Next, beat yolks and sugar until mix turns a pale-yellow or off-white. Add your buttermilk and vanilla and mix.

While stirring, gradually add remaining dry ingredients, it helps if you mix remaining dry ingredients separately first in a measuring cup. Make sure not to over mix it or you will excite gluten in flour and over-excited gluten makes for a very chewy waffle. Remember: Think golden, crisp on outside and fluffy or light on inside.

Get your whipped egg whites and add them to rest of your mixture. Gently incorporate them and don’t over mix, or you will lose bubbles. While stirring, add butter.

I have a Krups Wafflechef, it signals you when its heated and ready to go. Baking waffles in this iron only takes about 4 minutes. Don’t go for a cheap, no-name iron, I highly recommend Wafflechef. Pre-heat waffle iron. Add about 2 oz. of batter on each square, making sure you don’t put more than iron can handle. If you do over-do it on batter you will make a mess.

Waffles are great for breakfast or even for dessert. They are great topped with maple syrup or whipped cream and fruit; even ice cream makes a fantastic topping! Happy waffle making!

Paul Rinehart is a classically trained chef who currently works as a web developer. He is also founder of Online Cooking, a place where he can work on two interests at same time, computres and food.

The Big Day

On Thanksgiving morning I preheated my oven, pulled bird out of its salt soaked slumber, rinsed it off, and patted it dry. I stuffed bird with stuffing that I had pre-cooked that morning and found a suitable roasting pan. Twenty minutes per pound was what I had heard for roasting a brined turkey and I factored in an additional twenty minutes for stuffing.

I roasted foil-covered turkey at 400F for first three and a half hours, basting it every half hour. In its last hour, I removed foil, turned heat down to 375F degrees and brushed a honey mustard glaze on it. I let it rest about thirty minutes so that juices could settle and then it was carving time.

My first reaction was “Wow it slices like butter!” The reaction of my dinner guests said it all—this turkey was different from its grainy, bone dry predecessors—this bird had taste! Safe to say I’m sold on brining.

Paul Rinehart is founder of Online Cooking.