Animal Style Waffles

One of the first things to do when I get to LA is to have an In 'n' Out burger... and eat Korean BBQ. I think I can say yes to both :D Yes, I'm in LA, but I'm going to be chained to my desk studying here :( So this is my last post until next month! Here's an In 'n' out animal style rendition of waffles.

You have a crispy pressed tater tots waffle base, topped with American cheese, caramelized onions and that signature sauce (which is probably just thousand island dressing haha). Aaaaand a poached egg over it of course!

See you guys in a month!!

Animal Style Waffles

makes 1 waffle

12-15 tater tots, defrosted
1/2 small onion
1-2 slices of American cheese
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp mayo
1 egg

1. Very thinly slice yellow onion into half moons. Heat a small frying pan with a little oil. Toss onions on low heat and let it sit for a while. It takes A LOT of patience for it to become limp and caramelized. Stir occasionally for about 30 minutes (or longer...who's counting?)
2. Bring to boil some water in a small pot to poach your egg in. Poach it and take it out with a slotted spoon and lay it on a piece of kitchen towel. Set aside
3. Now, heat up your waffle iron. Line up defrosted tater tots side by side onto the gaps in the iron and press down. It'll take longer than usual...but make sure it's nice and golden brown when you take it out
4. Top immediately with slices of american cheese so that it can melt on top. Add the caramelized onions and then mix ketchup and mayo together in a small bowl and drizzle that on top
5. Place the poached egg over it and season with pepper. 

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Savory Sweet Potato Waffles + Chimichurri

Happy post-thanksgiving! Who is still eating leftovers? I know I am! I had friendsgiving with a bunch of Californian transplants, who couldn't go home to sunnier skies and palm trees :P. But, I am super grateful for them, because they are such brilliant cooks and it is never a dull moment with my peeps. Plus, I got to take back a lot of leftovers, so I've been eating straight out of my fridge for 3 days! I'm still up to my knees in sweet potatoes though. I went through a sweet potato phase and ate one (or two?, who's counting?) everyday. Now I'm trying to sneak in my leftover yams into every meal!

I wanted to make something savory, because I made pumpkin pie for friendsgiving and still have so much left over, that my teeth hurt just thinking about it. I also wanted something breakfast-y, because my roommate and I have literally been in the same pajamas for the past few days and have yet to leave the house. Don't worry, our fridges are stocked and we actually did leave the house today because we were getting a little too claustrophobic in our apartment! So, I dusted my waffle iron and made some sweet potato waffles....savory style.

This works for already mashed up yams that you might have left over from Thanksgiving. If they are candied, just forgo the dried herbs I put it in the recipe, and drizzle them with maple syrup. It sounds strange, but they are SO GOOD with chimichurri. It is super refreshing to eat, and a huge contrast to all the butter, fat, sugar-laden food from Thanksgiving. Not that I'm complaining, but my sweatpants can only stretch out so much :P.

I've also been given this superb masher from Dreamfarm and I love using it. I've always used a fork to futilely hack away at potatoes, but this masher literally took seconds to squeeze my yams into a pulp through the cool metal spirals. It also has a plastic guard on the side, so it doesn't scratch up my bowls or cookware. Now, I'll be able to make guacamole in no time! I've never owned any kind of masher, so I've never known how easy it was to mash stuff with the right tools! I see a lot of mashing in my future :D. Thanks Dreamfarm!

I hope you guys are spending quality time with family and loved ones! I can't wait to be back in LA this Christmas! 

Savory Sweet Potato Waffles + Chimichurri

adapted from food52
makes 12-15 Belgian waffles

Sweet Potato Waffles
1-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried parsley or oregano
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup half and half
1-1/4 cups sweet potatoes, mashed (~2 medium yams)

Chimichurri

2.5 cups parsley, chopped super tiny 

5-6 cloves garlic, minced ~ 2 tbsp

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp chili flakes

2 tsps salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra light olive oil

1. Chimichurri: you should make this first so that it can marinate a little in the fridge. Just chop up a bundle of parsley finely using a super sharp knife. I didn't use a food processor, because I don't like my sauce soup-y. And then, mix the first 6 ingredients together. Add in the red wine vinegar, stir. Drizzle in the olive oil (preferably extra light because you don't want an overpowering olive oil flavor). Add more salt and pepper to taste. Wrap and place in fridge. I also like to squirt some lemon juice (about 1 tbsp) in there too
2. Preheat waffle oven. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, baking powder and soda, salt, herbs). Mix wet ingredients (butter, brown sugar, eggs, half and half and sweet potatoes) in a separate bowl. (For the potatoes, I roasted 2 medium sized one in a 400F preheated oven for about 40min-1hr or until a knife easily went through it)
3. Mix dry and wet mixes together until you get a smooth batter. Make waffles according to your waffle iron. You can keep a bunch warm in a 200F preheated oven
4. Serve with chimichurri, baby radishes, feta and a fried egg, of course!

I developed this recipe for Dreamfarm; all opinions expressed are my own. I love their cute and innovative kitchen tools and especially their clever names :) Thank you for the support!

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Bulgogi Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I'm currently on-call for Neurology and it's pretty quiet right now, so I'm taking a little bit of time to write a post before I hit the sack (look at this dedication :P). Actually, I think another patient is coming in... so I guess I'm not going to sleep :'(

I'll have to be quick! This is a super duper easy recipe. Mostly, because it doesn't take much to dress up potatoes. Just some butter and you're good to go. Here, I just added bulgogi, kimchi and cheese!

I'm kinda obsessed with that 3 combo ingredient, because they just go so well together. I made a pizza out of them not too long ago as well! The bulgogi lends some sweetness, the kimchi cuts the greasy cheesiness and then topped off with some cooling sour-cream. It's an even quicker meal if you microwave your spuds. Got to go now! I have so many thanksgiving recipes lined up, but I just wish I had time to post them!!!

Bulgogi Stuffed Baked Potatoes

makes 4 servings

1/2 pound marinated bulgogi
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced into half moons
4 large russet potatoes
4 pats of salted butter
1-2 cup cheddar jack, shredded
Toppings: sour cream, chopped kimchi, roasted sesame seeds, chopped green onions
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Scrub potatoes and poke holes all over it with a fork. Bake for 1.5 hrs
2. Saute thinly sliced onions until semi translucent. Add marinated bulgogi and saute until fully cooked
3. Once potatoes are able to be pierced easily, carefully split them and add a pat of salted butter
4. Set broiler on high. Add cooked bulgogi and onion in between and cover generously with cheese
5. Once cheese is melted, throw on all kinds of toppings. 

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