La Belle Sweet Potato 'n' Spice Waffles

When I first started to date Nick, we went to Syracuse to visit his parents. That evening when Nick and I were about to go out, his dad asked if we wanted to stay and watch the Patti LaBelle special with him. Of course we decided to stay home. Patti LaBelle was incredible, her sparkling electric blue gown was just beautiful, and her huge Mohawk hairstyle was amazing. To this day I remember how happy I was to have shared this wonderful evening with my father-in-law.

                                                   Sweet Potato 'n' Spice Waffles
                                                                    adapted from
                                                                 La Belle Cuisine
                                                           Recipes To Sing About
                                                                    Patti LaBelle
                                                           with Laura B. Randolph

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
Nonstick vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Softened butter and warm maple syrup

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the sweet potato and reduce heat to medium. Cook until the sweet potato is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and run under cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel and mash the sweet potato. Measure out 1 cup mashed sweet potato, using any excess for another purpose.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a medium bowl, using a whisk or a large spoon, mix the reserved mashed sweet potatoes with the milk, half and half, brown sugar, and egg yolks until well combined and the sugar dissolves. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix the batter until moistened, but still lumpy. Using a spatula, fold in the melted butter - the batter should be almost, but not quite, smooth.

In a clean medium bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed, beat the egg whites just until stiff peaks form: do not over beat. Stir about one-fourth of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Using the spatula, fold the remaining egg whites until the batter is smooth.

Pour a generous 1 cup of the batter into the center of the waffle iron.  Close the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle iron indicator shows that the waffle is done (or crisp and golden brown), 6 to 7 minutes. Keep the waffle warm in the oven while preparing the remaining waffles. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

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