(Photos by Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Carolyn Robb for The Washington Post) By Ann Maloney
Ann Maloney Former recipes editor and food reporter focusing on quick and easy home cooking Bio Follow I expected bigger-than-life recipes from NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s cookbook “Shaq’s Family Style” — and I got them. As I leafed through the book, I could feel myself being pulled along by the slow-cooker mac and cheese, the buttermilk fried chicken thighs and the Louisiana shrimp linguine.
This is not a cookbook for those watching their waistlines, although O’Neal does include a “healthyish” section.
When I got to the chapter devoted to breakfast for dinner — something I love — I found the Loaded Potato Waffles and screeched to a halt.
A loaded baked potato is one of my favorite treats — so much so that I shared a Loaded Baked Potato Soup in Dinner in Minutes a couple of years ago. I knew I would try these waffles, especially after I read that O’Neal thinks the dish “might be one of my greatest contributions to the world.”
What’s not to like: shredded potato, bacon, cheddar cheese and scallions crisped in a waffle iron. You can gild that lily with a dollop of sour cream as well.
The full title of the cookbook notes that the recipes are for “feeding family and friends,” so the portions are generally large. His original recipe noted that the batter makes 16 waffles, using his “Rapid Waffle Maker & Skillet.” We found it made about 10 in a standard Belgian waffle iron.
[This easy buttermilk waffle recipe is fast, flexible and fun]
You might think that’s too much, but it turns out a big batch of this batter is great news because the uncooked mixture freezes really well.
We ate the crisp waffles freshly made, then we froze the batter into one- and two-waffle portions and ate them for breakfast with houseguests, split one as a side dish with broiled chicken and salad, and enjoyed them again a couple of weeks later on a lazy Sunday morning with our coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit.
If you spread the mixture to the edge of the waffle maker, it makes a prettier waffle. But for crisp, spidery edges of potato, use less filling.
The batter is easy to throw together because O’Neal recommends using frozen hash browns, defrosted, of course. To save time, put your bacon in the oven and, while it cooks, shred the cheese (which we trimmed to three cups from his four), slice the scallions and gather the other ingredients.
Then it is just a matter of scooping and waffling.
Each waffle takes between five and seven minutes to make, depending on your maker and how crisp you want your waffle to be. We have a Belgian-style, double-sided one, so we can make two waffles at once, which is a great timesaver. (You’ll note the time on this recipe is longer than most Dinner in Minutes recipes. It shows how long it would take to make the batter and then cook 10 waffles at a time.)
[The best ways to achieve crispy bacon]
If you spread the mixture to the edge of the waffle iron, it makes a prettier waffle, but for crisp, spidery edges of potato — think latkes here — use less filling.
If you’ve got guests coming for the holidays, this recipe might be just the thing. You can mix the batter a day or two in advance, refrigerate, and then allow folks to scoop and make waffles as they rise and shine.
I plan to make another batch, freeze portions and have the waffles on Christmas morning. They would be great as a late-night snack on New Year’s Eve with a glass of bubbly, too.
As O’Neal notes, these waffles are good “anywhere, anytime.” Couldn’t agree more.
[Get the recipe: Loaded Potato Waffle]
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