I made for all my family- a "Swiss waffle", with ham and gruyere. It pretty much looks like a waffle and eggs, but, I'm sure someone else could spruce up the plate a bit.
Ever since living in Paris and working as an au pair once upon a very long time ago, I have loved both making and eating crepes. There are umpteen different things you can put in a crepe and they all taste delicious. However, I think one of my favorite savory crepes remains simply ham and good gruyere cheese melted inside it. If you've never tried gruyere, you might think it's just a different name for Swiss cheese. It's not! First of all, there are no holes in it. Second- it tastes completely different and oh so wonderful. Its a subtle, nutty, rich flavor, particularly when melted. We've tried a few gruyere's made in America, including Trader Joes, but so far they're all terrible and there is no comparison. Anyway, I thought it was a no-brainer to include it in a waffle.
Despite being Saturday, it was a busy day at the races, (after a lazy morning in bed and in p.j.'s for everyone) that included karate, making fresh salsa, black bean salsa with cornbread crostini, and guacamole for a command party for my husband's work this evening, and it was a priority to make it to a 3:00 pm showing of the movie "The Muppets" on base today. So, we settled for a very quick lunch waffle today. The whipped egg white buttermilk version would have been better, but I pulled out my trusty Tupperware of Krusteaz mix, added
1 tsp of dried mustard,
6 slices of Boars head ham chopped up-(by Rachel), and
2 good handfuls of finely grated gruyere.
Once again we used the Belgian waffle maker, and served scrambled eggs with more gruyere melted on them, on the side. If you liked fried eggs, I"m sure they'd be terrific on top, with a bit of the yolk to mix in with it, etc. However, I've been convinced for 40+ years that I don't like fried eggs (have never tried one to my knowledge), so I hate to change that opinion now! It was no surprise to all of us that they were DELICIOUS! We liked them best with butter, and just a bit underdone, to keep a softer texture. Alyssa wanted a bit less ham in hopes that she could taste the gruyere better.
Would I make them again? Yes and no. I think the joys of the subtlety of gruyere is a bit lost in all the bread of the waffle, as compared to a crepe. So, for my money, I think I'd try a good sharp cheddar, and save the gruyere for my crepes and Bill's French onion soup. The photo doesn't look the best with the cheese melted on top of the egg, but it sure tastes good!
By the way, The Muppets was a great movie! I wish we still had some quality family entertainment on TV like The Muppet Show, and I might let my children watch something.
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