I say on the sidebar to this blog that I’m concentrating on “company” food, not on what I made for dinner Tuesday night. It’s not really cheating for me to include this recipe, since I have made it for an overnight guest–once. These waffles have been a Saturday breakfast staple at our house for almost 20 years, as I can remember making them when Gideon was a baby. (I probably got started making them because we were given a waffle iron as a wedding present. Thanks, Steve and Evelyn! That waffle iron lasted a long, long time.) Over those same 20 years I’ve made various changes of my own, so I now feel comfortable posting the recipe. The original is from a cookbook I’ve mentioned before, Beat That! Cookbook by the inimitable Ann Hodgman. You know a cookbook is good when the pages are splattered and covered with notations. That’s certainly true for my copy of this one. Ann titled this recipe “The Only Waffles Better Than That Damn Mix” (her language, not mine!). The mix she’s referring to is Pepperidge Farm’s Homestyle Pancake and Waffle Mix, which I’ve never seen on a grocery store shelf. But then, I don’t buy mixes. (Hoity-toity, aren’t I?) I do make these using freshly-ground flour from my grain mill, but don’t let that scare you off. I think they’d be very good (just not as good) made with store-bought white whole-wheat flour. You can mix up the dry and the wet ingredients the night before. I’ve tried mixing up the batter completely the night before and putting it in the fridge, but I’ve decided that it’s not as good that way.
Breakfast & Brunch
Easy Southwest Corn Pudding
When we went on a huge driving trip one year from Denver to Los Angeles and back again, our first stop was at Arches National Park in Utah. In their gift shop was the gorgeous cookbook Seasonal Southwest Cooking. I decided that it would be my one souvenir for the trip, and I’ve made a number of its recipes. The one below has come in very useful whenever I’m feeding a breakfast crowd, as at the Saturday-morning rehearsals of the community chorale to which I belong. People go absolutely nuts over it, and it’s vegetarian and gluten-free! So almost everyone is a crowd can eat it. Highly, highly recommended.
To access the recipe, follow this link.
Make-Your-Own Granola
Many years ago I ran into a granola recipe in the old Gourmet magazine (now gone, alas) called “Sherry’s Granola.” I have followed its basic concept for many years, tweaking it and generalizing it until I can call it my own. Granola is a great kitchen-sink item, and as you’ll see below it’s more of a procedure than a recipe.
You may be surprised at the amount of sweetener called for, a whole cupful of maple syrup (not pancake syrup, puh-leeze!) or honey, since these recipes are for the most part low- or no-sugar.
Breakfast for 75
The first of what I hope will be a weekly series of posts on my excursions into feeding people, usually at our home but sometimes somewhere else. (I’ll hope to develop my abilities as a photographer along the way.)
This past Saturday morning the Cherry Creek Chorale had its usual retreat rehearsal. Once per concert rehearsal set, usually about every two months, we have this special, optional time for intensive work. We start formally at 9:00, so at 8:30 or so we serve breakfast as a bribe to get as many people as possible to come.