Video: Waffled macaroni and cheese

The people from PAM (the nonstick cooking spray) came to me with a solid idea: Let's make some waffling videos. 

I was happy to help, though helping in this case mostly involved staying out of the way and watching as the video professionals did their work. I am really good at putting things in waffle irons, just good enough at writing about it, and markedly less good at capturing it on video. (As an aside, I was once asked why there are so few hands shown in my waffling photos — zero, usually. I explained that hands tend to be in short supply when taking my own photos. I have just two — hands, that is, not photos. In any case, making these videos meant going all out. There are even hired hands!)

We took a handful of recipes from my book and created very short videos. In my role as on-set waffling expert, my opinion was sometimes solicited. (Example question: "Does that look sufficiently waffled?" Example answer: "Yes.") It was really cool to watch the ideas come to life with the help of a talented team of people, to whom I am very grateful. 

I'm very pleased with how the videos turned out. The first one is above. Take a look!

Visit your local bookstore! Or find "Will It Waffle?" at ...

Amazon: Paperback, Kindle 

Barnes & Noble: Paperback, Nook 

Indiebound: Paperback

Mother's Day

There's an important holiday coming up. Might I suggest making Mom breakfast or brunch?

You could do French toast. Or waffles.

Or Waffled Chocolate-Stuffed French Toast. Would you believe the recipe is in my book? It is, along with several variations in case chocolate is not her thing.

If Mom is not within brunching distance and might like a cookbook, a waffle iron or a cookbook about waffle irons (especially a cookbook about waffle irons), you can probably guess what I will recommend as a gift. 

Except in my case. My mom likes cookbooks, waffle irons and cookbooks about waffle irons just fine (especially a certain cookbook about waffle irons). But I'm pretty sure she doesn't need another copy of my book.

Visit your local bookstore! Or find "Will It Waffle?" at ...

Amazon: Paperback, Kindle 

Barnes & Noble: Paperback, Nook 

Indiebound: Paperback 

'Will It Waffle?' book giveaway

A photo posted by Will It Waffle? (@will_it_waffle) on Apr 18, 2015 at 6:05am PDT

Here's good news for anyone who would like a free copy of "Will It Waffle?"

Head over to one of my favorite blogs, Food in Jars. Marisa is giving away two copies, one to a U.S. resident and one to a Canadian resident. The giveaway ends Monday. April 20.

I'm into canning since before I was into waffling, if you can believe it. (Can I? It's sometimes hard to remember life before waffling.) Marisa's blog has long been a go-to for me. Plus, she has two books and is working on a third.

Longtime wafflers may remember that Marisa even did a guest post on the initial incarnation of this blog. Now that goes back a few years.

Oh, and by way of wrapping up the last giveaway, congratulations to the winners of the Breville waffle irons: Chris S. in Canada and Linnea B. in the U.S.

Didn't win? Don't sweat it. It's safe to say this won't be the last time I give anything away.

No spoilers

Follow @will_it_waffle on Instagram! 

No one clamored to see "Citizen Kane: Rosebud Is the Name of His Sled" or "The Usual Suspects: Kevin Spacey Is Totally Keyser Söze."

So why would people buy "Will It Waffle? Yes, it will!"?

Let's begin at the beginning. You might first challenge the wisdom of naming a cookbook with a question — there's no "How Do You Cook Everything?" or "Can You Master the Art of French Cooking?" — but when it came to my book, there was little doubt about the title from the start.

"Will It Waffle?" is a certain kind of cookbook. The playfulness in the title gives you a hint of what's in store. 

That's great.

But then late last year, the New York Times did a blurb about the book:

"'Will It Waffle?' Spoiler alert: It will. Cooking everything in a waffle iron turns out to be fun."

It made me realize: A question as a title is fine. But answering that question on the cover? Well, it just gives everything away.

So we're planning a "spoiler-free" version of the cookbook, with a cover that highlights and maintains the suspense of the title. You can see that new cover at the top of this post. If you already bought the "Yes, it will!" version of the cookbook, I'm sorry — perhaps you can give it to your friend who was blowing up Facebook about the "Breaking Bad" finale before you had a chance to watch it.

Now, will the #NoSpoilers edition prove more popular than the original edition?

There's no telling.

Maybe!