Waffled Chicken

Okay, so I know that bread and tortillas cook great in the waffle iron, and I know what type of cheese to avoid. Now I wanted to explore the culinary puzzle further. What about chicken?
I wondered if the chicken would give enough to succumb to the flavor hole makers. I had grilled chicken once on a table top grill press, so I figured using a waffle iron would be close enough. I didn't know what temperature the waffle iron would get to though.
I let the iron heat up until the light turned green, then I placed on thawed chicken tender on the iron and slowly closed the lid.  There was some sizzling noise, but no popping. Since I wasn't sure how long the the chicken should be shut up in there, I waited two minutes. Two minutes so far seemed to be the magic number with everything else. When I checked on the piece, it appeared cooked on the outside, but after cutting it in half, the inside was still quite pink. I put the two halves back in the waffle iron for another minute. The next time I took out the chicken tender, the now two pieces were browning on the outside and fully cooked all the way through. The chicken was cooked, but, in my opinion, flavorless.
I topped the next piece of chicken with my favorite seasoning: seasoned salt. Then I slipped it into the waffle iron and waited the full three minutes to cook. When I removed it from the heat and cut it open, the chicken was cooked, but the spices were burned and did not taste good. So, with the last chicken tender, I let it cook for three minutes, then I sprinkled on the seasoning. Again, the chicken was cooked and filled with flavor holes, but did not take well to the seasoning.
I believe anyone looking to cook chicken without imbuing flavor into it along the cooking process, would enjoy this method. But for me, I like the flavor you get when you pan fry or bake with the spices rubbed on while cooking.
I give this experiment 3 out of 4 squares.

pizza waffles

Yes, you read it correctly. Just what is a pizza waffle? Well, I suppose you could put pizza toppings in a waffle batter mix, cook it and top it with marinara sauce, but what I tried was leftover pizza.
Here's the story. I had actually put leftover pizza slices in a waffle iron before I started this blog, but now I wanted to try this gluten free pie I got from Pie Five.
The crust is quite thin and brown since it uses alternative flour rather than regular wheat flour. I ordered mine with olives and mushrooms and ate a slice on the way home then two more while watching t.v. The next day, I took out the two leftover slices from my fridge and warmed up the waffle iron. Next, I folded the triangle into smaller triangle and cut off the excess crust. Once the iron was heated, I slipped the two pieces on and closed the lid. This kind seemed to cook a bit faster than the Papa Johns regular hand-tossed crust I had before. After about a minute, I peeked in and saw that the cheese that had oozed out was crisping -- an indication that whatever you're cooking is heated through.
I love the pizza waffle because it's like a tiny calzone with flavor holes. With the Papa Johns pizza, I had poured the garlic butter sauce over it and let that drip through the waffle iron impressions. I didn't have any sauce this time, but my leftover gluten free pizza was still delicious.
4 out of 4 stars for this one too.

More cheese and waffles please

After the processed cheese debacle, I still wanted to try another cheesy delight. I thought cheese quesadillas because they are basically like grilled cheese except for using a tortilla of course. I wondered if the flour tortilla would be too fragile though.
                  To the kitchen.
I used a shredded cheese blend of cheddar and Jack. I folded the tortilla in half like I would if I had cooked it in a pan on the stove top. After the waffle iron was heated, I placed the filled tortilla between the irons and closed the lid. I didn't experience any of the familiar crackling and popping I'm used to hearing. I also didn't see any steam escaping from the sides.
After about  30 seconds, I checked on the treat. It wasn't crispy and the cheese had only started to melt. Maybe I didn't let the iron get as warm as it needed? I noticed that the waffle iron impressions had not torn the tortilla at all, so I closed the lid and let the quesadilla cook some more. After about a minute and a half longer, I had a cheese filled tortilla that was just turning brown. I set it on a plate, topped it with sour cream and garlic salt. I think it would have been good plain too to or even sprinkled with taco seasoning.
Either way, ole!
A great, quick snack. 4 out of 4 stars.