After not having heard from Ed in several months he emailed and boasted he’d had a life changing experience during a redfish excursion in deep, deep Southern Louisiana this past week.
He spent five days at what sounded like a pretty upscale B&B; it appears that against all odds and despite his crotchety demeanor and advanced age (something close to 80), Ed fell in love during the trip. (And yes, they caught fish, lots of big fish…).
He fell in love with CeeCee, their chef, and her Ham and Cheese Waffles.
Apparently these were on the menu the first morning Ed awoke there; the story goes that he took one bite, arose and demanded to “see the cook”. Marching to the kitchen, he apparently then sat in a wooden chair near the cook station and watched CeeCee crank out waffle after waffle, grinning like a 5th grader suffering his first crush, asking for several more as he attempted to work his old man magic on CeeCee.
I’m not sure where their relationship is headed, as CeeCee has apparently never left the state of Louisiana and expressed no interest whatsoever in even visiting Ed in Big Sky Country.
Further complicating matters, CeeCee is in her late 60s, has been married 52 years to the same gentleman, and has five children and 18 grandchildren she continues to shepherd through the maze of life.
Ed did manage to pry her recipe away after consulting CeeCee several times on the finer points. Of note, it makes waffles for 24(!) as written and needs to be scaled back a bit for family use and yes, the butter amount is correct – butter makes for crispy, golden brown waffles that stand up to syrup well.
Ed’s catch of the trip was no doubt this recipe; they’re on our menu for Sunday morning.
3 and 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. kosher salt
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups (4 sticks!) butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups soda water
2 cups Southern country smoked ham, cut into thin strips
3/4 cup cheddar, sharp, grated
3/4 cup white cheddar, sharp, gratedMore butter and syrup of your choice to serve
Note: Serves 24
Preheat your trusty waffle iron.
Get ready. While the butter is melting, start the egg whites beating – you’re looking for medium-soft peaks.
Mix it up. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Keep an eye on those egg whites and stop when they’re medium-soft.
Now whisk together the egg yolks, melted butter, buttermilk and 1 cup of the soda water; slowly whisk into the dry ingredients until just combined; add more soda water if too thick. Now fold in the egg whites.
Make the waffle magic. Using whatever method your waffle iron requires, oil the waffle iron plates and load with batter; sprinkle a generous tbsp. (each) of the ham and white cheddar over the batter and cook until crispy and brown.
Hold in a 300 degree oven if you can stand to wait on these.
Serve with another pat of butter and the syrup of your choice; I’d argue for warmed (genuine) maple syrup but Ed says are out of this world with Steen’s Cane syrup like down south.
Enjoy.
