't try to cook the chicken all the way through, just get the skin browned well.
Brown the sausage, pour off fat and reserve meats.
--------------------------
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux-making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux. Do it over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.
Add the vegetables and stir quickly. This cooks the vegetables and also stops the roux from cooking further. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.
Add the stock, seasonings, chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then cook for about one hour, skimming fat off the top as needed.
Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and heat for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice in large shallow bowls. Accompany with a good beer and lots of hot, crispy French bread.
This recipe scales very easily. Depending on how many people you are feeding you can double or even triple everything without any problems. Like most foods of this type, it's even better the next day. I routinely make it on Saturday night for serving on Sunday.
Carmel Brownies
Carmel Brownies
Set yer oven to 350 degrees. Fahrenheit. (Note to self. Learn to spell "fahrenheit.")
Ingredients list:
1st part
-1 box of chocolate cake mix. Get the Chocolate Fudge kind.
-1/2 cup of softened butter. Real cooks do NOT use margarine. Puh-leeze.
-1/2 cup evaporated milk. Pay attention and do NOT get the sweetened condensed milk.
2nd part
-10 oz of carmels, melted. Do me a favor and remember to take the little plastic wrappers off BEFORE you melt 'em. Don't call me with a kitchen full of smoke 'cause I'll just laugh at you! :D
-1/3 cup of evaporated milk. Use some more out of that can you just opened a moment ago for the 1st part. Duh.
-1 Cup of Chocolate chips. Or Chocolate Morsels. Or whatever you call 'em. Just get the milk chocolate, not the dark chocolate. Not the big chocolate chunks, either. They're too big. Size matters.
Cut the butter into the cake mix. Blend it until it's a course mixture. When you're done, it will look a bit like brown sand.
Add 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Mix it pretty well but don't whip it or blend it or anything. Be nice to it. When you're done, it will be more of a sticky, pasty dough, not a batter. Kind of difficult to work with, really. If you don't know the difference between dough and batter, please consider leaving the kitchen and don't ever try to cook again. :D On the other hand, if you got this far, you'll know the difference.
Put half, JUST half of the dough into a 9x13 backing dish, ergo a cake pan. If you do this at a future time, you might want to use a smaller pan if you want thicker brownies but you may have to adjust how you do the carmel and chocolate chips (see below).
Bake for 15 minutes @ 350 degrees F. (Nice. Abbreviations make me lazy!)
While that's baking, melt up the caramels and 1/3 cupe of evaporated milk in a saucepan over a low heat. I should point out that if you use GOOD carmels, you're much better off. Better ingredients make better stuff, folks. I recommend the Brach's caramels. They are indeed the creamiest and melt the best. Darker caramels are usually better. Remember to use a pan.
I should mention, if you've never done this before, that you can really fill your kitchen up with smoke and make a huge mess if you do this at a high heat. Only use a medium to low heat, closer to the low side. Note my comment above about NOT calling me if you fill up your house with smoke! :D
When you're done melting the caramels, it will be a creamy, beautiful sauce. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT take a taste of it. It's so good that if you do, you'll just sit there eating the whole thing and not only will you not be able to finish the recipe but you'll be sick. Remember what I said I'd do if you called? This stuff is addictive, moreso than crack cocaine. At least, that's what all the crackheads told me one day many years ago when I made this at the shelter.
After you take the brownies out of the oven, let 'em sit on a hot pad for a couple of minutes. The surface will settle and fall a bit but that's a good thing.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips liberally over the mix. They'll start to get a bit melty as they sit there, getting mosty toasty! No need to spread them around, really.
Pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate chips. Hopefully, it's still warm in the pan. You don't have to fill the cake pan all the way to the sides but it won't really hurt it if you do.
Use a teaspoon to drop the remaining brownie dough over the top of the caramel sauce. The spoonfuls don't have to touch at this point. They'll spread out in the oven and fill in the gaps. Trust me on this one. Once you've dropped a spoonful, it's done. Don't pick it back up, don't try to fix it, don't ever touch it again before it goes back into the oven again. It's okay to not look perfect at this point. Nobody is ever going to see it this way but you. Now is not the time to be perfect about it. Got it? I thought so! :D
Still, make sure you are moderately even with it. You don't want to run out halfway across the pan.
Put it back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. High elevations, add a minute or two if necessary.
Remember what I said above about not tasting the caramel before you use it? If you have a spoonful or so left over, now is the time. Dig in! You'll be in hog heaven, I promise! In fact, if you use your teaspoon to scrape the brownie bowl and then dip into some caramel sauce, you'll wonder why you don't do this recipe every day! Don't do it every day 'cause if you do, you'll have diabetes in a month. Or even faster Still, once in a while, it's good to indulge a bit, of course. Got Milk?
When you take the brownies out of the oven, let them sit for an hour at least on the aforementioned hot pad. Then cut them up into bite sizes. At this point, they are food of the gods but if you eat more than about two, you'll have a stomach ache. Seriously, though, these are super rich. Any more than bite size is usually more than people can handle. They'll want moraelf. That's what I do. :D
Enjoy!
--Wag--
P.S. Remember to shut your oven off. :D
Set yer oven to 350 degrees. Fahrenheit. (Note to self. Learn to spell "fahrenheit.")
Ingredients list:
1st part
-1 box of chocolate cake mix. Get the Chocolate Fudge kind.
-1/2 cup of softened butter. Real cooks do NOT use margarine. Puh-leeze.
-1/2 cup evaporated milk. Pay attention and do NOT get the sweetened condensed milk.
2nd part
-10 oz of carmels, melted. Do me a favor and remember to take the little plastic wrappers off BEFORE you melt 'em. Don't call me with a kitchen full of smoke 'cause I'll just laugh at you! :D
-1/3 cup of evaporated milk. Use some more out of that can you just opened a moment ago for the 1st part. Duh.
-1 Cup of Chocolate chips. Or Chocolate Morsels. Or whatever you call 'em. Just get the milk chocolate, not the dark chocolate. Not the big chocolate chunks, either. They're too big. Size matters.
Cut the butter into the cake mix. Blend it until it's a course mixture. When you're done, it will look a bit like brown sand.
Add 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Mix it pretty well but don't whip it or blend it or anything. Be nice to it. When you're done, it will be more of a sticky, pasty dough, not a batter. Kind of difficult to work with, really. If you don't know the difference between dough and batter, please consider leaving the kitchen and don't ever try to cook again. :D On the other hand, if you got this far, you'll know the difference.
Put half, JUST half of the dough into a 9x13 backing dish, ergo a cake pan. If you do this at a future time, you might want to use a smaller pan if you want thicker brownies but you may have to adjust how you do the carmel and chocolate chips (see below).
Bake for 15 minutes @ 350 degrees F. (Nice. Abbreviations make me lazy!)
While that's baking, melt up the caramels and 1/3 cupe of evaporated milk in a saucepan over a low heat. I should point out that if you use GOOD carmels, you're much better off. Better ingredients make better stuff, folks. I recommend the Brach's caramels. They are indeed the creamiest and melt the best. Darker caramels are usually better. Remember to use a pan.
I should mention, if you've never done this before, that you can really fill your kitchen up with smoke and make a huge mess if you do this at a high heat. Only use a medium to low heat, closer to the low side. Note my comment above about NOT calling me if you fill up your house with smoke! :D
When you're done melting the caramels, it will be a creamy, beautiful sauce. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT take a taste of it. It's so good that if you do, you'll just sit there eating the whole thing and not only will you not be able to finish the recipe but you'll be sick. Remember what I said I'd do if you called? This stuff is addictive, moreso than crack cocaine. At least, that's what all the crackheads told me one day many years ago when I made this at the shelter.
After you take the brownies out of the oven, let 'em sit on a hot pad for a couple of minutes. The surface will settle and fall a bit but that's a good thing.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips liberally over the mix. They'll start to get a bit melty as they sit there, getting mosty toasty! No need to spread them around, really.
Pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate chips. Hopefully, it's still warm in the pan. You don't have to fill the cake pan all the way to the sides but it won't really hurt it if you do.
Use a teaspoon to drop the remaining brownie dough over the top of the caramel sauce. The spoonfuls don't have to touch at this point. They'll spread out in the oven and fill in the gaps. Trust me on this one. Once you've dropped a spoonful, it's done. Don't pick it back up, don't try to fix it, don't ever touch it again before it goes back into the oven again. It's okay to not look perfect at this point. Nobody is ever going to see it this way but you. Now is not the time to be perfect about it. Got it? I thought so! :D
Still, make sure you are moderately even with it. You don't want to run out halfway across the pan.
Put it back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. High elevations, add a minute or two if necessary.
Remember what I said above about not tasting the caramel before you use it? If you have a spoonful or so left over, now is the time. Dig in! You'll be in hog heaven, I promise! In fact, if you use your teaspoon to scrape the brownie bowl and then dip into some caramel sauce, you'll wonder why you don't do this recipe every day! Don't do it every day 'cause if you do, you'll have diabetes in a month. Or even faster Still, once in a while, it's good to indulge a bit, of course. Got Milk?
When you take the brownies out of the oven, let them sit for an hour at least on the aforementioned hot pad. Then cut them up into bite sizes. At this point, they are food of the gods but if you eat more than about two, you'll have a stomach ache. Seriously, though, these are super rich. Any more than bite size is usually more than people can handle. They'll want moraelf. That's what I do. :D
Enjoy!
--Wag--
P.S. Remember to shut your oven off. :D
Grandma's Waffles
First and foremost on the list, of course, is Grandma's waffles. If you're reading my main blog, you know who Grandma Emily is. She's the one who had this recipe and I'll be damned if I know how she came by it. It never crossed my selfish kid's mind to ask! The Waffle Sauce, included below, was always considered something of a family secret, however, I've since discovered that we weren't the only family to have it. Everyone seems to think it's some great secret! It shouldn't be, though, it's just too effin' good!
Anyhoo, one of the best things I've ever eaten, to this day.
--Wag--
-----------------------------------------
Grandma's Waffles
This is the best waffle recipe I've ever encountered, bar none. My Grandmother made this recipe for us kids for as long as I can remember so that's a great track record in excess of 40 years. One of the great pleasures of going to Grandma's house was that she would spend the morning making waffles for us and she always made sure she had the stuff to do it. If we were there with all of our cousins, she really had her work cut out for her, bless her generous heart! I should mention that she had an old mixer and an old waffle iron which never changed during the entire time I knew her. They just don't make stuff like that any more and honestly, I wish I had asked her for them when she decided she was too old to stand in the kitchen that long any more. What a loss.
Back on track, though. It's a bit involved to make, however, which is why you'll never see it in a restaurant, no matter HOW good it is, On the other hand, it isn't difficult if you follow the directions. It's quite a bit of work but worth EVERY moment of eating pleasure! When you're done making this recipe, people will worship the ground you walk on!
Guaranteed.
There are some small tricks to making it work, however. The first is the Waffle Sauce that goes with it. I'll include that recipe here at the bottom of the waffle recipe. The second is that you MUST sift your flour. You may find that you have to sift it two or even three times. If you think you're going to go to the store and buy pre-sifted flour and expect the excellent results of a disciplined, devoted cook, you're sadly mistaken. The kitchen will not be your friend this morning. Another trick is that you WILL need a beater or hand-held mixer of some kind. A hand-held will work. You will NOT be able to successfully make this recipe by beating it by hand. Give it a try, though, if you like wasting time. I dare ya! It's a miserable effort and only works about half the time if you REALLY know what you're doing. Other little tricks you need will be noted in the instructions below.
Here's the stuff you'll need:
4 eggs
2 cups of SIFTED flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking SODA
1 teaspoon of baking POWDER
2 cups of buttermilk
1 cup (two sticks) of melted butter.
Okay, normally, we list things in the order of use and it's no exception here. However, note that the last item is MELTED butter so you'll want to get that melted before you start off with everything else. You'll know why in a bit. If you don't know the tricks of the trade some tricks here. First off, if the sticks of butter have been pre softened, that will aid the melting process a great deal. If not, get a knife out and cut the butter up into the saucepan and it will melt more easily. Not faster, more easily. Keep the heat on low. Butter is a fat and burns VERY easily and you don't want to have to break out the fire extinguisher. Take your time here. Immediately after it's all melted, turn off the burner. If you have an electric stove, remember to get it off the burner. It should stay liquid until you need it.
In a too-large bowl, beat the eggs until they are fluffy. More is not necessarily better but they need a thorough beating, to be sure. If you're angry with your errant children or spouse, you may get better results. :-)
In another bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Like I said before, you'll likely need to do this two or even three times. Gluten free flour works with this recipe but sift a minimum of three times. You'll see the difference in the flour when you're done. Also, with gluten free flour, you may wish to use a slight bit more baking soda and powder but feel free to experiment depending on the flour you are using.
This next step is critical. You want to get the mixer or hand beater going at a moderate pace in the eggs. Second or third to lowest setting works pretty well for my hand mixer. The second to lowest works best in my sister-in-law's Kitchenaid. Then, starting with some of the flour you sifted up, add the flour and buttermilk alternately to the eggs. You'll want to start AND end with the flour. I don't know why this works but it does and I don't deviate from it. Don't take all day, though. Give it four or five or six alternations before ending and you're good to go. I just don't want you to alternate with a teaspoon at a time and expect it to turn out okay a couple of hours later!
When I use a hand mixer, I get everything ready on the left side of the bowl first. That way, I can keep the mixer going with my right hand while I add flour and buttermilk with my left. It can be a bit tricky but not too difficult to manage. You'll figure it out. If it's too demanding, just shut off the mixer each time if you find it necessary. It's okay!
After the last of the flour is added, blend it up fairly well and scrape any flour down from the sides of the bowl and blend that in too. The mixer is mandatory in my opinion because it gets all the lumpiness of the flour out very fast.
Last, while the mixer is still going, gradually pour in the melted butter. Make sure the butter is not too hot. If you forgot to melt it up first and you're just now taking it off the stove, give it a few minutes to cool off but obviously, don't let it solidify again. Blend the butter into the mixture thoroughly. It should only take a minute give or take.
Here's a thought. The first waffle you bake is never as good as the last and I think it's because the batter has time to sit for a while. For this reason, I always let the batter rest for a few minutes after blending while I make the waffle sauce recipe below. It only takes about three or four minutes. But if I let the batter sit, the first waffles come out a bit better. Go figure. Something to do with the baking powder and baking soda having time to fizz in the batter. Fluffies them up somehow.
Follow the instructions on using your waffle iron. You'll have to adjust temperature and time in order to get it right but when you get it right, the waffles will come out just a tad crispy but not too crispy. You still want them to be fluffy and if you followed the instructions above, they will be, I assure you.
I always slather on some butter, in spite of the huge content of butter which has already gone into this, just because I love butter. I'm sure I'll be paying for a condo for a cardiologist some day but I'm the one who will have had all the fun first, not him! Top it off with some waffle sauce or your favorite syrup or fruit sauce and you're in hog heaven!!!
I've had it suggested that the above recipe is a good base and you could easily add some stuff to it. I've never tried to do so but I have no reason to think you couldn't add some blueberries or pecans or other tasties. My recommendation, however, is to make sure they are completely dry and that you don't overblend them into the batter. You want to keep the batter and the berry juice or whatever separate as much as possible, my opinion, of course. Experiment to your heart's content. I suggest, though, that you make a batch, then separate it into portions then experiment with each one all at the same time. It's just a lot of work to make a whole batch for each experiment.
These waffles should toast up just fine, too. If you let the leftover waffles cool on the counter without being stacked atop one another, they should freeze up nicely. My belgian waffle maker makes about eight full waffles and we can only eat about three of them between the wiff and I.
Okay, now for the coup de grace, the Waffle Sauce!
Grandma's Waffle Sauce
This is where you really will slay 'em. It's great for waffles but also good on french toast or pancakes. I'm sure you can find other places where it will work for you. If you use it in the bedroom, send me photos. :-)
The ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 tablespoon of light Karo syrup
Note: You can use dark Karo syrup if you don't have light. Works just as well.
Heat the above in a too-large sauce pan on the stove until it's boiling. It will be a bit foamy.
IMPORTANT STEP: REMOVE FROM THE HEAT!
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and stir like crazy! This is going to cause it to foam up quite excessively and if you used a pan that's too small, it will go right up over the side and onto the stove in the blink of an eye. Especially if you still have it on the heat! It can be quite entertaining, actually, to watch a newbie do this! The first time you make this recipe, do this step over the sink so you can get an idea of how much it foams. And make the cleanup a lot easier. You can adjust the size of the pan accordingly for future attempts. Note the stir like crazy comment. This will help control the foaming action as well as blend the soda into the sauce.
When it's done foaming up, clean up any mess and spread it over the waffles! If you want, add 1/2 teaspoon of maple flavoring or almond flavoring or just leave it as is. This should be a good base to use for whatever flavors you may wish to have. I've been wanting to try adding a tad bit of orange flavoring or even some mango, just to see what it does. Careful with fresh citrus, however. It may do strange things to the sauce. Use a flavoring rather than the fresh juice.
Also, I recommend doubling up on this recipe or halving the waffle recipe. The sauce gets used up pretty quickly!
If you have leftover sauce (highly unlikely) put it in the fridge. It will separate out but you can stir it up and microwave it but remember, it will foam up in the microwave so keep an eye on it while it's heating up.
Enjoy!
Anyhoo, one of the best things I've ever eaten, to this day.
--Wag--
-----------------------------------------
Grandma's WafflesThis is the best waffle recipe I've ever encountered, bar none. My Grandmother made this recipe for us kids for as long as I can remember so that's a great track record in excess of 40 years. One of the great pleasures of going to Grandma's house was that she would spend the morning making waffles for us and she always made sure she had the stuff to do it. If we were there with all of our cousins, she really had her work cut out for her, bless her generous heart! I should mention that she had an old mixer and an old waffle iron which never changed during the entire time I knew her. They just don't make stuff like that any more and honestly, I wish I had asked her for them when she decided she was too old to stand in the kitchen that long any more. What a loss.
Back on track, though. It's a bit involved to make, however, which is why you'll never see it in a restaurant, no matter HOW good it is, On the other hand, it isn't difficult if you follow the directions. It's quite a bit of work but worth EVERY moment of eating pleasure! When you're done making this recipe, people will worship the ground you walk on!
Guaranteed.
There are some small tricks to making it work, however. The first is the Waffle Sauce that goes with it. I'll include that recipe here at the bottom of the waffle recipe. The second is that you MUST sift your flour. You may find that you have to sift it two or even three times. If you think you're going to go to the store and buy pre-sifted flour and expect the excellent results of a disciplined, devoted cook, you're sadly mistaken. The kitchen will not be your friend this morning. Another trick is that you WILL need a beater or hand-held mixer of some kind. A hand-held will work. You will NOT be able to successfully make this recipe by beating it by hand. Give it a try, though, if you like wasting time. I dare ya! It's a miserable effort and only works about half the time if you REALLY know what you're doing. Other little tricks you need will be noted in the instructions below.
Here's the stuff you'll need:
4 eggs
2 cups of SIFTED flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking SODA
1 teaspoon of baking POWDER
2 cups of buttermilk
1 cup (two sticks) of melted butter.
Okay, normally, we list things in the order of use and it's no exception here. However, note that the last item is MELTED butter so you'll want to get that melted before you start off with everything else. You'll know why in a bit. If you don't know the tricks of the trade some tricks here. First off, if the sticks of butter have been pre softened, that will aid the melting process a great deal. If not, get a knife out and cut the butter up into the saucepan and it will melt more easily. Not faster, more easily. Keep the heat on low. Butter is a fat and burns VERY easily and you don't want to have to break out the fire extinguisher. Take your time here. Immediately after it's all melted, turn off the burner. If you have an electric stove, remember to get it off the burner. It should stay liquid until you need it.
In a too-large bowl, beat the eggs until they are fluffy. More is not necessarily better but they need a thorough beating, to be sure. If you're angry with your errant children or spouse, you may get better results. :-)
In another bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Like I said before, you'll likely need to do this two or even three times. Gluten free flour works with this recipe but sift a minimum of three times. You'll see the difference in the flour when you're done. Also, with gluten free flour, you may wish to use a slight bit more baking soda and powder but feel free to experiment depending on the flour you are using.
This next step is critical. You want to get the mixer or hand beater going at a moderate pace in the eggs. Second or third to lowest setting works pretty well for my hand mixer. The second to lowest works best in my sister-in-law's Kitchenaid. Then, starting with some of the flour you sifted up, add the flour and buttermilk alternately to the eggs. You'll want to start AND end with the flour. I don't know why this works but it does and I don't deviate from it. Don't take all day, though. Give it four or five or six alternations before ending and you're good to go. I just don't want you to alternate with a teaspoon at a time and expect it to turn out okay a couple of hours later!
When I use a hand mixer, I get everything ready on the left side of the bowl first. That way, I can keep the mixer going with my right hand while I add flour and buttermilk with my left. It can be a bit tricky but not too difficult to manage. You'll figure it out. If it's too demanding, just shut off the mixer each time if you find it necessary. It's okay!
After the last of the flour is added, blend it up fairly well and scrape any flour down from the sides of the bowl and blend that in too. The mixer is mandatory in my opinion because it gets all the lumpiness of the flour out very fast.
Last, while the mixer is still going, gradually pour in the melted butter. Make sure the butter is not too hot. If you forgot to melt it up first and you're just now taking it off the stove, give it a few minutes to cool off but obviously, don't let it solidify again. Blend the butter into the mixture thoroughly. It should only take a minute give or take.
Here's a thought. The first waffle you bake is never as good as the last and I think it's because the batter has time to sit for a while. For this reason, I always let the batter rest for a few minutes after blending while I make the waffle sauce recipe below. It only takes about three or four minutes. But if I let the batter sit, the first waffles come out a bit better. Go figure. Something to do with the baking powder and baking soda having time to fizz in the batter. Fluffies them up somehow.
Follow the instructions on using your waffle iron. You'll have to adjust temperature and time in order to get it right but when you get it right, the waffles will come out just a tad crispy but not too crispy. You still want them to be fluffy and if you followed the instructions above, they will be, I assure you.
I always slather on some butter, in spite of the huge content of butter which has already gone into this, just because I love butter. I'm sure I'll be paying for a condo for a cardiologist some day but I'm the one who will have had all the fun first, not him! Top it off with some waffle sauce or your favorite syrup or fruit sauce and you're in hog heaven!!!
I've had it suggested that the above recipe is a good base and you could easily add some stuff to it. I've never tried to do so but I have no reason to think you couldn't add some blueberries or pecans or other tasties. My recommendation, however, is to make sure they are completely dry and that you don't overblend them into the batter. You want to keep the batter and the berry juice or whatever separate as much as possible, my opinion, of course. Experiment to your heart's content. I suggest, though, that you make a batch, then separate it into portions then experiment with each one all at the same time. It's just a lot of work to make a whole batch for each experiment.
These waffles should toast up just fine, too. If you let the leftover waffles cool on the counter without being stacked atop one another, they should freeze up nicely. My belgian waffle maker makes about eight full waffles and we can only eat about three of them between the wiff and I.
Okay, now for the coup de grace, the Waffle Sauce!
Grandma's Waffle Sauce
This is where you really will slay 'em. It's great for waffles but also good on french toast or pancakes. I'm sure you can find other places where it will work for you. If you use it in the bedroom, send me photos. :-)
The ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 tablespoon of light Karo syrup
Note: You can use dark Karo syrup if you don't have light. Works just as well.
Heat the above in a too-large sauce pan on the stove until it's boiling. It will be a bit foamy.
IMPORTANT STEP: REMOVE FROM THE HEAT!
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and stir like crazy! This is going to cause it to foam up quite excessively and if you used a pan that's too small, it will go right up over the side and onto the stove in the blink of an eye. Especially if you still have it on the heat! It can be quite entertaining, actually, to watch a newbie do this! The first time you make this recipe, do this step over the sink so you can get an idea of how much it foams. And make the cleanup a lot easier. You can adjust the size of the pan accordingly for future attempts. Note the stir like crazy comment. This will help control the foaming action as well as blend the soda into the sauce.
When it's done foaming up, clean up any mess and spread it over the waffles! If you want, add 1/2 teaspoon of maple flavoring or almond flavoring or just leave it as is. This should be a good base to use for whatever flavors you may wish to have. I've been wanting to try adding a tad bit of orange flavoring or even some mango, just to see what it does. Careful with fresh citrus, however. It may do strange things to the sauce. Use a flavoring rather than the fresh juice.
Also, I recommend doubling up on this recipe or halving the waffle recipe. The sauce gets used up pretty quickly!
If you have leftover sauce (highly unlikely) put it in the fridge. It will separate out but you can stir it up and microwave it but remember, it will foam up in the microwave so keep an eye on it while it's heating up.
Enjoy!
Can't resist
Once in a while, someone asks me for a recipe or I just cook something up and it comes out good so, here are a few recipes for ya.
--Wag--
--Wag--
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