Jelly doughnuts make a surefire Hanukkah hit

Metro has done it once again. Who knew so many wonder news tidbits could focus on donuts. With the holiday season in full swing it is only fitting that we consider traditions from around the world and with that let me introduce you to the sufganiyot.

Sufganiyot (Israeli jelly doughnuts) recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the baking sheet and rolling out the dough

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 (¼-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

½ teaspoon fine salt

2 large egg yolks

¾ cup warm whole milk (105°F to 115°F)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), at room temperature

6 cups (1½ quarts) vegetable or canola oil for frying, plus more for coating the bowl

½ cup smooth jam or jelly

Powdered sugar, for dusting

1 Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine. Add the yolks and milk and mix, using the hook attachment on medium-low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute. Add the butter, increase the speed to medium high and mix until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic, about five minutes.

2 Coat a large bowl with oil. Form the dough into a ball, place in the bowl and turn to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one to one-and-a-half hours.

3 Lightly flour a baking sheet; set aside. Punch down the dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface and roll until about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cutter, stamp out as many dough rounds as possible and place on the prepared baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Gather the dough scraps into a ball and roll out again, stamping rounds until you have 30 total on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place until puffy and about 1/2 inch thick, about 30 minutes.

4 Place the vegetable or canola oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350°F on a candy/fat thermometer. Meanwhile, line a second baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack over the paper towels; set aside. Place the jam or jelly in a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip; set aside.

5 Using a flat spatula (don’t use your hands—this will deflate the doughnuts), carefully transfer the dough rounds, one at a time, into the oil. You should be able to fit about six at a time, leaving at least 1 inch of space in between and keeping the oil temperature at 350°F. Fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 90 seconds. Carefully flip with a fork and fry until the second side is golden brown, about 90 seconds more. (If air bubbles appear in the doughnuts, pierce with the tip of a paring knife.) Remove with a slotted spoon to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds.

6 When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the center. Place the tip of the piping bag into the pocket and pipe about 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly inside. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Happy cooking and eating of course :)

Check the link below to read the full article

http://www.metro.us/newyork/life/article/706370--jelly-doughnuts-make-a-surefire-hanukkah-hit

Calories do count: Teacher loses with the (insert donut here) Ding Dong diet.

Being the faithful morning fan of the Metro that I am I always appreciate their interesting bits on food, health,  and health food. Now, I will be the first to admit, that although the donut is one of the best creations ever to pop head first out of the frying pan; all good creations in excess can be a detriment to ones health.

Fortunately Brayden Simms, Metro US, brings good news to all the donut lovers and sweet treat consumers who have felt the scorn of society's watchful eye and been relished to late night dozen binges in the comfort of their walk-in closets...something I have NEVER done.

     "A nutrition professor at Kansas State University has bucked common dieting sense by losing 27 pounds in two months on a steady regimen of Hostess snack cakes and other assorted junk foods.

    Limiting his intake to under 1,800 calories daily, Mark Haub set out to prove the foundation of portion control as a means to weight loss — regardless of the source of said calories.

“It may be an issue of portion size and moderation rather than total removal,” Haub said of junk foods. “I just think it’s unrealistic to expect people to totally drop these foods for vegetables and fruits.”

Indeed, the packaged food diet may not be the healthiest way to shed pounds, but the results still show in such markers as cholesterol levels, blood pressure and diabetes.
“Generally, you will see these markers improve when weight loss has improved,” said dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner."

http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/national/article/686139--calories-do-count-teacher-loses-with-the-ding-dong-diet

The Nissan Juke, saving the day with donuts!

"With a turbo and AWD handling in a nimble sport cross, the Nissan Juke helps a young exec named Kowalczyk save the day with...donuts."

I know what you're all thinking..."Well duh, what else would you save the day with?" But it's truley a rarity when you see an advertising campaing in the US which is this ingenious. We must have a brief moment of silence and give thanks to our contributor Tony Mento, know in some circles as "The God Father". Had Tony not rolled his eyes thinking of the next crazy thing I decided to start writing about this commercial might have otherwise slipped through the cracks like so many others. Instead it sunk deep into his subconcious, almost impercetibly and caused a knee jerk like reaction in his fingers forcing him to, cut - paste - send the link for all of us to enjoy.

Please, do so. :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/nissanusa

Dounts meet the Olympics, sort of...The KRISPY KREME CHALLENGE

In large part this site is fully dedicated to the local mom and pop shops and small local chains who still make our favorite dough balls with the same loving care that will cause most moms to whip up a batch of cookies to solve life's problems. However, when I heard that a large national chain was sponsoring a charity "Donut Race" to benefit the North Carolina Childrens Hospital, not only could I not comment, but I am seriously considering going down and participating next year. All of you should do the same.

Thanks to one of my gracious colleagues and loyal viewer,Vince Egan, (golf clap please) we may now share with you, THE KRISPY KREME CHALLENGE!!

Per their website: The KKC is an annual student operated race in Raleigh, North Carolina benefiting the NC Children's Hospital. Beginning in 2004 with a mere 12 participants, the race has grown exponentially to a whopping 5500 runners in 2009. The race has rapidly become one of NC State University's newest traditions.

Beginning at the NC State Belltower, each runner runs 2 miles to the Krispy Kreme store located on Peace St. in Raleigh. After downing a full dozen of the famous Krispy Kreme doughnuts, the runner must run the 2 miles back. All in one hour. (ok this is tough to do in one day let alone 1 hour)

The challenge attracts a wide range of runners from beginners to serious competitors hailing from all corners of the country. With an expected participation of 7,500 runners, we are expecting the 2011 race to be our greatest (and most beneficial) race yet.

http://krispykremechallenge.com/ourstory

This race made we wonder what similar events might be out there which we could snack upon. Note the question is not, are there other events? But, what other events, because this is America after all and we all know the truth is stranger than fiction; especially the donut truth.

Let's see we have:

The Tour de Donut - 20 Years strong
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/donuts-16095-tour-cyclists.html

The Donut Dash- a 5K
http://www.thegreatdonutdash.com/

The Dayton Donut Dash- 5K
http://www.active.com/running/dayton-oh/the-dayton-donut-dash-2010

The Donut Run- 5K
http://www.active.com/running/ames-ia/doughnut-run-donut-run-2009

And ironically the NYC Traffic Cop's Donut Run:

NYC Traffic Cop's Donut Run Ends Up on YouTube

Now, while my lovely hometown of Boston does not yet have such an acclaimed event, (we do have a marathon but they don't have donuts there) I am certain there are many other brave soles all over the global stretching, strapping on their running shoes and going for the gold..golden crispy donuts that is! Whether it's for charity, a dare, or just good clean competition, donuts are for the masses. HERE HERE! And keep em down boys!

Finally translated we give you The 10 Comandonuts or Donutments!!

Our loyal follower Oriana Camish was recently doing some behind the scenes detective work on those 10 edicts which were handed down to Moses by a burning bush and have become the cornerstone of Catholicism, otherwise known as "The Ten Commandments". She very astutely pointed out, "Can you read what is on those stones?" " No." I said...neither can Charlton Heston by the look of things:

Of course, being the investigative bunch that we are at the Donut Directory, we could not let our lack of understanding of "God Speak" or Hebrew for that matter, dissuade our quest for truth.

Hence, I present to you, for the first time in history, the real translation of the 10 Commandments, from now on to be known as " The 10 Commandonuts or Donutments (if you wish)"...

1. I am the Donut-Your God

2. You shall not worship fried dough that takes a form other than donut.

3. You shall not take the name of Donut in vain

4. Remember Sundays are holy-so thou shall eat holey Donuts.

5. Honor your father and mother by bringing them Donuts.

6. You shall not murder a Donut by letting it go to waste.

7. You shall not cheat on Donuts with pies, cakes or tarts!

8. You shall not steal another's Donut- get your own!

9. You shall not speak badly about your neighbors Donuts.

10. You shall not covet your neighbors Donuts, his wife’s Donuts his servants donuts etc.

Dough-men!

A regular Donut = 1 happy person :) A giant Donut = world peace??

There are rare opportunities in life where words just can't quite do justice to what a writer wants to convey. Fortunately, whenever this happens, we can lean on the old addage "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words". And, if an average picture is worth a thousand words, then a picture of a donut...well, that's a Mastercard commercial.

With that I give you the comic genius of the team at The Dog House Diaries. (Click on the comic to enlarge)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
http://www.thedoghousediaries.com/?p=278
 
Thanks be to god!

Elvis Discovered in Donut Factory...this story and more on Spoof.com

Every once in a while you might stumble across and idea or a story that makes you say, "Now why didn't I think of that?" Thankfully, the many individuals who contribute at Spoof.com, and the creators of the site, have come up with just such and idea; or several hundreds of these ideas.

The Spoof as an entity of the Blogosphere is described as, per their about section:

"...is one of the leading satire newspapers on the internet.

Providing an irreverent and satirical slant to the current big news stories throughout the world, bringing you more funny stories than you can shake sticks at. We rely entirely on our readers to submit stories to The Spoof. All the material on The Spoof is submitted online, welcoming all kinds of exciting ideas and style of writing and writers to publish their thoughts! Our editorial team (when not making coffee) work hard to give you the best response to your work."

Anyone who knows me knows I love to shake sticks at things; small animals, my grandmother, and of course funny stories. Nothing is safe. Now, all funny stick shaking aside, the best thing about the Spoof is that there is a whole section dedicated to Donuts, HUZZAH!



The "Donut" King

For example:

Elvis Discovered in Donut Factory

Recession hits doughnut business, cops distraught!

Donut throwing now legal

and of course...

Naked Man Found Wedged in Chimney

I know how much you were all begging for an image for that last headline, well too bad. Just sit back, kick up your feet, grab a donut and be glad that someone has the gusto to produce that wonderful gonzo journalism that makes you glad that the last time your were caught in a chimney trying to steal donuts you weren't naked. Or were you?

Donuts as bear bait...now hold on a minute here

One of the things that has never ceased to amaze me, while surfing around the net, is the strange things that can be found when entering a common search term in a site such as google or, in this case, craigslist.

Step back jack!

Last night while I was taking my usual craigslist stroll, for all manner of god-knows-what, I did the same thing I usually do when looking for interesting new donut trivia. I entered the word "Donut" in the search box. I then hit enter. To my surprise one of the first headings that popped up was a listing in New Hampshire for...wait for it... Dounts as bear bait!!! And up to 400lbs at that!

Now hold on a minute here. Not that I am denying any citizen their Second Amendment rights, or their interest in hunting if they choose to partake, but 2 very obvious issues arise immediately.

1- Using donuts as bait puts the "trapper" at a ridiculously unfair advantage. Hell, I bet they don't even need to use a trap. I mean really, like anything can resist a donut. I would practically let them trap me for a donut. All they need to do is back up the van, open the door, plug the travel fan into the cigarett lighter and let the aroma do the work. Before they know it they'll have the Bear Country Jamboree in the front seat.

2- Quantity: Where in the hell does the average individual get 400lbs of donuts for strewing around the woods willy nilly in the hopes of trapping some poor little creature defensless againts its yummy goodness. I sometimes have trouble getting a half dozen from my favorite shop because they are just so tasty that the human competition beats me to the punch; never mind the woodland creatures. Of course I can picture the scene. A 1985 Dodge Tradesman van slowly backs up to the local dunkin donuts at 2am and several buldging black trash bags are passed from the backdoor through the back of the van in a heave-ho montion. Minutes later there is a subtle chirp of the tires, a bottoming of the suspension under the shear weight and an unspectacular minor explosion of sparks as the rusty tailpipe hits the uneven pavement between parking lot and street. "Why can't they fix that driveway!?" The driver thinks as he pops asprin to stem his throbbing sciatic.

I expanded my search to Google and found that this is not only a widespread phenomenon in the Northeast but throughout the US and the world.

If you are looking for bear bait to buy simply visit: Days http://daysbearbait.com/products.html

here you will find everything Donuts to Pie Filling to Brownies and Granola. Simply see the following menu:

(Extracted from Days)

GRANOLA - in 55 gallon barrel- approximate weight 350 - 400 pounds.
DONUTS - donuts 55gallon barrel- 400lbs.+ .
BROWNIES - 55 gallon barrel- 400lbs.+
PIE FILLING- in 5 gallon pails- blueberry, strawberry, black cherry, key lime, honey almond and apple flavors.
MOLASSES- in 5 gallon pails

Or you can read the latest in Donut bait violators courtesy of the Huffington Post: "Andre Ciaravola Fined For Using Donuts As Bear Bait For Hunting" " http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KpM-MeZPd5sJ:www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/27/andre-ciaravola-fined-for_n_592172.html+donuts+and+bear+bait&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"

Or then there is the only article that made me feel somewhat better that my beloved dough ball was being used as a trappers treat, Courtesy of the Victoria Advocate: "Bear lured from tree with doughnuts after mom shot"

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/jun/04/bc-us-cub-rescued/?news&nation-world

I'm of the mind to call up Tappi Bear, the famed Donut Ninja, and let his donut fighting fury rain down supreme like chocolate sprinkles on all the heads of hunters who would stoop to the depths of luring unsuspecting bears, or unsuspecting people wearing bear suits who happen to be out in a remote section of the woods, with scrumptious donuts. Where's the justice!!?

Beignet? ...Why yes, thank you.

A beignet, which is French for "fried dough" in the U.S. is a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, or frostings. Versions of beignets are also popular as an appetizer, with fillings such as maple or fruit preserves.

In Las Vegas, there is one place that does the delectable French pastry like no other- Bouchon - the popular Venetian eatery opened by Thomas Keller (of French Laundry Fame).

While attending a recent conference for work I was cordially invited to brunch with several colleagues. Not expecting to find donuts, or their French cousin Beignet on the many foraging trips we partook of, I was shocked if not pleasantly surprised when the waiter asked..."Would you care to sample our Beignets?" Would I? Does a Dog want steak? Does a cat want tuna? Do we all need oxygen to breathe??? Why of course, thank you!

Upon our waiters return my colleagues, being a health conscious bunch, were at first hesitant to partake. However, the first bite was quickly preceded by a veritable stampede of fingers, knives and trail of miniscule crumbs.

Resembling the size, coloration, and weight of an Apple Cider donut, the Beignet’s slightly crunchy exterior is covered in a spiced sugar provided a perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The inner cake is light and fluffy. Ample side spreads of apricot and chocolate are provided for those who care for and extra tasty treat, or simply order the raspberry filled for one of the best little jelly donuts…I mean, beignets around. As we only ordered the cake on this trip, I'm looking forward to ordering a double of raspberry filled to compliment my espresso on the next visit!

Want great service and great Donuts?? Visit Linda's in Belmont!

For those of you who may be losing faith in quality products, and the job skills and customer service service of today's youth, you only need visit a place like Linda's to have it fully restored. As Sara explains...

Linda’s Donuts in Belmont rocks! I had the pleasure of dining at this wonderful little neighborhood spot this past weekend. I came in hungry and left full, happy and delighted! I would almost say I was astounded! The family running this shop could not have been nicer or more accommodating. I can’t remember the last time I saw counter staff being so polite and friendly. I wish I lived closer so I could see their smiling faces every morning! My world would be a better place.

I had French toast. Yummy. I had donuts. Really yummy! These donuts are so light and heavenly...some of the lightest cake donuts we have sampled. I tried a plain cake donut and a glazed donut stick. The cake donut didn’t take forever to chew or feel heavy in my mouth and was perfect for dunking. The glazed donut stick was melt in your mouth delicious! I arrived at the shop later in the morning so I didn’t have an opportunity to try any other flavors. Or so I thought!

I am a lover of lemon donuts. My man is a lover of jelly donuts. The guy behind the counter found this out and made us a lemon donut stick and a jelly donut stick on the spot! Well, all he had to do was fill em, but still, it was a very nice gesture and I couldn’t wait to gobble my lemony goodness up!

The whole feel of the shop made the experience so great. Everyone knew everyone else and although we were “outsiders” we were welcomed with open arms and served with a smile. Even after eating all those delicious carbs, I left feeling chipper and light and ready for a great day!

Be a Hero...Bring Donuts!

A very appropriate title as we have just returned from a Heroic motorcycle (basically an engine on 2 donuts) trip through the Northeast US, Canada and Michigan.

Note: when you come down from Canada, cross the Mackinaw Bridge, are craving the likes of homemade donuts and are greeted by the huge sign exclaiming DONUTS!!! Don't believe it. It's all a clever ruse to distract weary travelers into buying ice coffee and gas- no donuts to be found anywhere :(

We discovered that, in Michigan, sometimes it's best to look for what is less obvious, understated, and accompanied by fudge! Mackinaw Island and the Murray Hotel are just such examples.

For those unfamiliar with Mackinaw, it is the American island that has banned motorized vehicles for more than a century and remains a living Victorian community. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It served a strategic position amidst the commerce of the Great Lakes fur trade. This led to the establishment of Fort Mackinac on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the scene of two battles during the War of 1812. (courtesy of Wikipedia) As a means of commerce and catering to local sweet teeth, the native tribes created maple syrup and sugar candy, this evolved to the "Fudge Trade" ,as it were, and of course donuts; the exact evolution is still dependent on missing fossil remains.

The Murray Hotel, a Mackinaw landmark, boasts just such a fudge shop. The astute donuts hero may catch the small notation on the sign out front otherwise let the fudge lead the way inside. Venturing a bit further, just past all that delicious fudge (it's tough I know) will bring you to Murray's Deli where donut Heroes are welcomed with open arms. And, if you're especially lucky you might even run into Bob- the man who taught the Murray how to make their donuts "Crunchy". "I check em every day to make sure they're crunchy." Bob excitedly explained. "If they're not crunchy, they're not donuts!"

A mixture of ring shaped cake delights will greet hungry donut seekers. Rainbow sprinkles, glazed, and peanuts with chocolate (this tastes just like champ or drumstick) are among the many cake donuts to sample from. Bob might even through you an extra if they aren't quite as “crunchy” as they should be....but they are.

As far as I am concerned we need more heroes in the world and all heroes should bring donuts. Otherwise, what's the point? I mean sure you saved civilization, but now what? Imagine saving civilization…with donuts. When Superman's dedicated fans ask "Superman how can we ever repay you?" he would reply "No need...oh and by the way...donut?" Of course the raucous applause may cause sudden hearing loss in all surrounding geographies so for now we can stick with Murray's Deli.

Donut Stories...a Sunday School bribe

Donut Stories- these are the instances which introduced our donut followers to, well, donuts. The fond, sugar coated, cream and jelly filled memories that make experiencing a new shop all that much better. I don't know what I enjoy more, the first bite, or recounting the first bite to a newbie. I give you my better half..Sara :)
____________

My house never contained any kind of junk food. At least not within kid’s reach. Popcorn and a can of soda were reserved only for Saturday nights. Cookies and ice cream were for birthdays. Chips came from other friends at the lunch table. As a kid this is completely unreasonable. The house should be full of candy and snacks at all times for whenever I want them. Now, of course, I see that this kind of household has become more the norm with kids getting fatter and fatter. Thanks mom for not making me obese.

So, my childhood home held any kind of delicious, artery clogging trans or saturated fats out of kid’s reach. It was also a household where my younger brother and I went to church school every Sunday morning. I am not a morning person. Ask anyone who knows me. If I wake up before the sun; don’t come near me. Going to church on Sunday morning was usually the last thing I wanted to do and the best way for my parent’s to get me to go – a bribe. And what could the best possible bribe be for a sugar and fat deprived child?

A donut.

Now, that was pretty much the only thing that got me out of my warm bed early Sunday morning to go to church. After our, what seemed to be forever, one hour church school session, my father would take my brother and I to Lord’s department store across the street from the church where we were allowed one succulent donut. Almost every time I would get the sweet and sour lemon donut. Powdered sugar, light and chewy dough, then a deluge of cool, tart lemon custard. I loved these after church donuts. It became a tradition and now, a special family memory.

Donut bribes made church worth getting up for. And I could only assume that if I kept going to church, I would go to Heaven. And in Heaven, there were, of course, more donuts.

Congdon's "You'll Love Our Food or It's Free"...and donuts

When a restaurant makes this claim most dedicated foodies will either be suspicious or crowd in just to test its metal. However, when that restaurant also serves homemade donuts, it's more akin to a food free-for-all with 4 deep at the counter and a line out the door.

I give you Congdon's of Wells Maine.

This is a shop so steeped in the local culture that even a gas explosion, which literally blew it off the map, couldn't keep the donuts from the masses. With 30+ different donuts, fritters, and a Whoopie pie the size of a small trampoline; this place is fun for the whole family!

One this particular visit I brought the brother and nephew, who have now become die-hard fans. Note Ian's face, emotionless in mid-foodcoma, while Toby is alive with the glee of a 5 year old boy realizing he no longer needs to ask permission to buy another donut.

On this special morning the boys found themselves in quite the donut dilemma. Mike had ordered 2, Toby 2 (including a fritter), and Ian 2 + a half dozen (these were for later). The astute girl at the counter, who was much better at math than the three of us combined, said "Why don't you just get 3 more for a bakers dozen?" We three stood and stared in a complete daze. We knew she was suggesting we buy more donuts and somehow this might monetarily make sense however, between the brain cramping math and stomachs growling the only one thing we could determine for certain was that somehow we would be getting "MORE DONUTS". This, we grunted, was a good thing. That is of course until we sat down and Toby blankly stated..."Wait, how many donuts did we just buy?!!!" Thus ensued the trading session like that at the end of most trick-or-treats from back in the day; only now there's no Bit-O-Honey to off load on your little brother- these are donuts - and one things for certain...no matter how much coffee you haven't had, or whose got the quickest fingers, no one relinquishes a jelly stick from Congdon's without a fight!

Donuts...they have a spiritual side too

Brought to you by one of our loyal donut followers who is more interested in Boston Creams and Adobe Photoshop than his IT job...I give you the Donut Exodus.

It seems while driving a particular section of Route 93 this morning hundreds of innocent motorists where spellbound by the site of a scrumptious Boston Cream donut espousing mind freeing words of wisdom. These motorists, unaccustomed to having their AM drive so peaceable interfered with, opted to forego the remainder of their morning commute and swarm local donut havens like lemmings to the edge of a cliff.

Thanks Brett!

BACK DOOR DONUTS....

I love my daily Metro on the morning train ride into work...of course, I love it more when it's coupled with a donut. What's even one step better is when the paper squeezes in a story about a donut.

Who knew a summer travel story could so overtake me with glee that I couldn't help share with my donut loving cohorts? Granted having grown up on Cape Cod any respectable donut fanatic would excommunicate me for not having known about this sooner (I've only actually been to the Vineyard twice..shhh) but having been knee deep in academics in NH when the shop opened in 2001 I think a pardon is in order.

The Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery opened in April 2001. And its menu boasts everything from fruit square to wedding cake to fritters and of course- DONUTS! They boast 2 locations, Oak Bluffs and. But only the Oak Bluffs site, which has been been a bakery for as long as most Vineyarders can remember, sells donuts. The trick at MV Gourmet is to get to the back door at night , 9PM-12.30AM, boasts sign, for some fresh hot, melt in your mouth morsels. Benjamin Hart, Metro contributor went so much as to say..."Its specialty is the apple fritter, a confection so addictive it should be illegal."

Fortunately its not! Expect a full first hand report when I visit MV Gourmet later this summer.

National Donut Day....

As we just launched after the our namesake baked good had its national holiday we thought it only prudent to give a tribute and investigate a little more about this glorious event. Thank you Wikipedia!

National Doughnut Day began in 1938 as a fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. The goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression , and to honor the Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers. Soon after the US entrance into World War I, the Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France. The mission concluded that "huts" that could serve baked goods, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide a clothes-mending service, to serve the needs of US enlisted men. About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly-baked goods from these "huts" established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an "instant hit", and "soon many soldiers were visiting Salvation Army huts". Margaret Sheldon wrote of one busy day "Today I made 22 pies, 300 doughnuts, 700 cups of coffee."
A legend has spread that the provision of doughnuts to US enlisted men in World War I is the origin of the term doughboy to describe US infantry.To this day it is still a fund raiser run by The Salvation Army.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doughnut_Day#cite_note-Holey_holiday-0

Welcome to the Donut Directory!

To say that I love donuts is an understatement. Let's just say a donut in my hand is a new appendage. The more I go on and the more small donut shops I visit the more I learn that the world if full of people just like me; we love us some donuts and we're damn proud of the local heroes who keep the oil hot and the dough frying.

This blog is dedicated to finding those unsung local heroes that keep the shelves stocked 365, 24/7..or at least until the daily batch runs out. I don't mean Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, Krispy Kreme, Honey Dew, or any of the large corporate chains. This is dedicated to the mom and pops and the people who never want to be out of reach of a delicious little doughboy.