Recipe: Brunch with Marion Cunningham

Several weeks ago I was privileged to be invited to Marion Cunningham's home for a supper of her famous raised waffles. For those of you who don't know who Marion is, I will illuminate you.

Marion befriended the late James Beard when he was teaching classes. They both took a shine to each other, and formed a bond that was probably made of a certain amount of butter! Marion worked with Mr. Beard for many years until his death, then set out on her own with some of his knowledge and wisdom under her belt.

Although her previous work experiences included pumping gas, Marion took on the challenge of updating the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (originally published in 1896) in 1979. This huge undertaking took into account modern cooking techniques and ideas; microwave ovens, ethnic influences, and includes recipes such as Pan-Fried Frankfurters, Creamed Onions, and Ohio Pudding. After knowing her for almost 20 years, I am still amazed at her energy and enthusiasm for cooking and eating. And some of the things that come out her mouth are very funny; she is very direct and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to giving her opinions about food!

Marion has become a culinary icon (she would hate the word legend, since she is very down-to-earth). In fact, last year when I had dinner seated across from Julia Child, she said to me in her famous high-pitched warble, "Where is that Marion Cunningham? Oh, I want to see her!"

Of course, I immediately fetched her.

So my friends James Ormsby, chef at Bruno's, and Elizabeth Faulkner owner of Citizen Cake bakery, both great places to eat in San Francisco, trekked out to her lovely country home with me in the East Bay hills.

Breakfast at Marion's was quite a treat.
Still going strong at almost 80 (the undeniable power of butter?) she plugged in three waffle irons, piled rashers of bacon under the broiler, and brewed up a pot of hot, strong coffee. Soon the red lights on the waffle irons beckoned, and we peeled the waffles from the square-indented griddles, immediately doused them in warm maple syrup and rubbed them with generous dabs of butter, and sat around her worn wooden table enjoying something simple, that none of us enjoyed in a long, long time. Needless to say, we rolled out of there and I was unable to eat for the rest of the day.

So here is Marion's famous recipe for Raised Waffles. They really are great, although I also love her recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes from The Breakfast Book which has been re-released at a bargain price of less than $10 along with The Supper Book into one thick volume called Marion Cunningham's Good Eating. In fact, the last time I had the flu, the only thing that I would, and could, eat were her Buttermilk Pancakes.

Raised Waffles
From The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham (Knopf)

1/2 cup warm water

1 package dried yeast

2 cups warm milk

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Use a rather large mixing bowl--the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes. Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature. Just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs, add the baking soda , and stir until well mixed. The batter will be very thin. Pour about 1/2-3/4 cup batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake until golden and crisp. This batter will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Note from David: If you are concerned about leaving the yeast mixture on the counter overnight with the milk in it, you could probably put the mixture in the refrigerator, then take it out 1 hour before you plan to use it.