Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [184]
Beat the egg yolks with the sour cream and oil in a medium bowl, and stir into the dry ingredients just until blended. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form, and then fold into the batter.
Grease the hot waffle iron with butter, and ladle on enough batter to fill three-quarters of the surface. Close the lid, and cook until the waffle is brown and crisp on both sides.
Remove and repeat with the remaining batter.
Light a grill for direct medium heat, about 375°F.
For the grilled fruit: Coat the cut surfaces of the bananas and the entire surface of each apple and pear wedge with oil. Sprinkle with maple or brown sugar, and set aside.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Put the apple and pear slices on the grill, cover the grill, and grill until both sides are grill-marked and the fruit is barely tender, about 5 minutes per side. Halfway through cooking, put the bananas on the grill, cut-side down, and cook until grill-marked, about 4 minutes. Peel the bananas and slice ½ inch thick. In a medium bowl, mix half the melted butter with the maple syrup. Add the fruit, toss, and cover with foil to keep warm.
Brush the grill grate again and coat with oil. Brush the waffles with the remaining butter and put on the grill. Cover the grill and cook until the waffles are toasted and heated through, about 3 minutes.
KEEP IT SIMPLE:
Use frozen or refrigerated packaged waffles instead of homemade, preferably Belgian waffles.
DOUGHNUTS
Grilled Glazed Doughnuts with Chocolate Espresso Dunk
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Ben Cassorla, a member of the eponymous jazz group Cassorla, lives in a small apartment in L.A., where he is a devoted balcony-grill guy. Working with charcoal briquettes and a small (10-inch square) hibachi (no cover, no adjustable grill grates, no vents), he manages to turn out dinner most nights. He told us that his favorite thing to grill is doughnuts—nothing fancy, a box of DD works just fine. He’s tried all flavors. Chocolate gets bitter, cream-filled are disastrous, and powdered sugar is pretty good, though not as good as glazed (he’s partial to cinnamon glazed). We agree. The notion is brilliant and the technique couldn’t be easier. The glaze caramelizes almost on contact with the grill, so keep your fire pretty low. The whole cooking process takes only 1 to 2 minutes. The results are mind-blowing—crispy, subtly charred sugar skin, warm interior, and doughnuts that taste like they just came out of a fryer (by way of a charcoal grill). We have gilded Ben’s creation with an awesome dunk made from freshly pulled espresso morphed into hot fudge sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups brown sugar, light or dark
Pinch of salt
2 cups freshly made espresso or strong coffee
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 glazed doughnuts, preferably cinnamon-glazed
Cooking spray
1½ cups half-and-half, warmed (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-low heat, about 325°F.
Mix together the cocoa powder, brown sugar, and salt in a large heavy saucepan. Whisk in the espresso and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula, until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened and very smooth. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring until melted. Cover and keep warm.
Coat the doughnuts on both sides with cooking spray.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the doughnuts until the glaze melts and the donuts are browned on both sides, 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Do not allow to burn.
Pour ½ cup warm chocolate dunk into each of 6 small coffee cups and serve one to each guest with a doughnut for dunking. Serve warm half-and-half on the side for adding to the chocolate dunk, if desired.
CAKE
Honey-Crusted Pound Cake with Rum Raisin Hard Sauce
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
A classic