Zeppole!

So when Lindsay and I were on vacation, we had the habit of watching Giada while getting ready for the evening and one of her episodes was on Italian street food. Of course, I wanted to make all of it that night! I think Lindsay has already made the sausage and peppers... and I, of course, jumped straight to the dessert! Donuts! So a few things to note before starting this recipe - which I should have paid attention to prior to making them - the basic dough for this recipe is actually at Pate a choux.. So when you're cooking the butter and flour on the stove.. don't treat it like its a roux (like i did.. and only cooked it for maybe 2 minutes because i thought it looked done). You'll want to stir it constantly and cook it for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is starting to stick to the bottom of the sauce pan. Also - you'll want to follow the instructions on dropping tablespoon size balls into the oil.. any bigger and the center will definitely be doughy!

(Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis)
Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil, for frying (I used canola oil instead, olive oil is too expensive and I didn't want that flavor throughout my donuts!)

Directions:

Cut open the vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the back of a knife, scrape along the inside of the vanilla bean to collect the seeds. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a small bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return pan to the heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.

Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil, frying in batches. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon-sugar. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.

So again - follow the directions carefully and hopefully they will turn out great! I know mine tasted wonderful, just were slightly doughy in the center. Oh and they puff up pretty big, so I was using a 3 qt. pot (so I could use less oil) and would fry about 5-6 per batch. And instead of draining them first, drop them straight into the cinnamon/sugar mixture before setting on a paper towel! Otherwise the sugar won't stick to them. My next mission is to figure out if I can revive them again... since one batch made about 20 of them (we weren't gonna eat them all!) I saved them in my freezer. I'll let you know if I manage to find a way to reheat them and have them taste as good.

Another quick note - you only scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean, but the pod itself is still good! don't throw it away! Save it for the next time you're making a dessert in which you can steep a vanilla bean in it. Its too expensive to waste!

submitted by Lauren