zeppole

we were just watching a repeat of everyday italian on the food network and it happened to be an episode from the season i worked on. giada was making zeppole, which is essentially an italian doughnut hole, and it reminded me of how delicious little fried balls of dough tossed in cinnamon sugar and dipped in chocolate taste. so while it was snowing outside all day today, we stayed inside and made these! the recipe is adapted from this cookbook which has lots of great recipes. yes it's a little indulgent and no we don't fry things every day but today it was a special treat!

Zeppole

serves 4-6

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup for coating

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs

1 tbs orange zest

vegetable oil for frying

1 tsp cinnamon

in a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup water. bring to a boil over medium heat. take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. return to low heat and cook, stirring vigorously until the mixture forms a ball. transfer the dough to a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, beat in eggs one at a time. add orange zest and set aside. in a small bowl, combine cinnamon with remaining 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.

pour enough oil into a frying pan to reach a depth of 2-inches. heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

using a small ice cream scoop, carefully drop small tablespoons of dough into the hot oil. fry several at a time but be careful not to crowd the pan. turn zeppole with a wooden skewer to evenly brown both sides and cook until golden and puffed, about 5 minutes. roll cooked zeppole in cinnamon sugar and serve immediately plain or with melted chocolate for dipping. enjoy!

taleggio & kabocha

we love pizza and there is nothing better than making it at home. this dough recipe comes from vogue magazine, random i know, and is one of my favorite doughs to make if i have the time for homemade crust. the toppings are inspired by a pizza giada de laurentiis made on everyday italian when i worked as the food stylist on the last season. changed the cheeses, different squash and added pancetta because everything tastes better with pancetta!

Taleggio & Kabocha Pizza

crust:

1/4 cup white wine

3/4 cup warm water

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 tbs honey

1 tsp salt

1 tbs olive oil

3 cups flour

combine wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. add honey, salt and olive oil. mix thoroughly and add 1 cup of flour to make a wet paste. Add remaining flour and knead lightly on lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rise 45 minutes.

topping:

1/2 kobocha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp red pepper flakes

6 slices pancetta

5 oz taleggio cheese, sliced

1 oz goat cheese

1 cup arugula

preheat oven to 375 degrees F. on a sheet pan, toss squash with maple syrup and red pepper and roast for 25 minutes. crisp pancetta in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F and cool. increase oven to 450 degrees F. roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick on lightly floured surface and evenly distribute slices of taleggio. bake 8-10 minutes until crust begins to brown and cheese is bubbly. sprinkle pizza with crumbled goat cheese, pancetta and roasted squash. return to oven to 3-5 minutes until goat cheese is softened and crust is golden. top with arugula and give it a drizzle of good olive oil and some fresh cracked black pepper.