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Food
& Dining
. Food:
Strouffli
This month, Mamma Louise returns to DownStreet with an old family recipe for Christmas strouffli -- tiny fried dough balls glazed with honey. Mamma Louise is 82 now, and for lots of years, she ran her own luncheonette. Up at 4 a.m. to prep & open, in the early years, she'd go until 9 or 10 in the evening. She still cooks up a storm, though she says she "can't do as much" as she used to. Of course, for her, that means she gets "a little tired" after making 100 meatballs and some gravy. "There's no sense wasting your energy," she says. "If I'm going to make something, I might as well make enough to put some in the freezer, too." ... Here, then, is Mamma Louise's favorite recipe for Christmas strouffli, along with her comments. ...
On the holidays, we used to have our 'goodie table' set up ... so many goodies and pies and pastries and all. It looked like a Viennese table. There was such a wide variety. And even though everybody was so full, nobody could pass it up, especially, for some of us, the strouffli. I can't remember my mother making strouffli when I was young. But I do remember my sister Marie's strouffli. I always used her recipe. ... She was my older sister, and she always made them around Christmas, which was the tradition. But everybody was so crazy about them, especially Vera and Annette [her daughters], that a lot of times she made them at Easter, too. I've been using my sister's Marie's recipe so long, I can't even remember when I first started. ... Our sister Anna -- she was our youngest sister -- she always used it, too, and so does her [Marie's] daughter, Annette. ... I like it because it's easy. But also, even though I had seen other recipes over the years and tried them, I always came back to my sister Marie's. I just always liked hers better. ... Ingredients
for Christmas Strouffli
. In a large bowl, whisk together the 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and the salt. You make a well into which you put your eggs. ... Pick up the dough until it's all gathered and comes away from the bowl. It will be soft, but you don't want it too sticky. Then take the dough and knead it on a floured board. ... If you need more flour so the dough isn't too sticky, then add some. But don't add too much because then it will get dry and hard and you'll lose all that softness.
Heat 2-1/2 cups of oil in either a heavy skillet or saucepan. It should be hot enough. You can tell if it is by dropping a few of the balls into it, gently. They'll turn golden brown and float. You don't want them to turn too dark, which you have to watch out for because they cook so fast. ... How many you put in at once depends on the size of the pan or skillet, but I don't usually put in more than a handful at a time. If you're careful when you handle them, they'll stay separate when you put them in the oil. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fried balls and put them on a brown paper bag or paper towel, to help get rid of the extra oil. ... In a large saucepan big enough to hold all the fried dough, heat 1-1/2 cups of honey until it's nice and thin, then shut the flame. Next, stir in the fried balls and coat them well. Sprinkle them with some of those 4-colored sprinkles and toss it all again. Finally -- with wet hands, it's important to wet your hands -- remove them from the saucepan and make a large mound. You should arrange it so it's pretty. Then you can add some more sprinkles, and that's it. Now you have your strouffli. ... Simply serve them in a small dish. ... Some people also use citrus rind or brandy in theirs, but, like I said, I like my sister's recipe. God bless her, may she rest in peace, everybody loved her strouffli. Mange
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