Waffle Sandwich — The Simple Meal That Gets You Through the Week Before Everything Changes

One week to the wedding. The brisket is ordered, the wood is stacked, the smoker is cleaned and calibrated, and I have not slept well since Tuesday because my brain has decided to run the logistics on repeat at 3 AM like a broken playlist. Four briskets. Two shifts. Fourteen hours each. Plus the pulled pork spring rolls. Plus managing the smoker while wearing a suit. I need a plan for the suit situation. You cannot tend a fourteen-hour smoke in dress clothes. This is a physics problem and a wardrobe problem simultaneously.

Solution: I will wear shorts and my Oilers T-shirt for the cook on Friday and overnight. I will shower and change into the suit Saturday afternoon. The brisket will be wrapped and resting by then. James has volunteered to babysit the smoker during the ceremony, which is happening at 5 PM. The brisket will be sliced at 6:30. This timeline works. I have checked it eleven times.

Emma called Monday and asked me about the toast. I said, "What toast?" She said, "Dad. The father of the bride toast." I said, "I will say some words." She said, "Can you write them down first?" I said, "No." She said, "Dad." I said, "Emma, I will be brief and appropriate and possibly funny. That is the best I can promise." She made a sound that was either acceptance or resignation. They're similar.

The truth is, I know exactly what I want to say. I've known since she told me she was engaged. It's about four sentences long and it covers the only things that matter: that I'm proud of her, that Daniel is a good man, that they're going to build a good life, and that her mother and I — despite everything — made something right when we made her. I don't need to write that down. I've been writing it in my head for twenty-three years.

Cooked a quiet dinner for myself Friday — com tam, broken rice with grilled pork chop, a fried egg, and pickled vegetables. It's Saigon street food, the breakfast of construction workers and students and mothers on their way to market. It's not fancy. It's essential. I ate it standing at the kitchen counter and thought about next weekend and how my daughter is going to walk across a garden in a white dress and become someone's wife, and how I'm going to stand there and watch it happen and try very hard not to cry, and how I will probably fail at that last part, and how that's okay.

Touched the chip in my wallet. Thirteen years. Every day a decision. And tomorrow the decisions continue, and next week my daughter gets married, and the brisket will be perfect, and I will be present, fully present, with clear eyes and steady hands. That's all I've got. That's everything.

The com tam that Friday was less about hunger and more about ritual — something grounding and uncomplicated to hold onto while the week kept humming at full volume. I’ve made that same move enough times to recognize it: when everything around you is large and loud, you cook something small and quiet and you eat it standing up. This waffle sandwich hits that same register for me — a fried egg, something savory, something stacked and simple, and about twenty minutes between raw ingredients and a plate. It’s not a wedding dish. It’s a Wednesday-before-the-wedding dish, which is the one you actually need.

Waffle Sandwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the waffle iron
• 4 slices deli ham or cooked bacon strips
• 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 large eggs, for frying
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Optional: sliced avocado, hot sauce, or Dijon mustard for serving

Instructions

1. Make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, and vegetable oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined — a few lumps are fine. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the batter in two additions.
2. Cook the waffles. Preheat your waffle iron and brush lightly with melted butter. Pour in enough batter to fill the iron (about 3/4 cup, depending on your iron size) and cook until golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. You want 4 waffle squares total — two per sandwich.
3. Fry the eggs. In a small non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. Crack in the eggs and fry to your preferred doneness — sunny side up holds together best in a sandwich. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Warm the ham. In the same skillet, lay the ham slices flat for 30 to 45 seconds per side until just warmed through and lightly golden at the edges.
5. Build the sandwich. Place one waffle square on a plate. Layer with two slices of cheddar, half the ham, one fried egg, and any optional toppings. Top with a second waffle square, pressing gently. Repeat for the second sandwich.
6. Serve immediately. Eat it standing at the counter if the moment calls for it. No judgment.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 540 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 30g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 820mg