CAUTION: Do not operate heavy machinery while drowsy.

Let me preface this by saying that I usually pride myself in knowing my way around the kitchen. I grew up helping with dinner and like to think that my mother did a pretty good job teaching me. I can cook Coq Au Vin when the in-laws come for dinner or an omelet for those nights its just me and hubby.

But I’ve learned the hard way not to get over confidant. Let me share what I’ve learned with you in hopes that you can learn from my mistakes.

I won my Cuisinart waffle iron at work. Not the typical place you pick up a waffle iron, but I wasn’t going to complain. Another appliance to add to the steadily growing number in my kitchen. I was anxious to use it, but for some reason never quite got around to it. So begins my story.

I finally got around to making my waffles one evening, around 10. I was already exhausted from having little to no sleep for several days before hand (it’s a long story). But because of circumstances beyond my control, I was going to be up for the majority of yet another night. So I had the bright idea to make waffles when I should have been in bed. I soon came to realize why waffles are normally made in the morning, after a restful night’s sleep.

The waffle iron seemed easy enough to use. Mix up a batch of waffles, pour some mix on the griddle and wait for them to cook. Ok, I can handle this. So, out came the waffle mix, the eggs, the milk. I mixed up what seemed to be a half way decent waffle batter and plugged my waffle iron in.

Cuisinart has an excellent design for letting you know when the griddle is hot enough. After plugging the appliance in a small light on the bottom handle lights up red. (There is no on and off switch, just a plug). This means that the waffle iron is still warming up, and to wait. So I waited.

But while I was waiting I decided to make myself useful and clean in the kitchen. Me in my sleepy stupor decided to clean around the waffle iron. Not a good idea. I found out first hand exactly how hot the outside of the waffle iron gets. I stood there with tears of pain welling up as I watched a rather large blister started to form on my pinky finger. OUCH! That really hurt. The waffle iron’s exterior is made of a metal giving it a rather attractive chrome finish. Along with the black handles the waffle iron has a very stylish look about it, but I warn you, that metal gets hot! Personally I would be willing to trade style for something a that withstands heat a little better. As I stood there wincing in pain all I could picture was an anxious child rushing to help mommy and burning themselves on this hot exterior.

Ok, by now the waffle iron’s indicator light has turned green, meaning it was ready. I opened the waffle iron and poured on the batter. I closed the lid and watched the lid slowly rise and batter come pouring out the sides. Uh-oh. In my drowsiness I had added too much batter! Now my waffle iron had turned into a monster with yellow, sticky stuff flowing freely from its mouth. So as I waited for the batter that actually stayed inside the monster's mouth to finish cooking, I began cleaning again.

Soon enough the light turned green again. You see, the indicator that lets you know when the waffle iron is hot enough to begin. It also lets you know when your waffles are ready. When you first pour the batter in, the light turns red indicating that the waffles are cooking. It turns green again when they are done.

So I opened up the waffle iron to find, not a waffle, but a mess. Since I had poured too much batter in the waffle iron the inside of the waffle hadn’t cooked. Under normal circumstances the weighted lid keeps the waffle iron pressed firmly down, cooking both sides evenly. However, I had obviously given it way more than it could handle and now I had half of a waffle on the top, half on the bottom and more of that gooey yellow stuff in the middle. Out came the paper towel and I began cleaning again. Thankfully the non-stick surface made clean up a breeze.

With that out of the way, I tried again. This time, being sure to use the correct amount of batter. Well, when I was cleaning I had pulled the plug, so that I didn’t get burned again. That was fine and good, except I forgot to plug it back in. When I plugged it back in the waffle iron began to heat, but it was too little too late. Another waffle down the drain.

You would think by now that I would get the hint and just give up. But of course, I wasn’t going to let a kitchen appliance get the best of me, so out came the batter again. This time I made sure to add the proper amount and that it was plugged in. I added the batter, the light turned red and all seemed to be going well. Until I noticed what seemed to be smoke rising from my waffle iron. “Great, now what did I do???” So I threw my waffle iron open only to find a gooey mess. What I had seen hadn’t been smoke at all, but rather steam. I think that makes a total of three ruined.

Ok, this was it, my last and final attempt. And guess what? It worked! I was the proud mother of a beautiful, piping hot waffle. Ah, the sweet smell of victory. Unfortunately, I wasn’t done yet. I still had to clean up. The thought of just leaving it until the morning had crossed my mind, but I could already see my husband’s face if he woke up the next morning and saw my mess. So out came the dish soap for hopefully the last and final time. Thank goodness for the non-stick surface of this waffle iron. I had it cleaned and packed up in under five minutes. The hardest thing to clean was counter which I had spilled some batter on.

Since then I have used my waffle iron on a regular basis. Despite our rocky start, I’ve come to have a love affair with Cuisinart’s Waffle Iron. Perfect waffles every time, discounting chef’s error. There are 5 settings, so everyone can be satisfied with exactly how crisp their waffles are. My husband likes the portions; 6-inch rather than the 4-inch I was used to using before. I like the ease of use and the quick clean up. My only concern is the hot cover. I highly recommend this product to everyone, even ones not exactly skilled in the kitchen. However be sure to get a good night's rest before attempting use! :-)