Can you believe this Waffle Monte Cristo Sandwich won Food Network’s Rewrapped season finale? Believe it.
If you don’t follow me on other social media channels, then you might not know that I competed in Rewrapped’s A Word to the Wise Cheez Waffies Episode (aired July 7th 2014). My daughter was so excited to see her mom on television. It’s one thing to be on YouTube and have a cookbook; another is to be on Food Network!
The premise of the show is that 3 participants compete to recreate a snack item in the first half, and reinvent a recipe using the original snack item into a recipe. In this episode, we had to recreate a homemade version to Wise Cheez Waffies and use them in our own recipes.
If you know me, you know that I love lunch. I mean; I make a living planning lunch meals and recreating snacks! Just visit this board on Pinterest and you will see all of the recipes I’ve recreated for MOMables in the last two years! Creating recipes for moms like me to feed their kids is one thing, creating a recipe on the spot that would give me a chance to win? That’s a little more difficult.
Filming the episode couldn’t have been more fun. I’ve wanted to do video for a long time, but it took auditioning for the show to give me the little push that I needed. What I mean by video is to make good kitchen videos for the MOMables YouTube Channel, of course! This is one of those “Go Big or Go Home” situations.
If this waffle Monte Cristo Sandwich doesn’t represent my imagination in the world of “sandwiches”, I don’t know what else would! Are you wishing you could bite your screen yet?
At first, I thought of using the Wise Cheez Waffies as a crumbly topping for Mac and Cheese, but with a 30 minute time limit, I opted for what I do best: make sandwiches and breakfast! Of course, the version I’m sharing today doesn’t have the Wise Cheez Waffies in it, you’ll have to watch the episode to see how that’s done.
Overall, I had an amazing time on set with Joey Fattone, Kelsey Nixon, and Marc Sommers. They are all very experience tv veterans and made everyone comfortable. We also had Kevin Foltz, a Senior Manager at Wise Foods, judging the show.
Kelsey said that my waffle had the perfect waffle texture; and the overall conclusion is that they had their doubts about my combination but “somehow it all works.”
Coming up with a sandwich recipe wasn’t that difficult, but making a waffle made out of the Cheese Waffies was! I’ve never been more thankful for our weekly breakfast night routine. I’ve made savory waffles for years, who knew it would come in handy?
While I can’t share the actual recipe I used on the show, you can make these at home with your favorite waffle recipe. My favorite waffle recipe can be found in my cookbook and over at MOMables. I used shredded Swiss cheese, ham, turkey, and raspberry preserves. I grilled all the items, spread raspberry preserves, and sandwiched everything between two waffles. And, of course, the fried egg in the middle is the star of the show.
Once you make these, try them, and see how beautiful they look on the plate; you’ll realize why in the end, presentation won.
I’ve got to thank BSTV Entertaiment and Food Network for giving me the opportunity to compete on the show. I am thrilled I won; but most importantly, I am thankful for the opportunity to show every mom out there that anything is possible.
You can catch the episode on Food Network’s YouTube Channel, on Food Network, and read the recap on Entertainment Weekly.