Savory Waffles as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle

At the 1964 World's Fair, Americans were introduced to the Belgian waffle, made fluffy with the help of yeast and egg whites. Once electric waffle irons replaced those inconvenient metal plates, waffles officially became an American favorite.

In North America, Belgian waffles are a variety of waffles with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. Belgian waffles were originally leavened with yeast but baking powder is now often used.

Tired of toast & sausage for breakfast and brunch? Then opt-in for a southern treat. These waffles are the perfect accompaniment to my Oven Fried Garlic Chicken, always a family favorite, and I’m delighted to share with you.

Savory Waffles

Makes 8 waffles  

chefgeorgehirsch.com | from George Hirsch Lifestyle TV Series

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons pure cane sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 cups of milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

½ cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded

¼ teaspoon each: 

curry powder, paprika, dried thyme, ground black pepper, hot sauce

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or dill

Preheat waffle maker. 

Put all ingredients, except egg whites, in a large mixing bowl. Beat on low until moistened. Increase to medium speed; mix for 2 minutes or until just smooth. Do not over mix.

By hand, gently fold in beaten egg whites. Pour 1/2 cup batter over grids for a regular waffle baker—more for a Belgium waffle. Close waffle maker, bake until steam no longer escapes, about 3 minutes. Repeat. 

Serve while hot with Fried Chicken.

Note: Serve topped with butter and hot syrup, or better yet with warm fresh fruit compote.

a classic Waffles + Oven Fried Chicken

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More Than Potatoes

Mousseline Potatoes. Enjoy a lighter version of mashed potatoes by cooking with a flavorful addition of chicken broth and olive oil. Cut out much of the heaviness of the dairy, add chicken broth for this do ahead recipe. Ideal for week night suppers and equally as good for holiday entertaining. And, you can have bragging rights at the dinner table. Let your guests know it is one of the most requested holiday recipes from GHL!

Mousseline Potatoes

makes 6 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle  

10 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into small pieces

1 cup chicken broth, hot

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

6 cloves garlic, chopped fine

3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Black pepper and Sea salt, to taste

¼ cup fresh chives, chopped

Optional: ¼ cup cooked and finely chopped ham or pancetta

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate small pot, add garlic to chicken broth and simmer for 5 minutes to infuse garlic flavor into broth. Optional, strain off garlic.

Test tenderness of potatoes by slipping the point of a small knife into potato. The potatoes are done if the knife slips out easily. Drain water when potatoes are tender. After draining, return potatoes to the hot pot, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil, ½ cup chicken broth and begin to mash potatoes by hand or with an electric mixer. Add ¼ cup cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Mix in and add 2 more Tablespoons olive oil. Continue to mash until desired level of smoothness. Add remaining cheese, chives, black pepper and sea salt to taste.

If preparing potatoes ahead, cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pre heat a broiler or oven to 450 degrees F.

Grease an oven proof 9 x 9 casserole pan with olive oil. Add potatoes and spread out evenly leaving ridges on top. Top with an additional ¼ cup cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and 2 Tablespoons olive oil.

Place under broiler and heat until potatoes are bubbly and golden on top. If potatoes were made fresh and hot time will be approximately 3-5 minutes. If prepared ahead and potatoes are cold, baked for 20-25 minutes or until hot and golden on top. 

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George's Pumpkin Banana Nut Muffins

I hope this recipe gets you in the mood for the first day of October! Get into the fresh baked autumn season and after 20 minutes of baking you can be enjoying hot out of the oven muffins. If you can resist to wait, they will even taste tomorrow. The banana in this pumpkin muffin recipe is an added natural sweetener, and also keeps the muffin fresh. 

George's Pumpkin Banana Nut Muffins

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle George Hirsch Living it UP! cookbook

makes 10-12 muffins

For the Muffin Mix:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh cheese pumpkin puree, cooked and reduced, or canned pumpkin 

1/4 cup about 1 large very ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup pure cane granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons honey

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 cup sweet butter, melted; or replace with part/or all applesauce

For the Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons nuts, chopped

1 Tablespoon sweet butter

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb like.

Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together reduced pumpkin, bananas, sugar, honey, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, zest, nuts, and melted butter. Fold in pumpkin mixture by hand with a spatula into the flour mixture until just moistened. 

TIP: For a "lower fat" muffin replace the butter in-part or all with applesauce.

Place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three quarters full. Divide the crumb topping evenly over the top of muffin batter.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin; done when toothpick comes out clean; or when touched lightly the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.

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Sour Cream Apple Pancakes

A great idea to surprise DAD this Fathers Day with Sour Cream Apple Pancakes!

So enjoyed my time with Msgr. Jim, host of Telecare's Real Food chatting up my features from GHL and all my creative friends! Enjoy my apple pancake recipe inspired from fresh picking..

Msgr Jim Vlaun, George Hirsch on GHL set for Telecare's Real Food, image Alex Goetzfried

Breakfast? Brunch? Easy Dinner? or Dessert? ans. all 4

Pancakes are one of the earliest forms of bread and are served up geographically in different ways. Be all traditional with baking powder, or try prospecting with sourdough pancakes like the early pioneers. Flip ‘em with oatmeal or buckwheat when in Vermont; or for a Dutch Style treat serve with lemon, powdered sugar and jam.

from George Hirsch Lifestyle TV series, apple picking Halsey Farm

Sour Cream Apple Pancakes 

Makes eight pancakes | chefgeorgehirsch.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon pure cane sugar

3/4 cup milk, variable

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg, beaten

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

*1 cup mixed sour sweet apples, peeled cored, and chopped

Additional butter to grease griddle

In a large bowl, mix together well with a whisk all dry ingredients the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl mix all wet ingredients the sour cream milk, vanilla, egg and melted butter. Yes, use two bowls so the dry and wet ingredients blend better when combined. Add the wet to the dry and just strip with a large spoon or spatula until the dry ingredients have absorbed the wet. There may still be a few lumps, hats OK. Do not over mix, or pancakes will become tough.

Pre heat a non stick pan or lightly grease a griddle over medium high heat at 375 degrees F. Test the temperature by dropping a drop of water on surface of pan. Water will dance across the surface when at the correct temperature. You can test one cake before proceeding.

Check consistency of batter with a sample test pancake, if too think adjust with a few drops of milk. Pour one 1/4 cup scoop of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Add apples at this time. You will begin to see bubbles form on the top side when brown on bottom, flip and brown on second side. Serve hot with syrup or favorite topping eaten immediately right off the griddle.

Finish off your stack with honey, molasses, can syrup, Nutella, or Maple Syrup.  Top with toasted nuts and powder sugar. If serving apple pancakes for dessert sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon sugar on top of sliced apples prior to flipping. 

Note: After peeling apples maybe chopped or sliced thin depending on your own preference and taste. Chopped apples can be added to the batter or placed on top of raw side of pancake while on the griddle. Sliced apples should nay be arranged on raw side of pancake while on griddle before flipping. And If making batter ahead the night before, add apples just before cooking. 

Tip: When using double acting baking powder (the most common available today) prepare my batter the night before, cover bowl and refrigerate. This not only saves time but more importantly allows the gluten to relax from mixing the batter, which makes for a more tender pancake. When you are ready to cook pancakes just gently stir the batter, do not mix too much or they will be tough. 

Test Your Baking PowderHow old is your baking powder? 

Replace baking powder every 6-12 months after opening. The exact amount of time is determined by how much moisture gets into your container of baking powder. Do you immediately recover the cap; as you should, or do you leave the top off and cover it later when cleaning up? Store in a cool dry place. 

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Honey Glazed

Bake a Winner!

Ham cooking rule of thumb = 325 degrees F. at 25 minutes per pound or follow package instructions.

Estimate needing 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound of bone-in ham per person, or 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of boneless ham.

Fully cooked hams can be served as is, but they'll taste better if glazed and roasted to an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.

George’s Honeyed Ham Glaze Recipe

Makes enough glaze for a medium size ham 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestytle

1 cup honey

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons orange juice

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon ginger, minced

1 Tablespoon orange zest

Mix all ingredients together in small pot, bring up to a boil, then simmer for five minutes. Pour over ham as a glaze 15-20 minutes before removing from oven. Baste every five minutes, remove from oven and cool slightly. 

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