stories : Feature
Common Appliances, Uncommon Uses
Discover new applications for your underused equipment
All those kitchen appliances, taking up shelf space until the next time you’re craving waffles or dried fruit or sorbet. Isn’t there a way to employ them more often? We were inspired by a Chowhound post that asked for alternate uses for a waffle iron.
As we researched, we found people who brew beer in coffee makers or cook fish in the dishwasher, but not every experiment was worth the time or effort. We came up with the following parameters: (1) the food should taste as good or better than when made in the conventional manner, (2) the cooking time should be equal to or shorter than normal, and (3) the method should use the appliance in a way that’s totally different from what it’s known for.
Imagine our delight at seeing a soufflé rise up in the slow cooker, a frozen mixed drink take shape in the ice cream maker. Our late-night snack cravings found succor with a waffle iron. And if you don’t have these appliances, or don’t understand why anyone would veer from the standard, there are conventional instructions for most of the recipes too.
CHOW’s Intense Brownies
Waffle Iron Brownies, Muffins,
and Hash Browns
Good waffles are delicious in the iron, but we thought that anything with a batter base or that required a crispy texture could be waffled. We settled on brownies, muffins, and hash browns.
Brownies
Using CHOW’s Intense Brownies recipe, follow the mixing instructions (steps 2 and 3). Heat the waffle iron to its lowest setting. When it’s hot, add one-third of the batter to the ungreased iron. Close it and let the brownies cook until they are firm and starting to get very brown on the edges, about four minutes. Remove them from the iron and let them sit a few minutes to crisp up. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Muffins
Using our Citrus–Poppy Seed Muffins recipe, follow the mixing instructions (steps 2 and 3). Heat the waffle iron to its lowest setting. When it’s hot, add one-third of the batter to the ungreased iron. Close it and let the muffins cook until they are browned and set all the way through, about five minutes. Remove them from the iron and eat as is or with a squeeze of lemon and some powdered sugar. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Citrus–Poppy Seed Muffins
Chile-Cilantro Hash Browns
Hash Browns
Gather the ingredients listed in our Chile-Cilantro Hash Browns recipe. Heat the waffle iron to its medium setting. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze the mixture by the handful to release as much moisture as possible.
When the iron is hot, fill the bottom half with 1/8 inch vegetable oil (about 1 tablespoon). Squeeze the grated potato mixture between your hands again to release any excess moisture. Combine the potato mixture, chili powder, and black pepper, and mix until well combined.
Place half of the mixture (about 1 cup) in the iron, sprinkle half of the salt over top, brush the top of the iron with vegetable oil, close it, and cook until the hash browns are golden brown and crisp, about eight to ten minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
I'm thinking that with the confit recipe/method, there should also be a carnitas one. And then I go recipe searching on chow.com and there are no recipes for carnitas. Color me surprised!
eefoodgeek: sorry that you have not come across a carnitas recipe yet. we are a young site and grow our recipe collection each and everyday. we're consciously growing our latin side of the site and encourage you to also upload any of your favorite recipes through the member recipe function.
I've been meaning to try grilled cheese in my waffle iron, the brownies sound interesting. I'm also thinking french toast or a monte christo would be good candidates for this.
Also -- Major Grey's chutney is in most grocery stores near the other condiments, I'd think you could easily sub any spicy mango chutney.
Some time back there was a great discussion about using the waffle maker on eggplant slices. People who had tried it raved.
I do have a question though. I have a regular waffle maker that just makes small round waffles. But also have a belgian waffle maker. Think that would work for these recipes?
"I've been meaning to try grilled cheese in my waffle iron, the brownies sound interesting"
I don't even use my waffle maker for waffles anymore, just for grilled cheese and variations. It's not going to taste like one made in a pan, but I think it's even better. You can add just about anything to the cheese too. I'll add lunch meat or tomatoes or spinach, anything you could want in a hot sandwich. Cleanup is a breeze too since you just wipe it down. And another bonus is that it is the ONLY meal my boyfriend can manage without screwing up!
My dad also heats up pizza in the waffle maker. He takes two slices, makes a sandwich and plops it in!
I make grilled cheese on Pita bread in my waffle iron, use a weight to hold down the top. It's just like my own Panini press, but with those pesky griddle marks. I like to fold aluminum foil into fourths so the grill doesn't tear the bread, and cleaning up is easier. I Pam spray the foil.
Thanks for the hash browns recipe. I will most definitely use it.
Michael
My wife and I have another use for a pocket sandwich maker. They make excellent corn bread. Just fill the lower half with your corn bread batter, close the top and in about 5-7 minutes you'll have nicely browned corn bread "triangles". Much faster than cast iron and almost as good!
Darn- who'd have thought? Great ideas, all.
I'm surprised alternate uses for rice cookers aren't included. I use my rice cooker for everything. I have an american-style cooker (with a removable glass lid, rather than the hinged lids most asian rice-cookers have) and use it to steam vegetables (especially artichokes), hard cook eggs, poach chicken, and make and serve fondue. I find new uses for it all the time.
In fact, in an interview with the NYT, Roger Ebert said: "You can live your entire life never cooking with anything but a rice cooker. In fact, I've been threatening to write the rice-cooker cookbook. There's a warning on my machine that says, 'Do not cook anything in this but rice.' But there's no reason for that warning. You can make stews, soups and pasta in it. "
I tried the ice cream maker on my mojitos and it was brilliant. I can't recommend enough.
But I like the waffle iron brownies--all that good crispy edges! Yum!
About those brownies, did you use a box mix, and did you make any changes to the recipe? Choclaholic minds need to know.
carnitas threads: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/285926
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/285263
waffle iron ideas: http://www.chow.com/digest/2642
tons of good ideas for the waffle iron: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/446954
did anyone ever try this w/ a belgian waffle maker?
i don't have a regular round one......
Do that many people really have waffle irons? I don't. However, I do have a George Foreman grill, and reading this story, I suddenly got the notion that maybe I could use it to make "waffles" (they'd have long ridges rather than crisscross indentations, but they might be similar enough). Anybody tried anything like that? Obviously, you'd have to prop up one side of the gadget, to make it level, but that's not quite rocket science.
Nice! At my bakery, we have no flat-top grill so when we want to do french toast on the weekends, we just use thick slices of our challah bread, soak it in the french toast batter, and cook it on the waffle iron. It's fantastic! Now we're going to try the hash browns idea; we love them but they don't get the crust you want in the oven. Keep up the good work!
Barry, I think you'll have to prop up the front edge of your George F grill so it's level (mine's tilted forward so the grease runs out, so I envision waffle batter running out, too), but I think you COULD indeed use the GFG for waffles. Let us know!
On the hash browns, I found the best ones were the thinnest, creating long crispy strips as the potatoes ran along the grid. The more potatoes I added, the denser and wetter they turned out. Trial and error. My friends at the local Austrian three star joint make their own variety. The potatoes are grated, water wrung out, and small cast iron pans are set into a very hot oven. When an order is placed, some oil is poured in the pan, the potatoes are added, and returned to the oven. After a few minutes, the spuds are turned over. Sprinkled with sea salt when removed, they are THE best I've ever had. I know this has nothing to do with dual uses for appliances, but I had to share it anyway. :)
hilarious. i definitely thought i invented the brownie made in a waffle iron, in college. great dorm room fare.
p.s. waffle irons can also double as a sandwich press.
We use our rice cooker, which comes with several steaming inserts, to steam tamales!
You can use the sandwich maker to make red bean cakes: pour some pancake batter on the bottom, take a scoop of red bean paste, top it off with some more batter, done in 5 minutes. It doesn't get any easier than that.
I"ve noticed lately that a lot of old Chow articles that were on the front page 6 months to a year ago have been moved to the front page again. This one was on the front page in May of 08. Sometimes it's a nice reminder of what's on the site, but there seems to be an awful lot of "Recycling" of articles. It would be nice to see more new stuff!
The new George Foreman G5 has all the things you would need. I have used the grill parts as a panini press....there is also a dessert tray plate which is 3 oval shaped holes to make pancakes and brownies and such in. Plus it has a waffle iron attachment, which i believe is way better than any waffle iron ive ever had! Al these things combined into 1 appliance and for around $90 you cant beat it!
I agree with sarahjay. I use my rice cooker for everything (I have the hinge-lid, Asian variety). It makes a mean dish of soy chicken and rice, and it only takes 20-ish minutes! I also have used it to make mac and cheese, and of course, steam vegetables. Not to mention congee. :) Mmmm!
Dutch7798 picked a winner. I'd have one in my own kitchen but the 17 inch foot print takes away too much counter space.Also, I'm trying to cut down on carbs. Ha.
There are 2 people asking questions about whether you could use a square waffle iron vs. a round one. Why in the world would it make any difference?
There are loads of carnitas threads. I made it the other day with notable help from Scargod, AlanBarnes and Gordeaux
Antithesisofpop: Ah, you are a loyal reader if you remember this story! You're right, absolutely, that we bring stories back to the home page from time to time. We like to give them a second wind for people who may not have seen them the first time. We're doing lots of new stuff too!
My wife used to make grilled cheese sandwiches using a clothes iron. She would wrap the sandwich in foil and then "iron" one side and flip it over and do the other side.
My waffle iron makes a wonderful door stop. Does that constitute an alternative use of the thing?
Depending on squareness of the waffle, I guess one needs to use the right kind of fork. Why aren't we laughing at ourselves?
I just remembered the grilled cheese sandwiches my mom used to make. She used pita bread, a bit of butter on each side, and she would fry the bread in a steel skillet until it got crisp.It took lots of paience, and turning often, as well as gently pressing the bread with her pancake turner. The cheese was what we now call string cheese, which is a knot of mozzarella with tasty black seeds in the braids. Man, that was heaven.
I agree with sarahjay and eowynnie. My rice cooker is amazing. I can make pasta, soups, casseroles, oatmeal and more in it! It's great for buffets, keeping things warm and moist. I've got a rice cooker cookbook here for anyone that is curious: http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.ph...
my husband makes French toast in our waffle maker. He calls them Fwaffles. They turn out great!
I love french toast made in my waffle iron. Quick, easy, virtually no clean up. Since it isn't fried in butter, you add the butter when eating. The holes make it like little Belgium waffles.
Add 1/4 cup organic peanut butter to the batter for french toast, takes some good mixing, cook in the waffle iron and top with grape jelly.
Kids love them.
sarajay, I read roger ebert's fun post in his journal about cooking with his rice cooker. It was all the more amazing because he has lost his sense of smell and taste but still cooks and writes about it. I hope he will get back what he lost someday soon.