ham & cheese waffles

the moment i saw this recipe in bon appetit i thought it was too good to be true.

ham + cheese + waffles? i was so excited my head almost exploded!

and so, with a guest chef (mr. glenn butler) in the kitchen,

we tried these out for some friends and family.

at first i though they were a total disaster (hence glenn's face above)

but we learned some tricks along the way :)

i have to say that without the ham & cheese,

these waffles were some of the best i'd ever had!

i loved them with it as well,

it just took some technique :)

ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large egg whites

3 large egg yolks

1cup (2 sticks) melted butter

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup soda water

non-stick vegetable oil spray

1 cup thinly-cut strips of ham

3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar

maple syrup (if desired)

directions

1. preheat oven to 300°.

2. heat waffle iron until very hot.

3. whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl.

4. using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until medium-soft peaks form.

5. whisk egg yolks, melted butter, buttermilk, and soda water in a medium bowl;

gradually whisk into dry ingredients. fold in egg whites.

6. coat waffle iron with non-stick vegetable oil spray.

pour batter onto iron, spreading it into corners

(amount of batter needed will vary according to machine)

(i tried 2 different waffle machines i had on hand)

tip #1 - you'll need to figure out about how much batter to pour

into the pan without having half of it squirt out the sides :)

you can usually get this down after the first couple waffles

7. scatter some ham & cheese  over each waffle (about 1 tablespoon of each)

cook until golden brown and cooked through.

tip #2 - remember to generously use non-stick spray on the waffle iron,

otherwise this will happen............

tip #3 - i learned that when i followed the instructions exactly,

i couldn't get the ham & cheese to not stick to the iron,

no matter how hard i tried. examples:

BUT, after some practice, i learned you have to also put a light layer of batter

on TOP of the ham & cheese as well. like so....

(this one was just cheese, but you get the idea)

8. transfer to a baking sheet; keep waffles warm in oven between batches.

serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

9. enjoy!!! :)