{Baked} Chicken & {Cheesy Potato} Waffles
A few weeks back the Texans were the Sunday evening game (I don't want to to even talk about what a disaster this season has been because I'm totally in denial), and I wanted to do a dinner version of chicken and waffles with a twist (though I still would like to do a traditional brunch version). Instead of buttermilk waffles, we made potato waffles. Dustin commented that they sort of reminded him of latkes, but we dressed them up, so they had the flavor profile of a baked potato with sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onions.
The waffles were a little bit delicate, so we had a slightly difficult time getting them out of the waffle iron without them falling apart. After a little practice we managed to learn a helpful trick (loosen the edges and use a spatula to lift the entire waffle out at once). Then we broiled the waffles with lots of shredded cheese on top, followed by the addition of the remaining toppings.
We had a bunch of the flour mixture leftover from the fried chicken sandwiches, so this time around we brined the chicken, used the same coating, and baked the chicken instead. Not nearly as good as the fried chicken, but the brining was nice and the fennel helped make the baked chicken more exciting flavor-wise than your typical baked chicken.
Cheesy Potato Waffles
yields 4 waffles
- 6-7 small to medium Yukon gold potatoes (skins on or off)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (milk works too)
- salt
- pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped and divided
- 1 cup grated cheese (we used combination of sharp cheddar and Trader Joe's bacon cheddar)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Wash, quarter, and boil potatoes in a large pot until tender (~15 minutes).
- Drain then carefully, run hot potatoes through a ricer (or use a masher or fork), and then mix or whip with butter and cream until smooth.
- Heat your waffle iron to medium heat and turn broiler on.
- Add in eggs and flour, mixing until smooth.
- Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Fold in green onions, reserving about 2 tablespoons for topping.
- Ladle the potato batter into a greased and heated waffle iron and cook for about 4 minutes (longer than a traditional breakfast waffle).
- Gently remove the waffle from the waffle iron and place on greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining waffle batter.
- Sprinkle waffles with cheese and place under broiler for about 2 minutes until cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle on remaining green onions and crumbled bacon, and top with a dollop of sour cream.
- Serve with baked or fried chicken.