Waffling Leftovers: Agadashi Tofu

Another day, another adventure waffling my leftovers.

This one started with an item I can imagine most people have never considered putting into their waffle irons: leftover agadashi tofu.  Yup, really.

Transforming Agadashi Tofu.

The burning question: leftover agadashi tofu: Will it Waffle? Absolutely.

Waffled fried tofu needs to become a thing.

The Original: Agadashi Tofu.

The original was agadashi tofu, assemble-your-own style.

Fried cubes of silken tofu, coated in potato starch.  Perfectly crispy exterior, soft pudding-like interior.  Excellent stuff, and really, I don't like tofu, but this I not only tolerate, I genuinely love.

The broth was a flavorful, salty mix of mirin, sake, tamari, kombu, and shiitake, delightful and comforting.

I enjoyed the tofu both just as fried nuggets, and assembled with the broth and green onions.

Leftover Cold Agadashi Tofu.

We had tons leftover, so I saved some, with one thing in mind: my waffle iron.

I did try a piece cold from the fridge, just curious, but it wasn't good at all.  The perfectly crispy crust from the night before was now soggy, and it lost all its luster.

I could have just roasted it in the oven to crisp it back up, but of course I had other plans.

Waffling, step 1.

Since it was already crusted, this was easy to throw into the waffle iron without modification.

I knew I wanted a good sear on it, so I put it in at 400 degrees, a bit higher than my standard 350.

Getting Crispy.

It waffled like a charm, crisping up quite nicely.  It also extracted easily, always a bonus, since it had the nice shell on the outside already.  Super easy.

I loved the results.  It was super crispy on the outside but still soft inside.  A perfect appetizer of crispy fried tofu to dunk into various sauces.  Or, when I did it the next day, crispy fried tofu bits to throw on top of a salad, like croutons-ish!

Absolutely a success.

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Travelin' Tuesdays: Tokyo!

Update Reviews, 2017 & 2019 Visits

I took a trip to Tokyo in 2017 that featured a very different style of dining than my previous visit.  Far fewer Michelin stars.  More focus on unique, niche experiences.  Lots of dining at convenience stores (yes, really!).  And a whole ton of soft serve ice cream.

My next trip, in 2019, was much the same. So much incredible soft serve.  So many adventures. Starting with an insane first class flight!

This is just a master reference, to provide easy access to the slew of reviews, and, share some highlights.

Convenience Stores

• 7-Eleven, for salads in pouches that I really did like, and great frozen novelty items.
• Tasty egg sandwiches, not so tasty fried chicken from Lawson Station ... another convenience store.
• Even convenience stores have soft serve ice cream machines, like Ministop
• Yes, Family Mart convenience stores have good desserts and even melon pan.

Japanese

• Super unique experience on "monja street", getting monja at kaisemmonjamohejihanare
• Lackluster tempura in a mall food court, from Tempura Yamanoue, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Store
• Lots of takoyaki at Gindaco Highball Sakaba
• Michelin star soba and tempura, impressively fresh, but meh for me at Kyourakutei
• Tonkatsu that everyone else loved at Butagomi

Other Restaurants

• An interesting concept, pairing food to wine (rather than the other way around), with a fantastic foie gras ice cream sandwich, at Cork
• Longrain, one of my Sydney thai favorites, just opened a legit Tokyo outpost
• Uniholic ... zomg, yes, an entire menu devoted to uni. MUST GET THE UNI ICE CREAM.

Ice Cream & Desserts

• TOP PICK: Fascinating ice cream parfait creations, with the second best soft serve we had in Tokyo, at Mother Farm Milk Bar (top pick because it was more interesting overall) [ Now closed ]
• TOP PICK: The actual best soft serve, Cremia, from Silkream (10 years of development paid off ... the richest, creamiest soft serve I've ever had) [ Now closed ]
• GOOD PICK: Japanese soft serve, made even more fabulous as a parfait. Highly recommend Coisof.
• GOOD PICK: Incredible, incredible cream, whipped and soft serve, from Milk Cream Craft Cafe.
• Good soft serve covered in crispy bits, at Zaku Zaku (along with pastry cream stuffed crispy pastry sticks)
• Really good packaged vanilla ice cream, from Dean & Deluca (only in Japan)
• Bubble milk soft serve, yes with tapioca and all, in a waffle cone, from TP Tea.  Good flavor, but meh. 
• Not able to get a reservation, but still enjoyed getting to try out the wonderfully fluffy kakigōri at Sebastian!
• Packaged puddings are everywhere, like Kobe cheese pudding
• Mediocre ice cream stuffed melonpan, from Sekai de Niban-me ni Oishii Melonpan
• Wendy's First Kitchen (yes, the same Wendy's you know) has a great lineup of Japanese ice cream desserts, like mochi, red bean, and jelly topped soft serve
• More mediocre soft serve, from Moku Moku
• Intense coffee soft serve, with fabulous toppings, from Roasted Coffee Laboratory.
• What looked like incredible Belgian waffles, from Mannaken, but sadly were subpar.
• Very fancy, but not actually that tasty, plated desserts from Toshi Yoroizuka, a dessert bar.
• Kimuraya, a famous bakery in Tokyo, inventor of anpan, and home of a melonpan that almost killed me. 
• Kakigōri from Ice Monster: fun, but ... sweet overload, and not the best environment to dine in.
• The worst soft serve in Tokyo: Nakahora Ranch. So sour.

Hotels / Flights / Airports

• TOP PICK: Very good breakfasts (buffet and a la carte) at Oasis Garden, Prince Gallery Hotel (seriously amazing bread pudding and french toast!)
• The extensive, but mediocre, Terrace Buffet, Westin Hotel, Tokyo
• The Executive Club, Compass Rose, and The Bar at the Westin Tokyo
• Fancy breakfast at Victor's, Westin Hotel, Tokyo
• High quality Executive lounge offerings (breakfast, afternoon, evening, late night) at The Prince Gallery Hotel
• SF to Tokyo 
• Japan Airlines, Business Class (2017), featuring really good chocolate mousse.
• Japan Airlines, First Class (2019), where I discovered just how good Cristal is, and had my share of lobster, uni, and caviar ...
• Tokyo to SF
• Japan Airlines, Business Class (2017) with a fancy full Japanese meal, and INCREDIBLE waffles!
• Japan Airlines, Business Class (2019), great sake and custard ice cream.
• Japanese desserts, Saryo Itoen, Haneda Airport

Original Reviews, 2014 Visit

Dear readers, it is time to travel again!

As you know, I normally focus my reviews on establishments in San Francisco, but after my successful Travelin' Tuesdays series on Boston and New Hampshire, I've decided to do it again.  But this time, we are going somewhere far more interesting: Tokyo!

Epic does not even begin to describe my recent trip to Tokyo.  You'll just have to read all about it.  It was a business trip, with a few days of vacation thrown in.

Next Tuesday, I'll start with the actual travel, not something I normally review, but in this case, it too was epic.  I spent 7 hours in SFO, so I got to experience all the cuisine the assorted airline lounges have to offer.  And then, I flew on Cathay Pacific for the first time, to Hong Kong, and then to Tokyo.  No, neither the Cathay flight, nor the time in SFO were planned, but, I turned them into culinary adventures.

The adventures continued once I reached Tokyo, the land of sushi and Michelin stars, both things I clearly enjoy.  Let's just say that in my 3 days of free time, I consumed 8 Michelin stars.  I went to two of Joël Robuchon's restaurants, sadly, not the flagship 3 star, but settled for two star La Table de Joël Robuchon and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, and netted another two star, Tateru Yoshino Shiba, along the way.  However, we were in Japan, and couldn't exclusively eat French food, so we also went to Michelin starred sushi at Sushi Kanesaka, and Michelin starred tepanyaki at Ukai-Tai Omotasando.

When we weren't busy eating stars, we went to more casual establishments with our co-workers, all Japanese cuisine, like Sushi Seizan for more sushi, President Chibo for okonomiyaki, and Beehive for ramen.  And of course, because I am me, a few pastry shops were also visited, like La Maison du Chocolat and La Boutique de Joël Robuchon.

And, for ridiculous factor, we may or may not have visited the Ganpachi, aka, "The Kill Bill Restaurant" and ... a robot restaurant.  Let's just say there was a pretty large mix of experiences on this trip.

It all concluded with what I am sure will go down as history as one of the most memorable experiences of my life: a flight back, via Hong Kong, on Cathay Pacific, First Class.  I literally spent the entire flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong dining in a ridiculously long, drawn out zillion course kaiseki meal.  Even the time spent in the airline lounges in Hong Kong was mind blowing (they have cabanas!) and sooo many food options ... but not so much the Haneda lounge in Tokyo.  But the truly amazing part was the flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco involved caviar.  I'm ruined for all future travel.

So stay tuned, over the next few months, every Tuesday will feature a new installment of Travelin' Tuesdays: Tokyo.  I'll update this master post with links to the individual posts.  Enjoy!

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Carvel Ice Cream Cake

Ah, Carvel cake.  An essential part of every single birthday party in my family when I was growing up.  Children, adults, it didn't matter.  We had Carvel.  And not because my mom didn't want to bake - she's an excellent baker, and always had fresh cookies in the cookie jar, sticky buns on Christmas morning, and more pies than people at every Thanksgiving and Christmas eve gathering.  Baking *is* her thing, yet for birthdays, somehow Carvel always won.  Because we demanded it.

We did have a Carvel store in our town when I was much younger, so we selected cakes and customized them, and they were fresh.  I'm pretty sure Carvel went out of business when I was no more than 10 years old though, so we moved on to the store bought ones, always just made with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, the crunchies, and the same decoration.  But it didn't matter.  We loved that stuff.

"It’s not a celebration without layers of delicious, premium ice cream separated by a layer of chocolate crunchies and covered with whipped frosting and sprinkles."

I remember always fighting for the piece with the most frosting, or the most crunchies, which, sadly, were rarely the same piece.  The distribution of crunchies (the best part!) was always infuriating - the middle had far, far more crunchies, with edge pieces often barely having any (!), but ... the frosting was mostly along the exterior.  It was always a struggle, did you go for the corner for #allTheFrosting?  Or a center piece for crunchies galore?  Or, uh, one of each?

Anyway, as an adult, when I visited home, my mom sometimes had a slice tucked away for me in a freezer from the last birthday party, and I always eagerly accepted it.  Best in a slightly melted form.

Celebration Cake.

"Enjoy your next celebration with this 106-oz Carvel Celebration Ice Cream Cake. It is made of layers of chocolate and artificially flavored vanilla ice cream with chocolate-flavored crunchies and creamy whipped icing. The Carvel ice cream cake serves up to 25 people and is ideal for a birthday, holiday or anniversary."

Serves 25?  Ha.  This is *the* cake we get for every family birthday party, where the guest count normally is between 10-18, a few of whom don't eat it.

We still get this, for nostalgia sake, from time to time, particularly when I am in town for a birthday.

It sadly doesn't live up to my childhood dreams, and the fact that I can't get my ideal piece: lots of crunchy filling, lots of frosting, still infuriates me.  

My most recent encounter was my own birthday, so I decided to just make the piece I wanted.  I took the center piece (most crunch!) and I took a very corner (most frosting!) and I served myself last so I could get all the extra frosting that fell off along the sides.

It ... was what it was.  The ice cream wasn't great, not particularly creamy nor rich, the chocolate not chocolately, eh.  It melted nicely though.

The crunchies really didn't live up for me for some reason.  Maybe I wasn't in the mood.  Maybe I was just too full from the feast my mom prepared.  They were fine, but certainly not something I really wanted more of for any reason.

And finally, the frosting.  Again, it was fine, but nothing special.  Hmm.  Maybe I've just moved on?  **+.

And I think the Friendly's frosting might be better, their ice cream certainly is ...

Special Edition Snowman!

This year, I was home for Christmas, and while out shopping for provisions for our Christmas Eve party with my mom, we spotted this.  A special edition snowman Carvel cake.

Now, my mom was already planning to bake pecan pie, chocolate mixed nut pie, pumpkin pie, and butterscotch pie.  She had about 15 kinds of cookies already made.  5 types of fudge.  An apple cinnamon pastry.  And, well, a huge feast proceeding that.  We surely didn't need the Carvel cake.

But ... my mom also has, um, a bit of a thing with snowmen.  I'd share a photo of her kitchen decorations, but, I'll spare her.  Its a bit ... overboard, and now a bit of a family joke, we've issued a "conservation of snowmen" on her, where she can only get a new one if she replaces something.  No increase in the number of snowmen.  The exception being if one of us re-gifts her a snowman she bought us.  Its all in good fun.  But it also meant we couldn't pass this opportunity up.

There was no choice.  We *had* to add Frosty to the Christmas eve spread.

Snowman Carvel Cake.

I mean, really, how could you *not* add this guy to the lineup?

It was a huge hit, particularly with the kids, and my generation who all remembered our previous Carvel cakes fondly.  My cousin and I were first in line, ahead of all the small kids.  We were bigger, no contest, and we were getting the best pieces!

Frosty ... was good for nostalgia sake, but, I found myself quite critical.

I went right for a hat chunk, loaded with tons of blue frosting.  I did love that frosting, and the white frosting, so fluffy, soft, and very, very sweet.  But the ice cream?  Meh.  Very generic vanilla and chocolate, not very creamy, certainly better as it melted, but, really, nothing special.

But oh those crunchies.  Sadly, my hat piece had basically none, so I had to go back for a center piece to get some.  And that piece was loaded with crunchies.  I adored them as always.  Chocolatey, crunchy, and still so addicting.

So I liked the crunchies.  I liked the frosting (although, wow, so sweet).  But the ice cream?  Meh.  I'll still gladly have a slice of this, but its much lower on my list of "must haves" when I visit home now.  Guess I grew up.  **+.

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Waffling Leftovers: Pull Apart Cheesy Bread

Another day, another adventure in repurposing leftovers, by reheating them in a waffle iron (read all about it starting here).

Well, almost, using the waffle iron.  This used my same waffling apparatus (the Cuisinart 5-In-1 Griddler), but with the panini plates, much like I have done with donuts as well.  Because, not *everyone* loves waffling things.

Transformed Leftover Pull Apart Cheesy Bread: Stuffed, and Panini'ed!

This adventure also was a bit more involved than most of my creations, where I simply throw leftovers into the waffle iron and transform them.  This time we added ingredients and stuffed something.  *Way* more work.

Normally, I ask, "Will it Waffle?", but this time, I guess the question is, "Will it Panini?"

And the answer, for leftover pull apart cheesy bread rolls, is, YES!

The Original: Christmas Tree Pull Apart Cheesy Bread.

The original was an appetizer my mom served at our Christmas eve party: a, uh, Christmas Tree composed of mozzarella stuffed cheesy pull apart rolls, made from her homemade pizza dough, brushed with butter, Parmesan, and herbs, served with marinara sauce on the side.

While the whole Christmas Tree concept might not have necessarily worked out, the dish was a complete success, and a serious crowd pleaser.  Everyone loved the pull apart rolls, made with her quality pizza dough and filled with gooey cheese.

Split Open and Stuffed.

Somehow we had a bunch leftover, which we reheated in a toaster oven one day and served with marinara sauce on the side again, but really wanted a way to make a proper meal, not just an appetizer out of them.

So ... we started experimenting, trying to find a way to repurpose them and make them more meal appropriate.  "Pizza" and "calzone" somehow feel more correct than just a big pile of rolls with sauce.

We took a chunk of them (I think it was 5 rolls?) that were still stuck together, sliced them in half, and stuffed them with pepperoni and more shredded mozzarella.  The idea was basically to make a calzone.

Pull Apart Cheesy Bread, Stuffed, and Panini'ed!

Normally I would have put this into the waffle irons to crisp it up and cook it, but, one member of the family is not into waffling things and finds this to be strange behavior, but is willing to accept paninis.  So, we put the panini plates on his behalf.

350 degrees, no coating needed, pressed down hard, and about 4 minutes later, a "calzone" was ready, cheese oozing out, nicely crisp top and bottom.

I thought this was pretty awesome, and a great way to repurpose the rolls.  We also made a few individual stuffed ones with other fillings, which also worked great, and allowed us to make them as either entree sized or appetizers.

It was a fun family adventure, and I think quite successful, although, the rolls were so glorious in their original form that they were still better that way.

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Vidalia Snack Foods

I love snacks.  Sweet, savory, it doesn't matter.  I just love munching on things all day long.   I'm not necessarily a chips person, but homemade assorted Chex mixes and flavored popcorns are my nemesis.

I do know how bad it is to eat gallons of caramel corn though, so sometimes I try to find healthier alternatives.

When I was in the grocery store one day, I saw Vidalia brand veggie snacks.  They had "sweet potato fries", baked items that looked like fries on the package, but I know certainly weren't, but also, "Sweet Onion Petals".  They looked like a Bloomin' Onion on the package, and I knew they wouldn't be that, but the idea of a savory, onion-y, snack drew me in.  Plus, they were baked not fries, and clearly a better choice for when I got the onion munchies than a can of French's french fried onions (wait, you don't just eat those by the jarful?  Gulp).

"All onions are not created equal.  From their accidental discovery in the 1930s, to their hand planted and hand harvest practices today, Sweet Vidalia® Onions are world famous.  The South Georgia soil at Bland Farms produces this flavorful, mild and sweet onion with unmatched taste."

I actually had no idea that Vidalia brands made snack foods, as I've known them exclusively for the namesake onions, which I remember my mom discovering when I was younger, and always talking about the "sweet Vidalias".   But they do.  In addition to the sweet potato fries and onion petals I saw, they also make onion flavored potato chips and other items.  I didn't explore the full product line though.

Sweet Onion Petals.

"Vidalia® Brands Sweet Onion Petals are made with Real Vidalia® Onion Puree offering your taste buds the superior quality, taste, and experience that you’ve come to expect from our products.  These delectable snacks are not only tasty, but they are baked, not fried, allowing for a sweet indulgence that fits into any diet!"

They were kinda boring.  Certainly more like chips than fried onions.  Corn meal is the first ingredient.  Sorta like a cheese puff actually, just, onion flavored.  They do have real onion puree in them, and MSG, salt, and sugars to get you addicted, but, unlike most snacks, I didn't get addicted.

The onion flavor was good though, and they were a healthier choice, I just didn't quite figure out what to do with them.  I tried dunking in aioli as if they were onion fries, but that wasn't quite right.  I tried putting on a salad as if they were fried onion bits, but that also wasn't right.  And just alone, as a finger food, they were too much like chips.

My mom liked them though, and I admit that the onion flavor is a good one.

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Pie and Ice Cream @ Chile Pies (Sweet & Savory)

Update Review, November 2017

You know it is a good day in the office when you walk by and find boxes of pie in the mini kitchen.

Oooh, pie!

I liked how Chile Pies has their logo on the box, and labelled each so that it was easy to know where they came from, and what they were.  (Not that not knowing would have deterred me from digging in ...)

I haven't loved Chile Pies in the past, but of course I was willing to give these a try.  And ... and found a winner!

Lemon Buttermilk. $41.

The first pie was lemon buttermilk.

I don't really care for lemon (or orange, or lime, or any citrus) desserts in general, so my first instinct was to move right on, but, then I remembered the Lemon Shaker Pie from Mission Pie that I adored, and decided to give it a chance, and cut a tiny slice.

I'm glad I did.

I loved it.  Really, really loved it.  And immediately took a *very* generous serving.

The filling was a tangy, creamy, lemon custard.  It reminded me in texture to the filling of a pecan pie (the custard layer, not the pecans obviously), but not cloyingly sweet.  It was tart and bright, and really quite enjoyable.  On top was slices of candied lemons, which added a decorative element, and a bit of texture.

The crust was also fantastic.  Flaky, light, perfectly cooked buttery crust.  Mmm, all butter crust.

I really enjoyed this pie, particularly with a dollop of whipped cream.  I think it would be great with a bit of raspberry puree as well.

Pumpkin Spice. $41.

Next was pumpkin, which I dove right for, as I do generally love pumpkin pie.

But this?  I didn't love.  It was "pumpkin spice", not just "pumpkin", and I think that means it was more aggressively spiced than normal.  It was too spiced for me.  But also, I just don't actually like pumpkin spice that much ...

The crust however was still perfection, and I loved the decorative maple leaves they put on top (extra crust!)

Original Review, April 2012

After a disappointing dinner that failed to include dessert, I was left seriously unsatisfied.  I wanted something to make me happy.  And what is more comforting than a warm slice of pie a la mode?  (At least for me, I grew up eating a lot of pie, so this is really just a total comfort food for me, not a rare special occasion sort of thing).

I'd been to the Chili Pies and Ice Cream in NOPA once before.  I didn't love it then, but I knew there was a location in the Mission a few blocks from where we were, so it seemed worth checking out.

Like the other location, they offer up a variety of sweet pies (as well as savory ones), including some fruit pies, a few chocolately pies, and on weekends only apparently, some cream pies.  They'll heat them up and serve them a la mode, with your choice of ice cream from Three Twins.  There is a decent selection of both pie types and ice cream flavors.  You can also just get a cup or cone of ice cream, or if you are feeling adventurous, a "pie shake", where they blend up a slice of pie, a scoop of ice cream, and milk, into a shake, full of chunks of pie, and top it with whipped cream.  This actually sounds pretty good, in a crazy decadent sort of way, to me, and I'd still like to try it out sometime.

I'm not a huge fan of Three Twins.  I don't actively dislike the ice cream, but it hasn't ever impressed me.  I tried three more flavors today, and still feel the same way.

Last time I visited, I sampled the signature pie: the green chile apple pie with a cheddar crust and walnut streusel.  It was ok, but the chili flavor was pretty strong and I felt like it dominated the whole thing.  I grew up having warm apple pie with cheddar cheese melted on top though, so the idea of the cheddar crust was really appealing (like the warm apple pie with cheddar ice cream at Spruce!).

Last time I was there, I settled on the country peach pie.  My memory (and tasting notes which I just found) said that the crust was delicious, the nut streusel topping was amazing, and the filling was kinda just meh.  I recall visiting when peaches weren't in season though, so thought it might have been my own fault that I picked one without a very good filling.

Strawberry-rhubarb pie, Three Twins lemon-cookie ice cream.  $9.50.

I had assumed this would be just like the peach pie - great crust, awesome stressel, and hopefully, since they are starting to be in season, delicious strawberry filling.  I was wrong.

The crust was not very good at all.  Crisp, crumbly, no flavor to it at all.  Not buttery, not sweet, just there.  The crumble topping was equally tasteless, and definitely not the nutty, sweet delicious one from the peach pie.  And the filling was really over-floured, mushy, with a bad mouthfeel.  There was far more rhubarb than strawberry, and I don't actually care for rhubarb, so this sort of ruined it for me (I wouldn't normally pick something with rhubarb, but the other strawberry pie was vegan, so I assumed that one would be less tasty, and the other fruit pies weren't in season fruits ...).  It was also served kinda as a jumble like this.  No presentation points here!  I do like that they warm it up, but it was more lukewarm than warm.

The ice cream was the best part, but I didn't particularly like it either.  You can see my tasting notes of that on my Three Twins review page.

I kinda doubt I'll be going back here, although I could be convinced if someone would want to go try a pie shake with me!

---

Ok, so I went back :)  But this time, it was because they were celebrating the anniversary of their opening, and were sampling a bunch of their pies and giving out free scoops of ice cream.  And since I can't resist freebies ...

My opinion of the place remains unchanged.  I just don't care for their pies, and don't like most of Three Twins flavors, although the Lemon Cookie ice cream is pretty good.  I really want to like this place more than I do, as I love pies, and they do look so good.  I'm glad I got a chance to try it again though, and my ice cream cone was really quite enjoyable on the hot sunny Mission afternoon!

Single cone of Lemon Cookie Ice Cream.  $2.50.

My  Three Twins review page has all the details on the ice cream, so I'll keep this brief.  Lemon Cookie is the best flavor I've tried from Three Twins, by far.  I love the balance of the tart lemon flavor and the sweetness of the ice cream, and the texture added by the cookies.  $2.50 seems like a decent price for a cone these days.  I actually really liked the cake cone, it didn't seem like the same generic cardboard like Joy cup, and instead had a nicer crunch to it.

[ Not Pictured - Samples ]

• Mexican Chocolate Pecan Pie: I was super excited to see samples of this, as it is one I've always wanted to order.  Unfortunately, it just didn't seem like much.  I didn't detect anything "mexican" about it, I was assuming that would be some spicing?  It was kinda just mushy, sweet, but flavorless.
• Strawberry-Apple Pie: I think this one may have been vegan.  It reminded me of the strawberry-rhubarb pie I'd had before, mostly just mushy fruit.  Neither the crust nor the streusel topping were very good.  Sigh.
• Chicken and Greens Salad:  I had no idea they served salads!  I knew they had savory pies, but salads?  Hmm.  Anyway, I don't really like chicken, so this wasn't very interesting to me.  It ... tasted like chicken? 

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Waffling Leftovers: Baked Brie en Croute

Yes, I waffle all my leftovers.  This isn't novel.  Most are usually pretty good, and always quite fun. Some are more successful than others.  This one I was VERY pleased with.

Baked Brie en Croute + Squash Gratin Transformation.

This is a story of two leftovers: baked brie en croute and butternut squash/apple/leek/pecan gratin.

I could have waffled both, but decided to only waffle the brie en croute, and used the gratin as a topping.

It was truly delicious, a magic combination.

Leftover Baked Brie en Croute: Will it Waffle?  Yup!

The Original, Baked Brie en Croute.

For a party, we had a massive wheel of brie, topped with a bit of sweet preserves and honey, wrapped in puff pastry, baked.  Served with dried fruit and nuts and crackers.

It was good, but also way too big, and there was tons leftover.

Leftover Baked Brie en Croute.

I stashed leftovers in my freezer, since soft cheeses are perishable, and I knew I wouldn't eat the rest right away.  I had never frozen brie before, but, cheesecake freezes ok, and I knew the pastry would be fine.  It was an experiment.

I pulled out a chunk and defrosted it first.  I considered just putting it into the toaster oven.  But ... I couldn't resist the waffle iron.

Waffling ...

I threw it in, 350 degrees, and let it go.

Although it had the puff pastry wrapping it, it didn't entirely protect the cheese from running out, since I had a slice, not a fully wrapped chunk.

Cheese bubbled out, the puff pastry got crispy, about as I expected.  I knew from previous experience that waffled chunks of brie are delicious on their own, so, I wasn't worried about the liquid cheese.

Waffled Baked Brie en Croute: Extracted.

It extracted easily, which always surprises me when it looks like such a disaster as it cooks.

I did let it go a bit too long though, the edges got a bit over-cooked.  Crispy yes, but, a bit too burnt tasting.

Waffled Baked Brie en Croute.

Not really a problem, I just broke the edges off, lamenting a bit about the loss of cheese.

And then, I had a waffle.

A waffle made of puff pastry, with some cheesy notes, and sweetness from the honey and preserves.  It was perfectly good just like this, and I bet you could throw an egg on top and please some people for brunch.

A success on it own.  But I had other plans.

Butternut Squash / Apple / Leek / Pecan Gratin.

I also had a ton of leftover savory fall gratin: thinly sliced butternut squash, sliced apples, tons of leeks, cooked down with olive oil, sherry, and sage, and topped with toasted brown sugar and butter roasted pecans.

It was crazy delicious, soft squash and apples, crispy top, flavorful leeks.  The top of this thing was just amazing though.  Sweet, sticky, buttery, pecans.  Kinda like pecan pie.  On top of a sorta savory gratin.  It was like ... pumpkin pie with apple pie with pecan pie mixed into one, but also slightly more savory.  If that makes any sense (yes, it was butternut squash not pumpkin, but you get the point).

I thought that it would go great with baked brie, really complimentary flavors.  I planned to heat both traditionally in the toaster oven, but, as you know, I went another direction with the brie.

This though, I did just heat up.

Waffled Baked Brie en Croute w/ Butternut Squash / Apple / Leek / Pecan Gratin.

And I put it on top of the brie waffle.

So, my final creation: waffled leftover baked brie en croute, topped with leftover butternut squash/apple/leek/candied pecan gratin. 

It was totally and completely delicious.

As I expected, brie and apples, brie and candied pecans, even brie and butternut squash, all excellent together.  So very ... fall.

I was thrilled with the results, and, I'm more thrilled knowing that I have more of each in my freezer, ready for another adventure.

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