Growing up my family had some holiday traditions that are considered strange by most of the people I know. Instead of turkey on Thanksgiving, we had chili and cornbread. Instead of ham on Christmas, we had Mexican food. I ended up marrying a guy who came from a family with 'normal' traditions. We're working on blending our traditions into something specifically ours, but we're still experimenting - next year we may try to do a Cajun turkey. I also want to do the traditional Thanksgiving meal in June or July just for giggles - it'd be fun to create our own holiday.
Anyway, today I'm writing about my hubby's favorite tradition - one which we have chosen to continue as often as possible. This one isn't just relegated to a holiday, it's for every holiday. And birthdays. And every now and then... just because.
Joe Frogs
What are those, you say? You might be more familiar with them than you think. In simplest terms, it's fried dough. They're similar to elephant ears or sopapillas. Hubby introduced me to these years ago and we've made them for breakfast on every holiday or special occasion since then. Almost every time I tell someone about them, they want to know how to make them. So here it is.
The process starts the night before because the dough has to rise. If you want to make your own dough that would work just fine, but it's super easy to use frozen dough from the store. We use Rhodes White Dinner Rolls most often. We've also used the loaves and we've used the Whole Wheat option too. All of it turns out just as yummy, so use whatever you prefer.
For two to four people, we use about half the bag of rolls. Grab a large bowl (metal preferably) and pour in the frozen dough. Cover the bowl with a clean towel or paper towels and set it in the warmest area of the kitchen - usually above the fridge.
By morning, the dough will be thawed and should be completely risen. You don't need to punch the dough down and let it rise again, it's ready!
The next step is put the oil in the pan and heat it up. We have an electric range and set the heat dial to 6. I have no idea what temperature the oil gets to - hubby has been doing this so long he's never needed a thermometer. In any case, let the oil heat up for about 10-15 minutes on medium.
To see if the oil is ready, poke a whole in the dough and tear off a small piece. Stretch it out so it's almost see through - when this is done it should be about the size of a quarter. Gently lay the piece of dough into the oil.Do NOT drop it in or you will be quickly covered in hot oil. If the oil starts gently bubbling around the dough, it is ready to rock.
Before you start, get out a clean bowl or serving tray and cover it with some paper towels.
Back to the bowl of dough, grab a piece of dough approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches around. Stretch the dough out so it's almost see through and again gently lay the dough into the oil. Depending on the size of your pan, you can do more than one piece at a time, but I don't suggest doing more than two as it will lower the temperature of the oil.
After a minute or so, use a slotted spoon (or tongs) to gently lift up the Joe Frog and check the bottom. When it is a golden brown, it is ready to flip over. Once the second side is done, use the spoon to remove the Joe Frog from the oil and set it in the paper towel covered bowl.
Repeat this process until all the dough has been cooked. If you notice that the dough is starting to cook too quickly or the oil is popping/splattering, turn the heat down.
Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 pkg of Rhodes White Dinner Rolls
1 32 oz bottle of vegetable oil
Equipment:
4 quart pan - or other pan to fry stuff in - could even use a Fry Daddy if that's how you roll
Slotted spoon/tongs/other implement of frying destruction
Paper towels
Large metal bowl (to let dough rise in)
Other bowl lined with paper towels, to serve Joe Frogs
These lovely things can be served with any number of toppings - fresh fruit, jelly/jam, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, honey, peanut butter, chocolate sauce... really whatever you want to put on them - it's bread - I've even seen someone make a ham sandwich using two of them.
You can serve them with whatever other breakfast food you want, too - eggs, bacon, whatever. In our household, we MUST have bacon. This year we discovered a super easy way to cook up the bacon without dirtying another pan and without cluttering up the cook top. We now do it in the oven. Super easy. And if you start this before dropping your first Joe Frog into the oil, you'll have a pile of Joe Frogs done just as the bacon comes out of the oven.
Line a pan with aluminum foil (not a requirement, but makes clean up a breeze). Lay the bacon on the pan. Put the pan in the oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees and turn it on. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off - presto - perfect bacon.
Now that you have Joe Frogs and bacon... grab a plate of food...
put your feet up and enjoy those Christmas gifts.
Because seriously... what could be cuter than this Pop! Bumble?
