- Sorry, this is smoking.
Scoop this right on top.
This is definitely wrong.
(upbeat music)
Welcome back to Chef Out of Water.
I'm Alexis, a chef who's always up for a challenge.
I've taken to the internet, you,
to see what appliance I should make
a three course meal with.
Okay, let's see what we have this time.
(drum roll)
Waffle iron, okay.
You know, I've never made anything that isn't a waffle
in a waffle iron, but I think there's possibilities here.
I think I'm gonna have to get creative.
I feel pretty good about this.
I'd say my confidence level right now is a nine out of 10.
Question, do I get more than one waffle iron?
- [Producer] Yes, you get two.
- Two waffle irons.
Guys, this is gonna be great.
Okay, a waffle iron.
I know that you can use a waffle iron
to make so many things, like a frittata, hash browns.
You can use it to kind of make things into a waffle shape.
I'm curious though, if there's anything
you can use this for that doesn't look like a waffle.
(pensive music)
It looks like someone tried to make mozzarella sticks,
that feels really ambitious.
Acorn squash.
(pensive music)
Lots of eggy things.
I think I may be still scarred from the microwave episode.
(exploding)
(screaming)
If I have two of these.
(brushing hands)
No problem.
Confidence level, a nine, feel good about this.
Famous last words every time,
but I really feel excited, ooh, this is hot.
(upbeat music)
After doing some research, I've come up with a plan.
I'm gonna start with dessert,
working backwards as I usually do.
And I'm gonna make a chocolate cake waffle.
I'm also gonna make some chocolate whipped cream,
some roasted cherries, and kind of layer it altogether.
So hopefully looking at it
you wouldn't think waffle iron.
Okay, so to get started I'm going to add
all my dry ingredients together.
Oof, I have not been working out in quarantine, or ever.
And I'm doin' the ol' spoon trick
to get an accurate measurement.
Some cocoa powder, pinch of salt,
salt brings out the sweetness.
And some baking powder.
It's gonna give it that kind of like puffy, cakey quality.
And I'm just gonna whisk this all together.
So far things are going very well.
I mean, confidence level so far, I mean, this is 10 right?
Got my dry ingredients.
I'm gonna move on to the wet ingredients.
So sugar is actually a wet ingredient, fun fact.
And some milk, quite a lot of milk.
I haven't made waffles in two years.
See how this goes.
Some vegetable oil, keep it moist.
A little bit of vanilla extract, just more flavor.
Does anyone actually measure vanilla extract?
Don't think I ever have.
Two eggs.
(cracking eggs)
Wow, big shell, rookie move.
This is like comically inappropriate size.
(whisking)
Okay, there we go.
(whisking)
Now wet ingredients go into the dry ingredients.
Now usually I have my helper, Ryan,
but times have changed so it's just me today.
This looks very wet, oh gosh.
Will this go in a waffle iron?
It feels too wet to do that.
I think I'm gonna add a little more flour,
or maybe that is the texture of waffles?
Or cake, I dunno.
I'm making a cake to go in a waffle maker, ugh.
Just wanna get this batter really smooth.
(exhaling)
Really just been sitting on the couch
so this feels like a real workout.
Okay, it looks totally fine.
Gonna put this to the side,
I'm gonna start whipping some cream,
getting these heated up,
so at least a few things can happen at once.
One of them to the maximum heat, and one can go medium heat.
(twisting dial)
We've been here before, but this requires some whipped cream
and as always, I don't have a hand mixer, gah.
(whisking)
It's gonna take a while.
(upbeat music)
Actually using this small bowl
and a big whisk is going much faster.
It's beautiful, okay.
Gonna add some sugar.
I'm not tasting as I go.
(sighs)
And I know I've made this mistake before
but I know this is sugar, I can see it.
Add a little sugar.
I mean, this whipped cream looks really pretty.
(intense music)
Oh no, oh no.
It's salt.
(laughing)
Just a little bit.
I wanted to add some chocolate to my whipped cream,
and I had an idea that if I put some bars of chocolate
in aluminum foil and put it in the waffle iron
that it'll melt.
Okay this is super hot, so.
(closing waffle iron)
I assume you can put foil in a waffle iron.
Just gonna go with it.
Over here, also very hot.
I'm gonna give this a spray.
And gotta half cup here, I think that looks good.
Just smooth it out.
If this is a bust, I have lot more batter,
so we're okay.
This is not like a traditional black forest trifle, cake,
whatever you wanna call it.
But inspired by, you know?
Oh, there's some chocolate coming out the top.
Yes, it totally works.
Wow, wow, wow.
Okay, gotta work quickly.
It's not a ton of chocolate, but let's see how this goes.
(whisking)
This is the best idea I've ever had.
Amazing, wow.
Oh sh--
Sorry, this is smoking.
Is smoking typical?
(gasps)
Gonna put waffle master on my resume.
This is amazing.
Up next.
So typically for a black forest cake,
you would soak the cherries in like a dark cherry syrup
with some cherry liquor.
I'm not gonna do that.
I just thought I could put some of the cherries
in the waffle iron to kind of roast them,
or get them softened,
and maybe get a little more depth of flavor.
Just gonna put a few down.
(waffle iron sizzling)
Actually I'm gonna put them all down.
I dunno.
(waffle iron sizzling)
It's on really high heat
so I think these are gonna go pretty quickly.
Meanwhile, I kinda think this is done.
Ooh, okay.
The waffle just ripped a little bit when I was trying
to pick it up, and it's not cooked yet,
so I think I just need to be patient for a few minutes.
But I'm gonna put the waffle on here,
I'm gonna tear it up,
and then I think I could start layering my trifle.
(waffle iron sizzling)
(gasps)
Uh oh, the cherries are letting a ton of juice out,
but they look great.
They're kind of like saucy, little broken down.
Okay, ooh, the waffle still looks good.
(upbeat music)
Hmm,
ooh.
It feels cooked through.
It still has some good springiness, smells incredible.
I think I'll do a layer in the bottom.
Note I'm disguising the waffle.
Realize that I'm putting a hot waffle in,
which is maybe not the best idea.
And a layer of this chocolate whipped cream.
And some cherries.
Those are some syrupy cherries.
This looks so good.
It is totally unrecognizable,
maybe not in a good way, but that's okay.
Oop.
Having a moment to myself.
(eating)
Wow, honestly a shame that no one else can have this,
this is so good.
And then some cherries.
Okay, it looks kind of crazy.
Ooh, it's dripping down the side.
Oh God, what have I done?
Should I dump the syrup on it?
(relaxed horn music)
The answer is no.
Okay, I think the hardest part about this,
that it kind of looks like a disaster.
Oh my God.
It's kind of like a sticky mess right now,
but it also looks pretty good.
I'm gonna move on to the next course
(upbeat music)
My trifle's in the fridge,
so I'm gonna move onto my appetizer course.
I'm gonna make an Okonomiyaki
which is like a Japanese savory pancake.
It's got cabbage and egg,
you can also add other vegetables
but I'm gonna keep it pretty simple.
I've never made Okonomiyaki before,
but I really, really, really love it.
It's going to be in the shape of a waffle,
but it gets covered with sauce,
and bonito flakes, and more scallions.
So I think it'll look kind of like this pile of stuff,
rather than a waffle.
Okay, to get started, going back to my flour.
Good pinch of salt.
And my eggs.
(whisking)
And I'm just gonna add it right to the flour
and stir it altogether.
This kind of looks like the beginning of crepes.
So I'm just gonna use green cabbage
and scallions for my Okonomiyaki filling.
And I just wanna cut it really thinly
so that it's kind of like more of an even pancake,
and you're not like--
(biting)
I'm gonna try and mixing in this cabbage
before I add the scallions,
just because this is gonna take a lot more work
and if this doesn't work out,
it's easier to start over.
This is definitely wrong.
(crunching)
This is definitely wrong.
Maybe I'll put this in and see if this works,
and save the scallions.
Okay, I'm gonna clean up.
(food dripping)
Gonna clean up and then sort this situation out.
Waffle iron's heating up.
I don't know why I chose
to make something that I've never made before,
so therefore I cannot verify if it's correct or not.
Just going to sc--
(scooping up mixture)
(laughing)
Just gonna scoop this right on top,
like I guess flatten it out a little?
This is, Okonomiyaki is so good,
and I feel like so far I'm not really selling it.
It gets Okonomiyaki sauce on top.
So I've got some oyster sauce, ketchup,
and worcestersher shire?
Worcestershire sauce?
Worcestersher shire.
(cheerful music)
Oh God.
Stir it all together.
I mean, it has the right look.
(upbeat music)
Let's hope this works.
Check in time.
(upbeat music)
Okay, I think I know that this is wrong.
This is not happening,
so I'm gonna start over.
Okay, so I think my previous Okonomiyaki was too thick.
I think there's too much flour, not enough eggs.
So I'm upping the eggs, taking down the flour.
A lot of salt, going from one cup to a half cup.
This already feels better.
Just lighter, you know?
Okay, cabbage, and I feel confident
so I think I will add some scallions.
That feels good for now.
Spray this down so it's ready to go.
And again, using my hands.
Oh, this feels so much better.
So I think it's supposed to be like
just more like lightly held together
with the egg rather than whatever I did last time.
(opening waffle maker)
Don't do that at home.
(waffler maker sizzling)
(mischievous music)
(closing waffle maker)
Okay, cool.
We're gonna clean up and hopefully by the time I get back,
this will be ready.
Okay, this one smells right.
Looking way more right.
Okay, I'm gonna cut the rest of scallions.
Hopefully this will be done soon.
My confidence took a little hit there.
I'm like simmerin' at a seven right now.
Okay, there's some raw egg still on the side,
but it's almost there.
So I've got some nori
that I'm just gonna use some scissors to slice up.
I've got my Okonomiyaki sauce,
Kewpie mayonnaise, and bonito flakes.
So all of that's gonna go right on top.
Just like cut it into thin little strips.
Still feels thick,
but I wonder if that's just kind of like inevitable
with the waffle iron shape?
It's getting pressed up,
you know, to create that classic shape.
So I'm gonna go with it, it's fine.
If it's terrible, I'm the one eating it.
Okay.
Does it look better on this side?
Yes, oh my God, okay.
Gorgeous.
So you kind of go like back and forth.
Oh God, I'm so sorry to everyone
who actually knows how to make this.
And the Kewpie mayonnaise.
And then bonito flakes, dried cured fish.
And you just kind of put these on in a pile on top.
They're pretty pungent.
So if you're not into fish, might not like them.
Some of these little sliced nori.
And then I'm just gonna add some scallions.
I feel pretty proud of myself
because this does not look like a waffle.
Okonomiyaki, done.
Gonna move on to my last course.
(jazzy music)
So for my last course, I'm going to make black garlic butter
rubbed cod with some grilled scallions.
I mean, I really think no one's gonna know
that this was made in a waffle iron, you know?
Well, you all know, but it could fool someone.
So black garlic is just fermented garlic,
and the cloves, they're really easy to peel,
unlike regular garlic.
And just get kind of like soft.
They just kind of melt away.
So I'm just gonna get a few cloves,
gonna mash them into a paste and add them to butter.
Easy enough.
Look how soft they are,
they just kind of press right under the pressure.
You can put this on roast chicken, vegetables.
I mean, honestly, pretty much anything.
You could add it to a vinaigrette,
get this incredible flavor there.
Oh, the butter is not room temperature.
Okay, I think this is nothing
that a waffle iron can't melt.
So it's probably gonna get pretty hot
but we're just gonna let it go for a sec,
and grab some scallions.
Just gonna trim the tops of the scallions.
Wanna leave them whole so they can
kinda be like draped around the fish.
And just gonna douse them in some olive oil.
And I think for these, I'm gonna do it on high.
I like to broil whole scallions,
so they get really just like crispy,
and I mean almost burnt.
So I kind of think the same thing could happen
in the waffle iron.
These are a little big
for the waffle iron, but I think I can just move them
down when they start to get charred.
(closing waffle iron)
(laughing)
That looks ridiculous.
Okay, back to the butter.
Ooh.
(waffle iron sizzling)
You can hear them start to sizzle.
(waffle iron sizzling)
I feel very grateful for two waffle irons right now.
Ooh yeah.
I realize this doesn't look very appetizing
but the flavor is gonna be so good.
Gonna add a little pepper, salt.
Amazing color starting, that's a good start.
I feel pretty good right now.
I mean we'll see how the fish cooks,
but everything is working out.
I feel like the result of that Okonomiyaki
really boosted my confidence.
There's still some butter chunks here
but actually I'm just gonna let it sit.
Movin' onto the fish
So I've got some beautiful black cod here.
This is way too big for a waffle iron,
so I'm just gonna cut this.
(waffle iron sizzling)
And I'm gonna rub the black garlic butter directly on it.
Again, I know this doesn't look super appealing,
but the flavor is what we're after.
I thought black cod would be a good fish to use
because it's thinner, it's pretty delicate.
You don't want it to cook through.
So it's not gonna have to be in there for too long.
I mean, I've never put black cod in a waffle iron
so I really don't know,
but that's what I assume.
I'm just gonna add some olive oil,
and just gonna wrap it up.
(tin foil crinkling)
This is weird.
Okay, here we go.
(waffle iron sizzling)
The scallions are really sizzling now.
Oh wow.
Gonna just now move them down.
If I was making this on the stove, mm,
maybe five to seven minutes, not too long.
You want it to just like flake away with your fork.
Black cod is so delicate and such a sweet fish
that you really don't wanna overcook it.
Oh, I forgot, I wanted to do a charred lemon too.
Okay, back with more.
Thought it'd be nice to char the lemons
just to get a little more flavor.
Okay, I think these are good to take off.
(waffle iron sizzling)
And gonna add some salt.
Actually, I mean, this is, can I serve this as the meal?
Just a plate of scallions.
And the lemons, just gonna put them right down.
I feel like that'll work.
Yeah, and the fish going.
I'm just gonna turn it around so that it cooks evenly.
I don't really have a backup plan if this fish doesn't work.
So it actually might end up being just scallions,
but we'll see.
Confidence level, 10.
I haven't said that in a long time.
It smells amazing.
Oh, it's because it's leaking out.
Gonna just take a peak.
(gasps)
It's perfect.
It's like flaking without doing anything.
I mean, I don't own a waffle iron,
but if I did, I might be using it to make fish.
This is insane.
This fish, wow this is so delicate.
Oh my God, it might even break apart.
(grimacing)
Oh my God, I mean it might even be over cooked,
I'm shocked to say that.
So I'm just gonna kind of like arrange the scallions around,
and for everyone wondering why I didn't trim these,
they're totally edible.
Whenever I make scallions, I leave the roots on.
Wow.
Okay, let's check these lemons.
I kinda think because of the shape of the waffle iron,
this is as good as they're gonna get,
but there is some color.
(cutting)
Okay, black garlic butter cod with scallions,
made in a waffle iron.
I'm feeling pretty jazzed, I've gotta be honest.
Like level 10 confidence all the way through.
(upbeat music)
I am so excited about this.
I feel really proud of myself.
I feel like I've come a long way.
I think I'm gonna dig right into the Okonomiyaki.
Looks cooked.
(eating)
Mm.
It's quite good.
It doesn't taste exactly like Okonomiyaki,
it's a little thicker.
I think I could've put a little less batter in there,
but the flavor is amazing.
I think, you know, one out of 10, I'd give this an eight.
Okay, moving onto the black cod.
The fish is already flaking apart.
(upbeat music)
(laughing)
That's shocking.
(eating)
This is really, really good.
Putting myself in someone else's shoes,
I would never guess this was made in a waffle iron.
This is so cool.
I feel so proud of myself.
I love it.
You know, I think the fish is over cooked by maybe a minute
but it's still really delicate, melts in your mouth.
8.5.
I'm so sad that I can't share this food with anyone.
I have to tell you, I've been waiting for this all day.
This is a crazy big bite,
but I've got some of the waffle,
some of the chocolate whipped cream, the cherries.
(eating)
(upbeat music)
This is amazing.
The waffle consistency all teared up
becomes a perfect vessel for the cream
to get soft but actually still has enough structure.
The cherries are just, they got kind of roasted.
They're kind of like falling apart in your mouth,
they're delicious.
This might be one of my most successful meals yet.
Really, I'm like sorry, one more bite.
(eating)
Overall, I couldn't be happier.
This is incredible.
This was so fun.
Waffle iron.
I had a good feeling about this
but honestly I surpassed my own expectations.
I think this is one of my best meals to date.
Let me know in the comments
which one of these dishes you'd like to try.
I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)