Fried Doughboys With Honey Butter Food

DOUGHBOYS

Steps:

• Sponge: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and stir in the flour. Allow the mixture to sit until quite bubbly, about 30 minutes.
• Mix together the white flour, rye flour and salt in a bowl. Stir 1 cup of this mixture and 1 cup of cold water into the sponge. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit another 30 minutes.
• Add the whole-wheat flour, chestnut flour and the olive oil. Knead the dough either by hand or in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until the dough is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. You may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too wet, but you want a soft, slightly sticky dough. Very soft, moist dough makes the best crust!
• Put the dough in a large bowl, cover with a towel and allow it to rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours. If you are making the dough a day before, put the bowl in the refrigerator and let rise slowly overnight.
• To cook the doughboys, preheat a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, with enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees F.
• Be sure to use a frying thermometer to be accurate. Pull the dough into odd shapes that look like elephant ears, then drop them into the fryer, in batches, and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip them over with a chop stick and cook the other side until golden brown, a few more minutes. Repeat the process until all of the dough is used. Arrange them on a serving platter and serve with jam, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. Sit down, get coffee and eat.
• Cook's Note: The dough usually made a day before using.

FRIED CHICKEN BISCUITS WITH HOT HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Prepare the biscuits: In a bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add butter and use the fork to mash it into the flour until the mixture resembles large, lumpy crumbs. Stir in milk until a dough comes together.
• Flour your hands, then gently gather and knead the dough in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it springs back slightly to the touch. (If the dough is sticky, sprinkle additional flour as needed.) Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and rest dough in fridge for half hour.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thickness. Use a floured knife or round cutter to cut 6 biscuits, about 3 1/2 inches wide. Reroll the scraps and cut again as needed.
• Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have puffed up and the tops are slightly golden. Let cool completely on a wired rack at room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container if not using until the next day.
• Prepare the chicken: Trim excess fat and any membranes from the meat, then lightly hammer the thickest parts of the thighs with a mallet or rolling pin. Season each side with salt.
• Mix flour, cayenne and salt in one wide bowl. Beat eggs in a second wide bowl, and place panko in a third. Dip each chicken thigh in flour, coating it all over and patting off the excess, then in egg, allowing extra egg to drip off, then in panko, making sure each thigh is entirely coated in bread crumbs, and using your hands to press loose crumbs into any places where they look scarce.
• In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, pour in oil to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 degrees. Fry 2 thighs at a time, flipping them over every two minutes or so, until golden brown and crisp all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack set over a paper towel-lined sheet pan and season lightly with salt. Let cool entirely at room temperature, at least 1 hour. At this point, you can assemble the sandwiches or transfer the rack to the fridge and leave the chicken uncovered overnight.
• Assemble the sandwiches: When both the chicken and biscuits have cooled (or the next day), mix together soft butter, honey and hot sauce until smooth. Cut open cooled biscuits, smear each cut side with honey butter, and sandwich with a piece of chicken. If traveling, loosely wrap each sandwich in a piece of parchment paper and pack side by side in a hard container, in a single layer, so the sandwiches aren't crushed. Serve with additional hot sauce and pickles on the side.

FRIED DOUGHBOYS WITH HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Blend the 1/2 butter and 1/2 cup honey (and cinnamon if desired) together until fluffy Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a small bowl.
• Stir in 1 T. honey and let stand 5 to 10 minutes until mixture bubbles up.
• Combine whole wheat flour, white flour and pepper, stirring to blend together.
• Pour in yeast mixture and the 2 T. melted butter.
• Mix until a dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface.
• Knead for 10 minutes, until dough is firm, elastic and no longer sticky.
• If necessary you can add 2 or 3 more tablespoons of flour.
• Place 1 T. oil in a large bowl.
• Add dough, turning to coat dough and bowl with the oil.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until doubled.
• (1 1/2 to 2 hours) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Form into a cylinder 2 inches in diameter.
• Cut off pieces 1 inch thick.
• Press each slice with palm to flatten.
• Let rest 10 minutes.
• Roll slices out with a rolling pin until they are ovals about 6x3 inches.
• Lay ovals on waxed paper and let rise about 30 minutes until doubled.
• Cover the bottom of a skillet with a thin coat of oil.
• Heat oil.
• Fry doughboys over med heat until golden brown on both sides.
• Don't rush them, they will get there.
• Add more oil as needed.
• Serve doughboys warm with honey butter.

STRUFFOLI (FRIED DOUGH WITH HONEY AND ALMONDS)

Steps:

• Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix together butter, orange-blossom water, vanilla and anise extracts, and egg in another bowl. Pour into flour mixture. Mix well, adding ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff but not crumbly.
• Roll out dough to 3/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured cutting board. Cut dough into 3/8-inch-wide strips, then cut crosswise into 3/8-inch squares. Roll each piece into a ball, transferring to a lightly floured surface as you work.
• Heat 2 inches oil in a medium heavy saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees. Working in batches, fry dough, stirring, until golden. Remove fried dough from oil using a wire-mesh skimmer, and transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Heat honey, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Working in batches, dip struffoli in honey sauce until well coated, and transfer to a sieve set over a bowl to drain; reserve honey sauce. Mound struffoli on a platter, pour remaining and reserved honey sauce over top, and sprinkle with almonds and nonpareils.

FRIED SWEET DOUGH BALLS WITH HONEY

Steps:

• Pulse together the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the food processor with the motor running, and then drop in the butter pieces. Process until a smooth dough forms, about 30 seconds. Knead the dough on the counter a few times, then wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Make the syrup: Combine the honey, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/3 cup water in a medium skillet over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until syrupy, about 6 to 7 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a pot or straight-sided skillet to about 365 degrees F, or until a piece of dough sizzles on contact. Pinch off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough, and roll into a rope about 1/2 inch wide. Cut the rope of dough into pieces the size of a hazelnut and roll into balls. Repeat until all the dough is used.
• Fry the struffoli in batches until puffed and deep golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Drain on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining struffoli.
• Toss the struffoli in the hot honey syrup, in batches, as many at a time as you can fit without crowding. Roll the struffoli in the syrup until well coated, then scoop them up with a slotted spoon or strainer, and drain off the excess syrup. Stack the struffoli in layers on a plate to form a cone, sprinkling each layer with the sprinkles as you stack. Repeat until all the struffoli are coated in the honey syrup and covered in sprinkles. Drizzle the completed stack of struffoli with any remaining syrup, if you wish.