Tag: breakfast

Waffles, My Liege

Waffles will always make me think of my dad. Though always open to trying new things, he’s a man of few favorites, drawn to a slim list of staples that he’s happy to repeat until the end of days. That’s why I’m endlessly making subtle variations on the same theme when trying to treat him, as nearly every waffle recipe on this blog can attest. Working with a limited range of options that he would genuinely enjoy isn’t too much of a challenge though, as he makes his preferences very clear. All things sweet, crunchy, and simple are likely an easy win.

What Are Liege Waffles?

For his birthday this year, I’m dedicating a different sort of waffle indulgence in his honor. Liege waffles are an entirely different beast from the typical frozen affair and even bolder than Belgian. Made with yeasted brioche dough instead of a liquid batter, the aroma is absolutely heady, like fresh, buttery bread as it hits the iron. The most distinctive part of a proper liege waffle, however, is the inclusion of pearl sugar, which caramelizes in crunchy pockets throughout. They’re rich enough to eat out of hand like any other pastry, hot or cold, with or without any further adornment.

Pearl of a Great Price

Securing pearl sugar isn’t terribly challenging in this age of online shopping and immediate gratification, but it does pose a stumbling block if you’d rather keep your purchases close to home. Or, more accurately in my case, you don’t want to keep buying random stuff that you’ll only use once. Spurred on by equal parts impatience and thriftiness, as so many of my recipes are, I realized that I already had the perfect substitute: Sprinkles. Sprinkles are essentially compact tablets of sugar with a bit of starch and added coloring, so why wouldn’t they work just as nicely here? Moreover, sprinkles are somewhat like candy, which aligns nicely with the short list of my dad’s favorite foods.

Confetti Cannon

Confetti Liege Waffles are a distinctly American take on the Wallonian classic. Freckled with every color of the rainbow, sprinkles are no longer just an ice cream topping. Once pressed and sizzling between two hot irons, the sprinkles soften just enough to melt at the edges, bleeding streaks of color into the tender dough while regaining a sugary crunch after cooling. Each abstract blob emerges golden, lacquered with a sheen of sugar that’s befitting of a real celebration. Since my dad isn’t big on birthday cake, this seems like a much more suitable centerpiece for his big day. All you’d need is a candle to blow out.

Dressed to Impress

Still, I would never deny the man his beloved maple syrup. That firmly pushes this plate into dessert territory, unless you’d like to start your day in a sugar coma. To each their own; there are worse ways to celebrate a birthday!

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Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments

Egged On

Does anyone else have definitively different algorithms across platforms? Facebook seems to think I’m a complete Japanophile, never failing to remind me about sakura season and tips for packing bento boxes, while Instagram (though also owned by Facebook) feeds me a steady diet of gloom, doom, and horrid AI atrocities.

Though it’s been quite some time since I last visited Japan and have little hope of returning anytime soon, you can guess where I’d rather waste my time. Indulging in a bit of mindless scrolling before bed, I came across a very unremarkable video, no longer than 10 seconds at most, highlighting one more piece of evidence that “Japan is living in 2050.” Lo and behold, shelf stable packets of tamago kake sauce to squeeze over rice. Astounding.

Flipping through countless similar, forgettable contributions to this digital wasteland, I quickly moved on. For some reason though, the idea stuck with me. Tamago kake gohan, the most basic dish of hot rice topped with raw egg, could still be easier to make. To me, a lover of all things vegan egg-related, I was secretly captivated. I wanted to recreate this simple pleasure but got caught up in the complications of making a spherified vegan egg yolk, which is diametrically opposed to the elementary nature of the meal. If the egg could just be sauce, since it just gets broken up and stirred into the rice anyway, that changes things.

Dozens if not hundreds of recipes for vegan yolks are floating about on the web at this point, so if mine doesn’t strike your fancy, go off on a Google adventure and take your pick. My point here is that while a perfect golden dome, capable of bursting into unctuous, eggy sauce would look more impressive at first serving, the results are the same: it’s delicious. As someone prone to overthinking, it’s exhausting chasing the best, most perfect, most beautiful, most creative of everything. Tamago kake gohan should require zero thinking.

It’s not pretty and won’t get any likes on social media. I’m okay with that. I’ll make a big batch of egg sauce and rice, pack them separately in the fridge, and have easy food all week. Plus, all you have to do is add tofu for an instant scramble, if you’re more in the mood for that. Additional toppings are optional, but recommended, especially if you eat this frequently, to prevent palate fatigue. It’s good, maybe even great, though not enough to catapult me into 2050. Thank god for that.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Firfir For Real

Ugly but tasty; that’s firfir, alright. Made from torn pieces of injera, it’s a thrifty way to use day-old bread and a few pantry staples. Of course, leftover injera isn’t something I’ve ever had at my disposal, so rare and precious that every scrap is exhausted long before the stews alongside. Firfir is every bit as special, no matter how simple. Now that I can order injera whenever I want, firfir is back on the menu, fresh and vibrant as ever.

Injera, the spongy, sour flatbread at the heart of Ethiopian cuisine, is a flatbread I could never make from scratch. All it takes is teff flour, water, and salt, but that’s not the whole story. Days of fermentation are what create its signature flavor and texture before its spread in paper-thin layers, even finer than French crepes, demanding untold years of practice to master. Anyone without access to an Ethiopian restaurant was out of luck, until Red Fox Spices began selling both Ivory and Brown Teff Injera inside their meal kits and, most important to this culinary adventure, solo.

What Goes Into Firfir?

There’s no “correct” way to make firfir. Mercifully, that also means there’s no wrong way to do it, either. It’s a dish of memory more than measurement. You’ll find variations all across Ethiopian households, each adapted as the technique passed through the hands of generations of cooks. Some brightened with fresh tomatoes, others simply use tomato paste or sauce. Some are fiery hot, others more mild. The only constant is the teff flatbread base, liberal use of oil and onions, and a heavy hand when applying berbere.

Berbere: The Heart Behind the Heat

There is no talking about firfir, or frankly, Ethiopian cuisine at all, without singing the praises of berbere. Crimson and potent as a red-hot flame, it’s the essential spice blend that pulses through almost every dish like a low, melodic hum. Smoky chili peppers take the lead, supported by a chorus of garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, allspice, and more. Like every other element of the cuisine, proportions vary from home to home, though it will always knock you off your feet with layers of complex flavor. I’m happy to get an assist from Red Fox Spices on this one too, as it’s the real deal.

Firfir For Days

Timeless, foolproof, and always well-received, firfir can be enjoyed for any meal. In Ethiopia, it’s most commonly served for breakfast, scooped up with even more fresh injera.

Firfir may not win any beauty contests, but it’s the kind of meal that’s meant to be eaten with your hands, not your eyes. Now that the key ingredients, injera and berbere, are readily available for shipping all over the world, there’s no excuse not to bring this soulful, spicy tangle of comfort into your own kitchen.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

Add a Little Bit of Spice

Oh, I thought, staring vacantly at the occupied oven. Oh well.

Am I getting more careless in old age, or are product packages becoming more inscrutable? All I wanted was to use up the last of a bottle of tahini and conquer cookie cravings all in one fell swoop. Whether it was willful ignorance or distracted driving behind the stand mixer dials, I had failed to notice that this was harissa tahini, creamed into the already baking batter.

Unfazed, I waited for the timer to sound before retrieving the sheet pan as planned. What else was there to do? Yank the half-baked dough out of the oven and hastily toss it into the trash? As a person more likely to pull the same dough out of the trash, letting the effort go to waste was never an option.

Fortunately, my mistake turned out to be so minimal that you could call it an asset. Nutty, toasted, and subtly buttery, you’d never know anything untoward had occurred at first bite. Only after would you feel a very slight warmth, a growing but gentle burn, at the back of your throat. Balanced by the woodsy sweetness of maple syrup, it certainly won’t light your tongue on fire. In fact, it’s such a successful twist, I’d suggest adding a little bit of spice to standard tahini in case you have the opposite supply issue.

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Turnip The Beet

As much as I love a good food pun, I swear, this was completely unintentional. Up until the moment I started peeling away the outer skin, I thought for all the world that I was working with rutabaga. Then, that distinctive smell hit me; sharp and pungent, more like a radish than the sweet and starchy tuber I expected. Simply trying to use up odds and ends after another recipe photo shoot, I suppose it was fate that pumped up the volume to create these accidental turnip and beet hash browns.

Fleeced by Flannel

Red flannel hash is simply your traditional potato-based hash with addition of chopped beets, tinting all the spuds a rich ruby hue. You could perhaps squint and see it as a checkerboard arrangement with all its squares overlapping hues to account for the name. That said, it’s a bit of a misnomer because flannel itself is simply a woven fabric, regardless of pattern, despite the frequent association with a plaid or tartan. Semantics aside, it’s a humble, hearty, and comforting breakfast staple that will never let you down. Potatoes aren’t the only vegetative foundation that can support the concept.

Root Revelry

Sitting on the outskirts of most mainstream markets, turnips and rutabagas have more in common than not. You’d be forgiven for making the same mistake. Both come from the cabbage family and have a very similar appearance. Pale beige with a purple top, it’s easy to mix them up at a glace. Turnips are a bit rounder and more pale, whereas rutabaga have a darker, more yellow tint and tend to be a bit more oblong. As far as flavor goes, turnips have a subtly peppery bite, especially if eaten raw, while rutabaga have a sweeter flavor, like carrots, and a creamier texture when cooked. Fortunately, you can use both with great success; the results will be delicious regardless, just in different ways.

Serving With Style

Earthy and warming, this particular hash honors the legacy of the potato while giving it a more nuanced upgrade. The natural sweetness of red beets with punchy turnips pairs easily with almost anything to round out the plate. Infused with a smoky, savory, and subtly tangy flavor, it’s so much more than just bland, boring filler.

Serving suggestions include:

Hash It Out

Make some noise for the accidental smash hit of the winter! You’ll want to turnip the beat, on repeat, once you give it a spin.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments