Viennese Jelly Doughnuts (Page 623)

• Date: Sunday, August 12, 2007 -- 12pm
• Location: Somerville, MA
• Kitchen: Matty's Apartment
• Fellow Chefs: Matty, Matt, Ricky, and Alex
• Dining Companions: Ana, Wes, Glen, Genevieve, and Gunther
• Recipe Rating: A-
  

At the last minute I added these doughnuts to the menu for brunch last Sunday. They were quite good. Some people were extremely taken with them, while others said they would have preferred to have a Krisy Kreme. These Viennese doughnuts, aka Krapfen, are slightly different in nature than their American counterpart. They are more spherical in shape and have a very airy interior, rather than a very doughy one. Luckily, we had a genuine Austrian at brunch to test their authenticity. Gunther's verdict: these were very good Krapfen. I liked the fact that they were easy to make and fried up beautifully -- you know how I enjoy any excuse to deep-fry! The exterior became just a touch crisp after frying, while the jam inside melted deliciously. They were definitely different than the jelly doughnuts most people in the states are used to eating, so if you are looking for that I would recommend trying a different recipe. But for something delicious, and a little different, these Viennese doughnuts are delicious.

Here is the recipe.

The more consecutive weeks that I travel, the more careless I get in my packing. I began to regret this an hour or so ago, when I looked at the weather forecast for my week in Maine. Normally I would have done this in advance, before I packed, but yesterday morning I was exhausted, and we left Bloomington around 8am. It didn't even occur to me to check the weather. So I packed some summer clothes and left. It turns out that it's going to be cold in Maine! It will be in the 40's at night and I brought with me not a single sweater or jacket. Whoops! There is a lesson to be learned there, but I'm not sure if the lesson is to be more careful when you pack, or to stop traveling when you are exhausted.

The upside of traveling exhaustion is that it really alleviates my fear of flying. Yesterday on the plane I realized I was much calmer than usual. I attribute it to two factors. One, it was the third weekend in a row I was flying, and I think I just ran out of the energy that it takes to be afraid. Two, we were flying Jet Blue. For some reason I find those TVs they have in the Jet Blue seats to be very calming. It's not just that they are distracting. Actually I don't think it is that at all. Rather, watching TV makes me feel like flying is no big deal. I am sitting on the airplane, doing the exact same thing that millions of Americans are doing on the ground: watching TV. Plus, since I practically never watch TV (and certainly never watch cable!) it's a small luxury to be able to do so. Whatever the reason, I was calmer yesterday than I have been, which is good because I have to fly again next Saturday!