Skepticism

AI: Food Innovations

Last night, over sushi, we somehow got onto the topic of making cookies with a waffle iron. One of my dining companions then chimed in that he had both a waffle iron and some brownie mix, and had been pondering whether or not this would be a feasible combination. So we tried it. A few tweaks and a big messy kitchen later, we had it perfected. I give you…the broffle.

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Or the wownie. The debate rages on.

I love a challenge, and I love creating strange and interesting new foods (ask Rebecca about her post-wedding breakfast).

First off, weigh in: Broffle or Wownie? These are important matters! Also, what awesome food(s) have you invented? Is it something that only you “get” or does everyone you know love it? Fun or amusing fail stories are also encouraged.

The Afternoon Inquisition (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Skepchick community. Look for it to appear daily at 3pm ET.

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53 Comments

  1. I have to go with “Broffle” because said quickly it could be mistaken for “brothel,” which is always a plus for a word you’re creating.

    I haven’t gotten accustomed enough to cooking from scratch to really innovate anywhere. I’m still learning to properly follow recipes and not end up with something inedible physiologically or psychologically.

    Just need to learn to treat my kitchen more like my chemistry lab.

  2. I like Broffle better. Wownie sounds too much like weenie.

    When I was working as a professional chef, I created a Strawberry creme pie with a twist. It was made with frozen strawberry puree and a few other things.

  3. Broffle.

    And, my days as a vegan taught me that pretty much anything you make can be made better. My kitchen mantra was: When it doubt, make shit up. Cupcakes were a specialty, and one time I made these wonderful minty concoctions that everyone loved before I told them they were vegan (and then loved anyway because they were too orgasmically delicious to deny).

  4. Definitely broffle.

    As far as unusual foods go, I have been known to enjoy celery and peanut butter on occasion.

  5. Last week I made an Elvis Roll. I weaved bacon to make a mat, cooked that, then spread a layer of peanut butter on it, wrapped that around a banana, then wrapped it in a package of Pillsbury crescent rolls and baked it.

    It was … interesting, but I don’t think I’d make it again. But the woven bacon mat worked out great as well as the using Pillsbury crescent rolls to form a flaky crust around something.

  6. Wownie, ’cause “broffle” sounds too much like “brothel,” and…
    Broffle. Definitely broffle.

    And I can contribute 2 items to the cooking: first is not an invention of mine, but I have discovered that you can bake frozen pretzels in the toaster; much faster and much more convenient.
    Secondly, I like deep dish pizza cooked with cheddar cheese, then a layer of mashed potatoes, then a layer of bacon, then a layer of scrambled eggs, topped with more cheddar. Breakfast pizza. Cook all the ingredients before stacking them (except the crust and cheese) and then bake it until the crust is done. Mmmmm…

  7. Broffle.

    Not much of a fail story, because I don’t cook much. One time I was making brownies. I was out of vanilla and tried almond extract instead. No, don’t do that.

  8. @mikespeir:

    No officer, I swear I make special brownies with almond extract… It’s ALMOND EXTRACT! For medicinal purposes!

    And to answer the question, Broffle… hands down. Because when I hear wownie I picture some creepy old guy asking me “Hey lady, wanna lick my wownie?” And you know… I totally don’t.

    People politely smile and nod when I tell them about my strawberry basil margaritas… they say things like, “Oh… that sounds… interesting.” But they’re delicious… strawberries and basil are amazing together. And they’re even better when you mix in the life force of booze.

  9. I vote Broffle. It’s more fun to say.

    I came back from a trip to New Orleans determined to find an awesome beignet recipe, and I did, much to everyone’s delight. At my son’s behest, I developed the unholy sausage-filled beignet. He declared it the most awesome thing ever, and I swore never to make it again… some things in this world should just not be messed with.

  10. A supermarket near somewhere I used to live had some concoction that was fudge + truffle, and they called it fuffle. It wasn’t that fantastic, surprisingly, but I used to like saying the word.

    Fuffle.

  11. @Elyse: People politely smile and nod when I tell them about my strawberry basil margaritas… they say things like, “Oh… that sounds… interesting.” But they’re delicious… strawberries and basil are amazing together. And they’re even better when you mix in the life force of booze./

    I can completely believe this. One magical weekend at Gold Lake the chef served several different beverages like this where other chefs might have served a sorbet. The one that really sticks in my head was a mixture of basil, watermelon, and champagne. Delightful. And why not basil?! Basil is a mint and people certainly don’t mind mint in their drinks.

    Speaking of which, I did try catmint (catnip) on pizza once. It was, um, edible but I haven’t been tempted to recreate it.

  12. @carr2d2: First off, weigh in: Broffle or Wownie?

    What you have could also be considered a chocolate panini so how about “brownini”?

    My own food experimentation has not been funny. It generally separates into edible or inedible. The only food that I have made without basing it on someone else’s recipe is chocolate banana sorbet. Bananas give sorbet a creaminess without the cream. They also carry the chocolate flavor perfectly. I throw in a dash of cayenne to keep it lively.

    A buddy of mine attempted to make India Pale Ale aged in oak for another friend’s graduation party. Mike’s problems were the lack of an oak barrel and a lack of time. You can make up for the lack of a barrel by throwing 4 oz of oak chips into the ferment, but Mike couldn’t find oak chips. He did manage to locate some oak sawdust and to save extensive aging decided to include them in the boil. The result was oaky and tanic enough to invert your face at the first sip. Any food or beverage consumed for the next 12 hours or so would also taste of oak. All five gallons were consumed, however. After a while you get a bit numb and it starts tasting half way decent.

  13. Broffle, because when I hear Wownie all that comes to mind is that stupid online-only game World Of Warcraft which I despise (reasons I will spare you from, as Masalaskeptic knows exactly why I hate it).

    As far as invented stuff, I am sort of a wuss with food, but hands-down the best combo I have had in recent years was thanks to Skepchick ARealGirl and her equally awesome husband letting me have some chocolate-covered bacon. mmmm soo good.

    Worst idea ever was when I for some reason mixed Circus Peanuts and soup. It tasted good actually, but grossed out Masalaskeptic and pretty much everyone else in her house at the time.

  14. Coconut pumpkin curry sauce. One of those
    “what can I do with these leftovers?”recipes that has since expanded. Basically I took my grandmother’s white-sauce based curry recipe and traded coconut milk for the cream, then added pureed roasted pumpkin instead a roux for thickening. After that add curry powder, bottled vindaloo mix or what ever curry flavor you like. Add chicken, veggies and pour over rice. It’s creamy and sweet, although not as thick.

  15. First off, it’s definitely Broffle. wownie sounds like something the Teletubbies would eat.

    I suppose my great contribution to international quisine is the nacho omelette. Basic omelette filled with cheese, salsa and crumbled nacho chips.
    And while it’s not exactly cooking, i do enjoy the combination of a bit of Crunchie bar between two Pringles.

  16. Broffle and what sort of wafflemaker did you use?

    I was reaching for the red wine and grabbed instead the red wine vinegar and still haven’t lived that one down. No, the dish was not edible.

  17. First, Broffle. No Sham-Wownie.
    Foods? There is the bacon sourdough grilled three cheese sandwich. Some have called it genius, others have called it a death wish, but all love it.
    The one my friends are split on is oregano (Greek) in omlettes. You’ll either love it or hate it.

  18. I am for “broffle” for the same reson Spidor is against it.

    Delicious.

    And I am a terrible cook, but am toying with the idea of a hamburger mixed with peanut butter, curry, and crushed corn flakes, then deep fried.

    It will be called the mogwich.

  19. Broffle looks like it’s for men only. Like having a kitchen bromance with your waffle. I vote braffle.

  20. Broffle, but only if you spell it “BROFL”

    I invented the Cheddarwurst Burrito.
    When I was living in a dorm a few years ago, I had run out of most food, and had little more than a pack of cheddarwursts and some tortillas. So I just wrapped a tortilla around a cheddarwurst and ate it. Not the greatest thing ever, but nearly on par with using an actual bun.

  21. “Broffle sounds like brothel”? Man, I must be a nerd, my first thought was “ROFL”. And if we cal it a broffle, we can distribute them by helicopter and call it the Brofflecopter!

  22. Broffle or choffle (for chocolate).

    I think @Steve: “wins” so far. A guy from work spreads butter on his pop tarts. I’ll bet he’d love to add the bacon.

    My only real experimentations come from adding sugar to things. A couple of spoons-ful to my Frosted Flakes or Apple Jacks or chocolate milk.

    @James K: I’m going to assume you’re kidding, since that is actually quite common.

  23. Broffle.

    I haven’t made anything but last year my son Justin, 13 at the time, came up with Shrimp Ala Justin. Take the biggest shrimp you can find, wrap it around a bit of mozzaerala cheese, then wrap that in bacon, spear it with a toothpick to hold it together and batter dip it then deep fry it. It is delicous.

  24. Broffle… because now that @MathMike has said “Sham-Wownie”….*shudder*

    I’m not very adventurous with food, but I do LOVE to put banana on a pepperoni pizza.

  25. You mentioned the strawberry-basil taste combo – here in Montreal the local ice cream chain Leo le Glacier makes an awesome pineapple-basil combo as well as several others including raspberry-thyme.

    And a housemate of mine in San Francisco had a signature recipe he’d come up with during his days as a UC Berkeley comp sci undergrad: sage cookies. Basically a version of molasses cookies, I think. Sounds like it shouldn’t work, but they’re great. Afraid I don’t know the exact recipe.

  26. Vile, evil woman! How dare you post about waffly brownies without giving directions???

    And of course they should be broffles, except that I think ‘boffles’ would be even better. Really boffo, right?

  27. When I was a kid, I ate Marmite and Mars Bar sandwiches, tomato sauce ice cream, steak and chocolate sauce (as a substitute for gravy) and Vegemite steamed rice.

    As an adult, I’m much more sensible. I now eat Vegemite and tofu sandwiches, ice cream bread rolls and when I have coffee, I replace the milk with chilli sauce (but only if there’s no milk, because I’m sensible).

  28. @Steve You nailed it. Everything is better with bacon. Have you seen that episode with Andrew Zimmerman where he makes Bacon and Eggs ice cream? He candied the bacon in brown sugar and made egg custard ice cream to mix the carmelized bacon into.

    I’m drooling on myself just thinking about it.

  29. I also accidentally had sweet potato fries with hot fudge sauce once. Dessert showed up early and I wasn’t paying attention. Thought it was ketchup. The combination was quite good but I’ve never followed up by making it into an intentional dish.

  30. Wownie, obviously. It has the word “wow” in it, which is exactly the sort of reaction you want to be going for when creating food of any kind!

    Desserts made in unconventional ways reminds me that I used to make pizza cookies. The secret is laziness. Rolling dough into balls and smooshing them onto a cookie sheet is so overrated… instead, I would cover a round pizza tray with dough about an inch thick. Top witth chocolate chips and raisins and nuts and stuff! Then you can cut it into triangles when it’s baked. More delicious than real pizza.

  31. @halincoh: When I lived in Ft Worth TX 30 years ago, there was a disco called the Orehouse (looked like a mine shaft, of course).

    Although I like broffle better, I’ll just say 2 words: Maui wownie.

  32. Broffle, just so all those English folks, like my doctor, who pronounce month as “mumff” will be thought to have said” I do enjoy a warm brothel!”

  33. I like “wownie,” but maybe that’s just ’cause it’s kind of like “wookie.”
    My only food invention is a drink. We call it the Balls Deep. It’s a shot of Crown Royal, a shot of Captain Morgan and a shot of Southern Comfort, with Coke and ice. Balls Deep, baby, Balls Deep.

  34. Actually, what you’ve got there is not a broffle or wownie, but a subspecies of the noble and much beloved cakewaffle.

    Your waffle options are not limited to brownie mix… matter of fact, brownie mix tends to be a bit on the heavy side and doesn’t fluff well on the iron, especially if you use the full amount of oil called for on the box. Cake mixes produce a lighter cakewaffle, and your flavour & garnish options are wider. One of my own favourites is spice cakewaffles, topped with chopped apples that have been gently fried in butter, brown sugar & cinnamon. Try substituting apple juice for the water called for on the cake mix box.

    Of course, the classic chocolate cakewaffle with vanilla ice cream – well. It’s not better than sex, but if you’re home alone…

  35. @davew: What you have could also be considered a chocolate panini so how about “brownini”?

    If we’re going with the idea of a panini, then it should be called a pownie. POW! Chocolate breakfast!

  36. Broffle.
    I tend to make odd sandwiches, but none of them stand out as they are just made with whatever I can find.
    My friend “invented” tuna and barbecue sauce as a sandwich. He meant it as a joke, but I tried it, and it has since become a staple among my friends at school, although he has yet to try it.
    The standard ingredients I use are: tuna, muenster cheese, barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato, and either cucumbers or black olives, depending on my mood.

  37. It’s not really “cooking” per se, but my signature sandwich is creamy peanut butter and mint jelly on beefsteak rye. Everyone who has tried it likes it.

  38. @Angus Prune: Broflcoptr was my first reaction as well.

    I made meatcakes for the last party I went to. Standard recipie cornbread in cupcake papers with extra egg and milk to balance out the addition of either barbeque pork or chicken and melty white cheese and then garnished with lil’ smokies and nacho chips, respectively. Both of them were yummy, but the attempt to combine additional barbeque sauce with cream cheese frosting to top the cupcakes was an utter failure. Turns out it looks like poop.

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