Wicked Wonderful Autumn (Part 2)

Summer is a season of cool fruits, cold salads, and those weird cousins of soup that never touch a stove. We crave chilled meals to counter the heat on our skin, and combat what feels like constant dehydration... but when a bite returns to the air and our bodies start the game change to warming up without the help fo the sun, it's no surprise that our bellies snap out of their produce-nourished summer cleanse and start grumbling for BTU-fueling CARBS. Like bears getting ready for a long winter nap, a dietary autumn shift towards rib-sticking comfort food just feels right... why fight it??

A month or so ago, on a long September weekend spent in a chilly farmhouse, a best friend started whipping together Sunday breakfast before the Saturday dinner dishes had yet been cleared. Her preparation was ninja-swift and went largely unnoticed, but by morning everyone in the house was prompted from bed by the unmistakable - and impossible to ignore - smell of WAFFLES.

To Oscar's horror, I am not a huge fan of breakfast batter cakes, but... as evidenced by this post - these waffles were seriously something else. Their secret? Yeast in the batter, and 8 hours of quiet resting (and rising) before cooking. If you're in possession of a waffle iron and you haven't yet tried overnight waffles - it's time, my friends, IT'S TIME.

The original recipe followed above was from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and it's delightful enough - I'm not the first to post it online (though I might be the first to illustrate it). And so, without further adieu, here's the "how-to" for Wait For It (overnight) Waffles!


STEP 1: Before going to bed, combine the dry ingredients and stir in the milk, then the butter and vanilla. The mixture will be loose. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight at room temperature.

STEP 2: Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs and stir the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter.

STEP 3: Pour batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 8 hours or more, largely unattended