Platinum Chef Challenge - Round 2

For my second entry in the Platinum Chef Challenge I needed to use blueberries & citrus, but I wasn't sure what to make. When the husband said he was going to work from home today, I knew I wanted to make something for breakfast. I eventually decided on citrus waffles with blueberry syrup, and even though it took much longer than I anticipated and I made two mistakes with the syrup - everything turned out fabulous. The waffle batter was delicious, with just the right amount of citrus flavoring. The blueberry syrup was so simple to make - I don't think I'll ever buy it from the store again.

Citrus Waffles

Folding the beaten egg whites into the batter properly will help ensure your waffles turn out light and tender. Initially, fold in only a small amount of the whites; this will lighten the batter, allowing the rest of the whites to be folded in more easily. Fold just until the mixtures are evenly incorporated. Over mixing will deflate the egg whites.

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup milk

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup sour cream

Finely grated zest of 1 lime, 1 orange and 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

1. Preheat a waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the milk, butter, sour cream and citrus zests. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

3. In another large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1⁄2 cup of the egg whites into the batter, then carefully fold in the remaining whites.

4. Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve hot with maple syrup.

Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe obtained from Williams-Sonoma.

What I did: I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn't finely zest the citrus - I just zested them normally and it turned out fine. My waffle maker makes four at a time and I ended up with nine waffles.

Blueberry Syrup

6 cups blueberries, picked over

3 cups sugar

1/2 lemon, zest removed in strips with a vegetable peeler

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

1. In a large saucepan combine the blueberries and 3/4 cup water, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer it, covered, for 10 minutes. Puree the mixture in batches in a blender or food processor and force it through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solids.

2. In the pan, cleaned, combine the sugar, the zest, and 1 1/2 cups water, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it, uncovered, until a candy thermometer registers 200 degrees F. Discard the zest, add the blueberry mixture, and boil the syrup, stirring, for 1 minute. Let the syrup cool, skim off any froth, and stir in the lemon juice.

3. Pour the syrup into glass jars with tight-fitting lids. The syrup keeps, covered and chilled, for 3 months. Serve the syrup warm over pancakes or ice cream.

Recipe obtained from The Food Network.

What I did: I made two, what I thought to be crucial, mistakes when making the syrup - however it turned out great, so I'm not even going to bother mentioning what I did wrong. I halved this recipe, and it still made a lot of syrup.