Everyday you have a flight. A flight of meals that starts with breakfast. Maybe it’s a hastily consumed piece of toast as your rush out the door, or a Grande cup of caffeine or maybe you miss out in favor of a few extra minutes of sleep.
Then there are those day when you invite over those few special people you know that are worthy of a meal eaten around your table just past dawn. Maybe it’s overnight guests, maybe it’s out of towners, maybe it’s brunch for people that you don’t see nearly enough. Breakfast people — these are the special ones.
Let’s say we started to categorize meals according to how much we like people we are willing to share them with. At the bottom of the pyramid would be the midday coffee meet up, then slightly more important people get a lunch date, we are more inclined to share evening drinks with people we like a bit more than the lunch set, then we have those that earn the time we can linger over dinner. But it’s the ones we share breakfast with that are the most important.
Because I’ll pretty much have coffee or a beer with anyone, but if you can get me out of bed in the morning to make you breakfast, then you’re really important. But you better buy me a beer later for my trouble.
Here is a recipe for maple bacon beer waffles, to share with those most important.
Maple Bacon Beer Waffles
Serves 4
4 eggs, separated
¼ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
¾ cup beer, like a lager, hefeweizen or pilsner
¼ cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
Set out one large bowl and two medium bowls. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in one medium bowl and the yolks in the medium other.
Add 1/4 cup sugar, beer and buttermilk to the yolks, stir until well combined. Stir in the melted butter and the maple syrup until well combined.
Add the salt to the whites, whip the whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Beat in 2 tablespoons sugar until well combined.
In the large bowl add the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and chopped bacon, stir to combine.
Make a well in the center of the flour, add the yolk mixture, stir until just combined. Gently fold in the whites.
Pre-heat a waffle maker, cook waffles according to manufactures specifications.
Special to Sip Northwest, Jackie Dodd (AKA @TheBeeroness) is an award-winning beer and food writer and photographer based in Seattle. Her third book, “LUSH,” is due out later this year. Check out more of her recipes here.
