Tuesday, January 12, 2010

TWD: Mrs. Vogel's What?


I have a history with deep frying. It started back in high school when I wanted to make doughnuts.

Any careful mother would, of course, turn down my request, and mine was no exception. "You'll burn the house down." (Or is that shoot your eye out. . . . Same difference.)

Not one to be rejected like that, I
began my plot plan to make doughnuts. I quietly assembled all the ingredients and hardware, then waited patiently for the right moment to strike.

My mother decided to go into the city to shop, and I begged to stay home. Instead of driving, she always took the bus, which stopped in front of our house.

As a sneaky calculating teen, I counted the seconds until the bus disappeared down the street, and immediately began my great doughnut adventure. I knew when my mother would be returning; therefore, I knew my timeframe.

All went well. I didn't burn the house down. There was, however, a large plate, piled high with fresh doughnuts, on the kitchen counter, and nary a dirty dish in sight. From that moment on, my mother was a believer, and I could cook or bake anything I desired.

I haven't stopped since.


When Teanna of Spork or Foon? chose Mrs. Vogel's Scherben as our TWD recipe this week, I was thrilled. I could deep fry again! And, using the very same pan that I used all those years ago in high school for the doughnuts. (I made sure that my mother didn't give it away, but give it to me instead.) Yippee!


Isn't she a beauty? A genuine Corningware electric frying pan, circa 1960s. It's not deep, but it does have an automatic thermostat control making it a breeze to deep fry.




The dough was quick and easy to make. I didn't have any issues with it being too dry or too wet. It was just right. Made the dough on day one, then chilled it. Rolled it out on day two, and chilled the strips for several hours.



Then, after dinner on Friday night, I started frying,


and draining,

and sugaring.


They were like potato chips. You know, where you can't eat just one?

I only wish the cinnamon sugar would have stuck better, but oodles of powdered sugar didn't hurt. Check out Teanna's website for the recipe, and have fun with frying.

(Yes, those are chopsticks you see above, the big kind used for cooking, not eating. I alternate between tongs and chopsticks when frying. Much easier than a slotted spoon.)

8 comments:

Susan said...

They look delicious! I didn't participate this week. Just got home last night from a 3000+ mile trip to the far side of Kansas. Said trip completed in about 75 hours!

Mary said...

They look great! Reminds me of my brother and I: we used to fire up the deep-fryer after school and before our parents got home. By the time they arrived, we'd have made a gigantic mess and eaten an entire recipe of donuts! Maybe that's why I was reluctant to make these? Anyway, even though I haven't got mom's old fryer, these were really good. Must call now and see if she's still got it...

TeaLady said...

Those look perfect. There is just something about fried sweet goodies.

Hindy said...

Love your Corning fryer! I'm beginning to feel like the only person who's never fried doughnuts. But scherben was a success, so who knows.

Jules Someone said...

Those look delicious! I opted to make a cake instead. Perhaps I should have tried them...

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Very nice! Love the story, too. :)

Megan said...

Wow! My mother used to have that same corning dish!

I never thought to use my electric skillet to fry - but that's a great idea.

Kayte said...

Loved the doughnut story. We loved these as well...the guys were popping them right and left the minute the frying and dusting with powdered sugar was accomplished! Yours look great. Definitely going to visit this one. So fun to see that Corningware fryer...haven't seen one in a long long time and it brought some memories back.