For dinner tonight I made open face croque madames on savory cheese and chive waffles. For the waffles, I made up a half batch of Bob's Red Mill Organic 7 Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix
, to which I added 1 tablespoon of dried chives and ¼ cup of finely grated Gruyère cheese. I cooked the waffles using my Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler
with the Waffle Plates
installed.
In lieu of making a béchamel sauce, I cheated by using 1 cup of Bertolli Alfredo Sauce to which I added ½ cup of freshly grated Gruyère cheese. I brought it up to heat to melt the cheese, removed the sauce from the heat, and then added 4 slices of thinly-sliced deli ham to the sauce to warm.
I assembled by putting ham slices with sauce on top of the waffles, topping with more freshly grated Gruyère cheese, and then napping the stack with more of the sauce. The whole thing went under the broiler to get golden brown.
Meanwhile I fried two eggs sunny side up. When the sandwich stacks were ready, I topped them with the eggs, and served them with a side Caesar salad.
I served a 2011 Sea Smoke Sea Spray méthode champenoise blanc de noirs with dinner. It's a lovely salmon color, with tons of very fine and delicate bubbles. It is aged sue lie in barrels and then gets extended bottle aging before release, which gives it tremendous complexity. But it is also very fresh and refreshing, which made it a great match for the rich meal. Lots of floral and citrus notes in the bouquet. The palate adds some interesting hints of flint, buttered toast, and roasted nuts. Lovely. Will age 3-5 more years. Grade: A-/A