Today is a big day, but before I tell you why, let me go back in time just a bit…

Valentine’s Day 2007 – Peter gave me the best Valentine’s Day gift ever.  It was a beautiful Waring Pro waffle iron.  Not just any waffle iron, a Belgian waffle iron.  The kind that you pour the batter in, close the iron and then turn the handle so the waffle iron flips over, evenly coating both griddles to achieve delicious crunchy-golden-on-the-outside, soft-warm-fluffy-on-the-inside waffles.  They were truly fantastic!

We ate many waffles over the following months.  Turns out waffles not only make a great breakfast, but are a quick and easy dinner and go with practically anything you might have leftover in your fridge.  Fruit, bacon, sausage, ham, whip cream… doesn’t really matter, it’s all good…  I raved about my waffle iron.

But then came that fateful day in August of 2008, 6 months after the warranty had expired, when my waffle iron simply quit working in the middle of a batch of waffles.  No warning, it just died.  I went through many of the stages of grief: Denial (it’s not dead, I just need to plug it into a different outlet), Anger (stupid Waring Pro, how could they make such a sub-standard product) and Depression (dinner time, staring into the fridge, all I can see is my milk, eggs and Bisquick).

I had a hard time letting go, but I am proud to say that 10 months later, I have finally reached the stage of Acceptance and have purchased a new waffle iron!  After much research (during which I discovered that many people had the same problem with the Waring Pro maker) I selected the Wlliams Sonoma 4 Square Waffle Maker by All Clad.  The manager at WS assured me that this iron will not die and that if for some strange reason it did, I can bring it back ant time for a refund.

Now I just have to find out if it makes good waffles.  The iron is going for its maiden voyage tomorrow morning accompanied by bacon, sausage, whip cream, strawberries and real maple syrup.  If anyone wants to come help test it out, just give me a call.  Really.  Consider it a reward for reading to the end of a long blog entry about waffle irons.