Christmas Breakfast – Liege Wafels

These waffles, or wafels as they’re called at wafels and dinges, are life changing. You’ll never look a waffle the same way again. Thank you Bobby Flay for showcasing Wafels and Dinges on throwdown and opening my eyes to the liege wafel. They’re crispy and crunchy on the outside, but thick and chewy on the inside. The pearl sugar perfectly caramelizes around the edges. You can eat them plain or with a plethora of toppings. My favorite is speculoos and fresh whipped cream. Now that Sur la Table is stocking pearl sugar, I can make these little gems at home! So thank you Sur la Table for making Christmas morning special!

Liege Waffles
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 pack dry yeast
3/4 lukewarm milk
2 sticks butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag (8 oz) pearl sugar

Dissolve yeast in milk. Add all ingredients together, except the pearl sugar. It will be a thick dough, not a batter. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, approximately 30 minutes. Add in pearl sugar. Place spoonful (about 3 ounces) in prepared waffle iron. Do not remove with your hand! The pearl sugar is extremely hot. Top with Nutella and strawberries, speculoos (cookie butter) and bananas, dulce de leche and whipped cream.

If you don’t know, now you know! Get it at central market.

Jason on totally rocked this amazing ham, gruyere and thyme breakfast bake. Guest blog post coming soon!

Buon Natale from Mahogany Trail

What a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner with my loves. We opted for a more traditional holiday meal this year, versus our usual Italian feast. In typical Clark Giswold style, Jason completely outdid himself. Bourbon glazed ham, roasted thyme potatoes, maple balsamic Brussel sprouts, cornbread dressing and sugared carrots with pecans. Buon Natale!

Crispy Roasted Thyme Potatoes
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp olive oil
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
coarse salt
1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt, red-pepper flakes (if using) and thyme. Brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake 1 hour, until edges are crispy.

Brussel sprouts already posted in Fall 2014.

This is Jason’s secret cornbread dressing. Maybe one day I’ll convince him to share!

Sugared Carrots with Pecans
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes. Stir in ginger and sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Add pecans and cook until carrots are tender when pierced and mixture is glazed in sugar, 3 to 5 minutes.

Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tbsp bourbon
1 tbsp spicy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup

Combine ingredients and pour over top of scored ham. Cook according to directions.