IDEAS IN FOOD

Friends Who Forage

...and share their harvest are the very best kinds of friends. Finding edibles in the woods is not my forte, fortunately Judy and Andy are very good at it and gave us some beautiful ramps. Thanks guys!

 

In order to preserve the harvest I considered making them into pickles or kimchi. Because I didn't plan ahead, I didn't have exactly what I need for either, so I improvised. Oddly, I had no gochugaru in the house but I had a new bottle of Sriracha powder. I didn't have any fresh garlic either, so having that in the seasoning powder worked out. I made a marinade using equal parts white balsamic vinegar (out of rice vinegar too) and water, seasoned with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of Sriracha powder, 1 tablespoon of shoyu and a teaspoon of salt. It was nicely balanced, though in retrospect a splash of fish sauce would have been a nice addition, hitting all the different parts of my mouth and complementing the unique garlicky green flavor of the ramps.

 

I cut the ramps into the marinade, mixed it all together and packed it into a mason jar to do it's thing. They are not quite pickles and not quite kimchi, and, hopefully, the end result will be something very delicious. Time will tell.

What's Happening Right Now?

 

As I write this, Alex is torching a table top to create a single black table for the shop. It's made from the recycled bowling alley wood. Once he's done we're going to coat the wood and let it's natural beauty shine through. 

Those of you who frequented the Spring House location will be happy to hear that Cynthia is returning as our Chef. We are very excited to have the team back together again. We have a lot more room to play in the new space and we're so glad that she's here for it.

Things are slowly coming together. The outdoor signs have been approved by the township and ordered. The floors will be finished sometime next week. And, as you can see in the picture above, the counters are taking shape. It's going to be a mad dash to the finish line and we are ready for the challenge. 

You've got less than one week left to take advantage of any rewards you're still thinking about. Please share the Kickstarter campaign with anyone who you think might enjoy it. We look forward to seeing you all at the new shop!

-Aki & Alex

Let's Keep Moving Forward

This is a re-post of the recent update on our Kickstarter campaign.

Together, you have helped us reach our Kickstarter funding goal in 4 days. That is incredible. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has reached out, spread the word, donated, and continues to believe in us, in Curiosity Doughnuts, and in changing the world with doughnuts. You all are making it happen.

Now we have the opportunity to continue fundraising. Though the numbers exceed our original goal, they still have a purpose. The additional funding allows us to integrate aesthetic details and acquire equipment that are considered part of Phase Two of Curiosity Doughnuts. And, some of the funds beyond the goal will be destined for the “Oh S**t fund” for the unexpected and unplanned for costs of opening a new shop. We work hard to be prepared and know to expect curveballs, because there are always new and interesting challenges when dealing with buildings and businesses. Like discovering that your building is built on a concrete slab and the only way to realistically (due to budget and time constraints) add new drains is to get a pump to pipe the wastewater up the walls and through the ceiling to the existing drains.

Now we have 16 days to exceed our goal and make magic happen. Let’s see what’s possible and keep moving forward.

Thank you for all your support, interest, help, and passion for doughnuts.

-Aki & Alex

 

FYI, the Kickstarter Campaign is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akikamozawa/curiosity-doughnuts-the-new-shop

because for some reason the links in the post refuse to work...

 

Curiosity Doughnuts, The Kickstarter

After months of searching, we finally signed a lease. We are opening a new Curiosity Doughnuts at 800 Edison Furlong Rd, Furlong, PA (Doylestown Township). We are so excited, and to help get things up and running, we've launched a Kickstarter. We can't wait to get back into the kitchen and make doughnuts (and fried chicken sandwiches!) again. Please check out our campaign, share it if you like it, and we hope to see you at the new shop in January 2023.

 

Quick, Easy, Super Delicious Benne Wafers

Benne or sesame seeds have a long history in the United States. The seeds were brought over by enslaved Africans, grown in hidden gardens, and eventually planted throughout the South. These days we mostly see sesame seeds in Asian dishes and on hamburger buns, but benne wafers are still a very popular cookie throughout the South.

 

 

I did not grow up eating these cookies. As a kid, I occasionally got to try sesame candies at parties. They were little brown logs and as you sucked on them the seeds came apart. They were crunchy and nutty, but I thought of them as candies for adults. They were a last resort candy, if there nothing better to eat. Fast forward quite a few years and the idea of roasted sesame candy is much more appealing. Roasted sesame cookies, even more so. These cookies have the soul of those candies in little round crispy bites of joy.

 

 

Southern benne wafers are a classic cookie. They come together quickly because the dough is made with melted butter and stirred together. I amplified the flavor by melting the butter with the sesame seeds, toasting them along with the milk solids until they were golden brown and fragrant. This extra step made all the difference. You can cook them cookies until they are just set and golden brown around the edges, for slightly softer, but still crunchy caramel-ly cookies or you can bake them a bit longer until they are a deep golden brown all over for crunchier cookies with notes of toffee underscoring the sesame flavor. Either way, they are delicious. The recipe makes 3 dozen and I tend to cook half of them each way, so I have an abundance of each.

 

These are generally made with white sesame seeds, but black seeds also work, you just need to pay attention to your nose when you're browning them in the butter. I also like to swap out 1/4 cup of chia seeds for an equal amount of sesame seeds. I like the flavor and texture that they add. But, don't blame me if you eat too many.

 

Benne Wafers

Makes 3 dozen

 

4 ounces unsalted butter

3/4 cup sesame seeds (sometimes I sub. in 1/4 cup chia seeds because I like the contrast)

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

1/2 cup all purpose flour

 

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Put the butter and sesame seeds in a medium pot set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the seeds are a pale golden brown and the milk solids are fragrant. The butter will melt and then foam as you stir. When the foaming dissipates, you are usually done. Remove from heat immediately to prevent the solids from burning and transfer the seeds and butter to a medium sized heatproof bowl. Add the dark brown sugar and salt and stir with a silicone spatula until all the sugar dissolves. Add the egg and stir quickly to incorporate. Add the vanilla and mix to blend. Finally, add the flour and stir until it forms a thick batter. Then set it aside for at least 5 minutes to hydrate and thicken.

Line your sheet pans with parchment paper and use a small sorbet scoop or a teaspoon to portion the dough. Drop scoops of the dough 2 inches apart on the sheet pans. Bake for 12-13 minutes until golden brown around the edges for classic benne wafers of for 14-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown for crunchy benne wafers. Let cool for 5-7 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Mayo Marinated Five Ingredient Fried Chicken, Plus Vegetables

 

Okay, so fried chicken is a thing that lots of us have played with over the years. Recently, I saw our friend, Kenji, post about updating his 5 ingredient fried chicken recipe, swapping pickled jalapenos for his pickles in the recipe. He was smitten with his swap. I can agree with the move, as we did our pretzel crusted fried chicken with cherry pepper caramel sauce for years. The spice is nice.

 

 

I love the idea of simple, but, as anyone who knows me knows, I will make simple hard. My one hang-up with the 5 ingredient fried chicken sandwich is the lack of mayonnaise on the bun. Then it dawned on me. We could create a brine blending mayonnaise and cherry pepper brine. (We made a second version using giardanera, for those who aren't feeling the spice.) We scored our chicken and put it in a zip top bag with the mayo brine and refrigerated it overnight. The following morning we dredged the thighs, dripping in thick brine, in self rising flour seasoned with salt. We refrigerated the coated chicken on a parchment lined sheet pan for 6-ish hours (you could also leave it overnight and prep a day ahead) and then fried it at 375°F for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. We seasoned the fried chicken with salt.

 

 

While I fried the chicken, Aki chopped up cherry peppers and giardanera and added them to two separate containers of heavy mayonnaise to make tangy condiments for the buns. This way we could match the mayo to the brined chicken thighs.

 

 

We toasted our buns, in this case they were brioche-esque, and smeared the appropriate mayo onto the buns. Then we added sliced tomatoes and romaine leaves along with the chicken. We could have just put the chicken on the bun with the mayo to stay true to the 5 ingredients. But why stop there? We wanted to explore and enjoy. The 5 ingredient mayo model is magnificent. The final addition of fresh vegetables, a slaw or something else bright is a no-brainer in our kitchen.

 

 

You could definitely taste the difference between the two brines. The chicken had a great tangy flavor with a hint of spice. The crust was tender and crispy, while the meat was juicy and flavorful. And if you were wondering, a kimchi-mayo version is next on the list.

One more idea to explore and expand upon, what flavor is your mayo? There is such a variety of delicious condiments on grocery shelves these days, both spicy and smoked, that it's easy to add yet another layer of flavor without increasing the size of your ingredient list.

 

Ingredient Guidelines:

 

Brine:

100 grams mayonnaise

100 grams cherry pepper (GIardinara, kimchi, pickle, etc.) brine

 

6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs scored

Self Rising flour seasoned with 1% salt

Chopped Cherry Peppers (or whatever pickled vegetable was in the brine)

Mayonnaise

Toasted Buns

*sliced and salted tomatoes

*lettuce leaves

Down the Rabbit Hole

 

Roughly 7 years ago Curiosity Doughnuts began with a question, "What can we do with doughnuts?" The answer is still being written. Curiosity Doughnuts gets its name from our own restless curiosity. We are always thinking about new flavors and textures, bouncing around different ideas, and rotating our offerings, because we’re never satisfied with the status quo.

Curiosity Doughnuts began as a part time passion project in the Stockton Market that grew into a full time business with shops inside Whole Foods Market and beyond. We were moving from NH back to PA and we wanted to try something new. The idea of doughnuts came up, then a space magically appeared, and the rest is history. Our history began with Alex making a ridiculous 14 hour round trip commute each week for seven months while we sold our house and made the actual move and a whole lot of skepticism from everyone we knew. We’ve built a flourishing small business that makes people happy. Our goal is always to make people happy with doughnuts. We strive to do that every day we are open.

Our customers are the most important ingredients in our success. They are smart and inquisitive. They talk to us, asking questions, and sharing thoughts. We appreciate every one of you. It’s been such a pleasure to share our doughnuts with the world.

We have the best staff ever. We couldn’t have developed, shared, and eaten so many delicious doughnuts without them. Whole Foods Market has been a solid base of operations. They gave us the opportunity to share their space and we have met many incredible people throughout our relationship with them.

Curiosity Doughnuts has come to a crossroads and we are choosing to go off-road. The last seven years have been incredibly delicious, creative and inspiring. They have also taken their toll. We are hitting pause and shutting down our current locations. Our last day at Native Café will be Saturday, June 25. Princeton will be Sunday, June 26. White Horse Coffee will be July 1. Our final day will be at Spring House on Sunday July 3.

Change is necessary and we are embracing that. We are brainstorming new ways to bring the doughnuts back, but it’s a work in progress. Any new developments will be posted here and on social media. So keep an eye out. You never know where the rabbit hole will lead us…

Curiosity Doughnuts: Six Years and

We opened Curiosity Doughnuts six years ago this weekend. I look back at what we were doing and how we did it. It was difficult and exhilarating. It was unknown. Six years later and our days still feel the same. Except now we have a few more doughs under our belts and have developed a unique style. Not knowing and being constantly curious has allowed us to discover, create and evolve. Thanks you to our incredible staff and passionate customers for keeping us moving forward.