Home Again

Isaac was gone all last week at camp. He arrived back on Saturday chattering excitedly about all the fun he had. He had a good time and can't wait for next year. It seems he found a pair of Steve Urkel looking glasses in an old pick up truck that each week's winning team of campers gets to spray paint in any design they want. He was on the Pink Team, which came in dead last for the week's competitions but apparently at his leading was at least the most amusing. Urkel impersonations, a "pinkie" dance he invented, the great TP night when they spent countless rolls decorating the camp trees and buildings, and mooning contests all figured prominently in his stories. It seems the assistant director thinks in a few years Isaac and his partner in crime will be good counselors because of their antics. Be afraid.

On Sunday Diana flew home after her 6 weeks in Louisiana. To Calypso's credit she arranged for one of Diana's dear friends to come with us to the airport as a surprise. It was a real delight to see the 3 girls and Isaac having a happy reunion in the back of the van during the drive home. I asked what meal Diana wanted for dinner and jokingly offered gumbo or jambalaya (two things I've never made). She rolled her eyes and said she'd had her fill of those two dishes. After a moment of thought she came back and asked for Chicken and Waffles. I was so proud that she hungered for proper Pennsylvania food.

Now, lest any of you southern types get confused and think we eat it the way you do (waffles with a side of fried chicken and gravy) allow me to correct you. We make our waffles like normal but we add the chicken leftover from the carcass of a roasted bird to the gravy which is then poured over the waffles (this is a dish that is all about stretching leftovers and limited resources into a rib sticking meal). Now, I know some of you are thinking this sounds gross and weird. Trust me on this, ok? Diana's friend, who is a self-described picky eater, expressed great reluctance at dinner but when she tried it she thought it was terrific. That she had seconds lends credence to her statement. That she declared she was going to tell her mom about it and ask her to make it too should make all of you willing to try this.

Ok, so you may want the recipe. I will tell you I have recently been converted to Alton Brown's waffle recipe so you can go grab that right off the link. Since I didn't have leftovers from a roasted chicken and it was late and I needed to get milk anyway I just picked up a small rotisserized bird (Is that a word? It is now) at the store. I pulled off some of the meat and shredded it for the gravy which I also kind of cheated on since I didn't have any actual pan drippings or time to make stock.

1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour
1 C milk
1 c water
2 tsp chicken bouillon, mixed into the liquids

-Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour.
-Add liquids slowly and stir over medium low heat until it thickens.
-Add pepper to taste

After the gravy thickened up I tossed in the shredded chicken. Ladle that all over the waffles on your plate and schleck it all up like a good dutchie. This fed the 4 of us who are omnivores. It would not have been enough if my vegetarian Calypso came back to the dark side.