Waffle Love

I mentioned earlier that The Delicious Life had been so kind as to send me a raffled copy of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. Sarah gave me the task of finding a recipe in the book that I liked and making it for the blog. Here's to one of many, I'm hoping!

The recipe that caught my eye first off was Creamed Mushrooms on Cornmeal Waffles. Waffles? Mushrooms? What's not to like? It was a match made in heaven. The waffles were like all the best parts of a cornmeal muffin, with more of the crusty outside than ever. Yum!



Creamed Mushrooms on Cornmeal Waffles
from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Serves four

For the creamed mushrooms:

2 tb unsalted butter
1.5 tb all-purpose flour
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tb extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces shittake mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped (2c)
6 ounces portabello mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped (2c)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or tarragon
2 tb Madeira or dry sherry (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 c heavy cream

For the waffles:

1 c stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cups whole or low-fat buttermilk (preferably whole)
4 tb unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs

Start by preparing the mushrooms. In a 12-inch skillet or saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat until frothy, about one minute. Add the flour, whisking to break down any lumps, and when the flour is well-incorporated, add the onion. Cook the onion until soft and not yet browning, about five minutes. Add the olive oil, mushrooms, thyme, Madeira, and salt and cook until the mushrooms have darkened and released some of their liquid, about three minutes. Add the cream and stir to distribute it throughout the pan. Once the cream begins to simmer gently, cook until it takes on some of the mushrooms' color -- a rich beige hue -- about three minutes. Remove from the heat.

While the mushrooms are cooking, preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Place a rack in the middle.

Sift the dry waffle ingredients together into a bowl. IN a separate bowl, whisk the wet waffle ingredients together. Add them to the dry ingredients and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Ladle the batter onto a hot buttered waffle iron and cook eight minutes, or until the outside is crisp and golden brown. As the waffle comes off the iron, place them in a single layer on the oven rack so they stay warm and crisp.

When creamed mushrooms are cooked and the waffles are ready, ladle the mushrooms over the waffles and serve immediately.