smoked salmon waffles {ffwd}
The United States and France have a totally different take on waffles. Here in the U.S., waffles are breakfast fare. Though I have a waffle iron, I’m often hard-pressed to opt for waffles over pancakes because the batters are so similar, and pancakes are quicker to make and serve to waiting diners. Traditionally, they are drenched in maple syrup, though not being a fan of maple syrup (gasp!), I spread them with jam or preserves instead (pancakes too).
In France, savory waffles are served as an appetizer (not even a concept here) or, when sweet, as dessert. This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie is a savory version of waffles filled with smoked salmon and complementary herbs. I decided to serve Smoked Salmon Waffles as the main event in a “Breakfast for Dinner” night.
The basic waffle batter is like the breakfast version, but with no sugar added. These waffles were flavored with chopped shallot (I didn’t realize I’d used up the scallions the night before), parsley, and chives plus smoked salmon slivers. The batter was pretty with the colorful confetti of the green and pink add-ins.
I was intrigued by an unusual step in Dorie’s instructions for cooking the waffles. She directed us to spread the batter over the grid with a spatula and leave the waffle iron open while it cooked for the first thirty seconds. After that, you close the waffle iron to finish cooking. I’ve always done the plop-and-close method, but I tried my usual way and Dorie’s way. I’m not sure why, but those I made Dorie’s way had a more uniform shape and a browner surface. I think it would be worth trying out her method with plain waffles next time I make them too.
As always, it took a while to cook the waffles. Each one took about 5 minutes. I think that’s why pancakes are more popular at my house. I kept them warm in the oven, but ended up just cooking what we would eat that night, unplugging the waffle iron, eating dinner, then cooking the rest while I washed the dishes.
To round out “Breakfast for Dinner”, I served scrambled eggs with the waffles. I wasn’t able to find salmon roe at any of my usual shopping venues, so I chopped additional smoked salmon to top the dollop of crème fraîche that garnished the waffles. It added an extra splash of color. Salmon roe would have been fabulous, if I’d been able to find some.
Howard’s initial reaction was that the savory waffles were odd. After about half a waffle, he changed his mind and thought they were good. We don’t usually have breakfast for dinner. That’s often a fallback for me when I’m eating alone, so that might have been what he found unusual.
We ate the leftovers (the waffles I cooked after dinner) the next night. They reheated perfectly in the toaster. Instead of eggs, we had a simple salad to accompany the waffles, so the second night’s combo bore no resemblance to breakfast.
While I enjoyed this recipe, I don’t know that I’d make it again. If you want to know what my Dorista friends thought, you can follow their links from here. If you’d like to try them yourself, the recipe can be found here or in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
Enjoy the long weekend! Summer is unofficially here!
(french) food revolution day 2014 {ffwd}
Today is Food Revolution Day 2014, spearheaded by chef Jamie Oliver. This year’s theme is to “get kids excited about food”. Cooking is a life skill that in a time of many food issues, including obesity, poor nutrition, and eating too much processed food, give people much more control over what they eat. It’s like the old proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. Cooking follows the same premise.
A person can learn to cook any time, but learning as a kid will get them excited about food for life. Cooking doesn’t have to be hard or elaborate, and there is nothing more satisfying than taking basic ingredients and transforming them into something to eat. It can be as simple as cooking vegetables or only slightly more involved like baking or making pancakes. Cooking teaches kids about the science of cooking, and pleasure of enjoying the fruits of your own labor, and, importantly, the joy of sharing food with others.
For French Fridays with Dorie, our approach to observing Food Revolution Day this year is to choose a recipe from Around My French Table, the book we are working our way through, that we think every kid should know how to cook. The book is filled with a wide assortment of recipes, many of them quite simple for any level of cook. I paged through the book making notes on what I thought a kid should know how to cook and came up with this list.
I’m a childless adult with limited daily interaction with today’ youth, so I wasn’t sure about my judgment. I was guessing about things I would have liked to make when I was young which was very focused on baking. As a sanity check, I asked my almost-13-year-old niece Maggie to give me her list. It wasn’t possible for us to then cook together, but I was interested in what recipes in the book got her excited.
So, no cooking (or pictures) for me this Food Revolution Day, but here are our lists of “must know how to make” recipes from Around My French Table.
Betsy
- Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux: My #1 favorite recipe in AMFT. EVERYONE should know how to make this one.
- Cheez-it-ish Crackers: Much healthier to make your own snacks.
- Christine’s Simple Party Soups: Almost as easy as opening a can, and much tastier. Also a great template for making your own version with a favorite vegetable and spice.
- Potato-Chip Tortilla: It’s fun to use potato chips in a main dish.
- Cinnamon-Crunch chicken: It’s fun to be able to make a quick dinner with cookies!
- Top-Secret Chocolate Mousse: Again another favorite that’s impressive but not hard to make.
Maggie
- Celery-celery soup
- Café salle pleyel hamburger
- Boeuf a la ficelle
- Coconut lemongrass braised pork
- Scallops with caramel orange sauce
- Long & slow apples
- Olive oil ice cream
- Bubble top brioches
What a revelation! First of all, our lists had no overlap. Maggie’s palette was much more sophisticated than mine was at her age. I was always an adventurous eater, but the available ingredients back then was much more limited. Also, she didn’t pick any quick-to-satisfy baked goods. None of the cookies or cakes that would have called to me. I was impressed with her choices.
To see what choices the other Doristas made, check out their Food Revolution Day 2014 links here.
Now, go get excited about food!
A Plateful of Happiness 