Coffee, Donuts, and Cayenne Pepper

Sometimes I observe comments (on other websites) from grumpies who are sick and tired of seeing pictures of other people’s food.  I like seeing good pictures of good food, and so I will continue to post pictures of what I feel fits into that narrow description.

For example, here is a good picture of good food.  Is this picture going to hang on the walls of the Guggenheim?  No!  Will it auction at Christie’s for a bazillion dollars?  Never!  It does, however, capture the mood of the food, and it makes you want to reach in and grab one.  Doesn’t it?  Even a Grumpy would want one of these.

I like sweets, and I like treats.  For Christmas, Santa gave me a Nespresso Citiz.  I LOVE my Citiz.  Here are all the reasons why:

- It’s beautifully Bauhaus, fire-engine red
- It makes a perfect cup of coffee with foam
- It streamlines the coffee-making process
- There are no messy grinds or filters to clean
- A cup of Nespresso made at home costs a lot less than a Peet’s made at Peet’s.

Almost right away, I discovered that morning cups of Nespresso SCREAM for a baked breakfast accompaniment. 

Hello, donuts.

Before Santa even left the North Pole, I ripped this recipe from the Wall Street Journal  (Lo!  A recipe in the Wall Street Journal!), which features two donut recipes from "Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped," by Stephen Collucci with Elizabeth Gunnison Dunn.

I followed the baked version word for word, and it worked perfectly.  My only comments are:

1. Double the recipe, because there is no way you are going to eat just one at a time, and you will definitely want to give some away.
2. Double dip on the glaze, which I highly encourage, and there is plenty of it with the measurements as listed.

I did a double take on the list of spices that go into these donuts.  It’s long, and it includes cayenne pepper.  (Lo!  Cayenne pepper in a donut!)  Cocoa powder, espresso powder, molasses, honey, it’s all in there, plus more.  Still, they are easy to make and quick to bake.

And oh my, they do taste good.  Incredibly moist and full of flavor, they are THE perfect pairing with a fresh and frothy lungo.