A football is the brown ball with the pointy ends, right?

Confession time: I know nothing about football. Less than nothing. However. Lest you think I sit and read Shakespeare sonnets in a corner while the rest of the country is high-fiving and whoop-whooping in front of a flatscreen on one particular winter Sunday every year, read on frugal football fans.

I am a once-a-year football fan. OK, truthfully, it’s not the game I enjoy. I like the rubbing shoulders with friends and loved ones. I like being an unashamed couch potato for a whole day. I like the smorgasbord of decadent foods. I like the stress-relieving outbursts of cheering and booing intermittently. So for one day once a year I am an uber-obnoxious football fan.

And I love make-your-own buffets for large festive gatherings. No whining about what is on your plate, because YOU put it there.

Anne and I had the joy of being together at my home for just one day recently, and can you guess how we spent that day? Cooking new culinary creations, of course! Isn’t that how every mom loves to spend a too-rare day with her  daughter?

We decided to go for chili and fixin’s this year with a twist: cornbread waffles to ladle the chili onto. Let me assure you all, chili has just met its soul mate: cornbread waffles!

Of course, we used Anne’s Ultimate Veggie Chili, which made it to the top 2 of the hundreds submitted for the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown.

My son’s girlfriend Sarah, who has been eating at my house every week for several years proclaimed: “This is the best thing I ever ate!” Do you think they’ll put her on the show?

These savory waffles are heavenly with chili slathered on top. We tweaked a recipe in one of our favorite gluten-free cookbooks, Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone – this recipe makes one of those “perfect crumb” cornbreads. We added some tweaks, of course: minced peppers and grated cheese in the batter, plus a dash of cayenne pepper sauce and chipotle powder for smokiness.

The batter makes perfect savory waffles, too, with a few tricks: Make sure to spray your waffle iron with canola oil so that there is a nicely browned and crispy crust on your waffles. And keep your waffles cooking long enough to make them well done. We did a few waffles with soft texture, and it wasn’t as tasty when ladled with soft chili on top. You need that crunch to the dish.

We just set out a large stockpot of steaming chili and then bowls of toppings to spoon on top – a low-maintenance savory meal ready whenever you feel like eating.

Oh, and by the way: GO TEAM! ((Yes, you guessed it, I have no idea which team to cheer for . . .))

CORNBREAD WAFFLE CHILI STACKS

Serves 6 to 8

1 cup milk of choice (we used Rice Dream rice milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (we like Frank’s)
1 cup all purpose gluten free baking flour (we like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or smoked paprika
1 cup corn kernels
2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup minced peppers of choice (we used 1 jalapeno and a little red bell pepper)

Stir together milk, vinegar, eggs and oil. Whisk together in another bowl the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and powder, spices and salt. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture with a spoon until just combined. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

Heat a waffle iron to hottest setting. Spray lightly with canola oil. Ladle batter onto waffle iron and cook until very brown and crisp.

Ladle waffles with chili and toppings of choice.

Enjoy!

– posted by Donna