If there was a waffle maker that worked as something else… that would be great. I think I’ve seen waffle makers where the grids can flip over and make a griddle that you can close for grilling or leave open for frying stuff (like pancakes). Now if only I knew where one of those things were!

My parents eat a lot of frozen waffles (or else, they have a lot of frozen waffles on hand for the grandkids–it’s a bit of a Schroedinger’s Cat dilemma)–sometimes a significant portion of their entire freezer space is taken up by the boxes! And the rest is taken up by ice cream. They could probably replace their 2nd refrigerator with an ice cream maker and a waffle iron and come out way ahead.

For people who take the alternative strategy: could you get rid of your second car if you made fewer trips to IHOP and Baskin Robbins?

We don’t crave waffles enough to necessitate an entire waffle iron device. If it doubled as a panini press and griddle, then perhaps I’d think about it. However, we just use our cast iron skillets to do the same thing. One less device in the kitchen!

But by the same argument, shouldn’t the blender go away? We use ours 3-4 times a year– but sheesh, once the kids are in bed early after a quick meal of waffles, a daiquiri sure tastes nice….

I think you take things to extremes.

I just discovered that I can use my waffle maker to make odd looking but delicious panini style sandwiches. Two slices of bread with cheese and turkey breast between them. They don’t cook perfectly evenly — the hinge doesn’t allow for fat bread — but I fix that by turning and rotatin the sandwich halfway through. And I love the gridlines.

Saves me the clutter of buying a panini maker, too.