Soul Food Happening Test Kitchen

I just made cornbread waffles. It is on the menu at our upcoming Soul Food Happening dinner on July 2nd and I wanted to give it a try to iron out some kinks. It will be the base for fried Beaufort oysters with buttermilk-jalapeño dressing and a little salad of some kind (leaning towards fennel). I’m excited about this dish for the reason that it is not like anything I normally cook. That’s the whole point of this dinner – to play with flavours I don’t normally use and have some fun.

Specifics on the waffles: I sauteed some bacon, onion and garlic and added it to a kick-ass cornbread recipe I learned from my friends Mark and Jen. They swear by the recipe on the Purity Cornmeal package, and for good reason, it is solid. Some minced jalapeño (more next time), and creamed corn was folded in last thing and then into the waffle maker it went. Why a waffle you ask? Because it is a fun shape and has holes to catch juice. What more reason do you need?

Verdict: It was delicious, but could use more spice and should be cooked at a lower temperature for longer. More jalapeño, maybe some cayenne, a bit more salt and it should be good. I also realized that creamed corn is not very good. It is watery and doesn’t have much flavour. I remember it being so much better as a kid. I will definitely try it with sautéed fresh corn and see how that is.

A note on the oysters: They will be coming from Hollie Wood Oysters on Vancouver Island. They have a variety called Beaufort, which is the perfect size for frying. They are good people with a good product. Look them up if you ever need some oysters. For raw consumption, their Satori’s are magic. Greg comes to Vancouver every Thursday and there is a 5 dozen minimum. Check them out.

Still some tickets left if anybody wants to get in on this action…….I will keep you up to date on the prep and testing as the week progresses.