Fritters

I hate the word fritter. I don't remember if I was ever served fritters growing up, but it reminds me of a dish my dad's mother would have served me. Something that she would have, indubitably, deep fried in a cast iron skillet on an olive green stove, with a Newport sticking out of her mouth. A glamorous lady, my Granny was.

Is it just me, or is the word fritter not appetizing? I know. Fritter. And ok, get ready; put the word ricotta in front of fritter and it becomes even less appetizing, right? I'll work on coming up with a new name for this, BUT YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS!

I made them the other night with Rachel for dessert and they were fantastic.

First, heat about 32 ounces of oil (vegatable, sunflower, peanut) - the frying pan needs to be about 2/3 full - on medium to medium-low heat for about 20-25 minutes. Heating the oil slowly will keep the fritters (UGH! Hate that word!) from cooking too fast and burning.

Next, mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Whisk that well. In a seperate bowl, mix 1 cup whole milk ricotta, 2 eggs, 1 Tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract well. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and whisk well.

Once you've got it mixed well, drop by tablespoons into the hot oil.

Turn them over once or twice while in the oil. Let cook for 2–3 minutes depending on your preference of done-ness. Place them on a plate with a paper towel to drain off the extra oil.

Let them cool a little bit and sprinkle them with confectioners sugar.

Serve while they're still warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream and get ready for goodness in your mouth. I'm not kidding, the ricotta mixed with the lemon is so smooth, so fresh tasting. It doesn't taste heavy at all. They're so light and fluffy and DELICIOUS!! (Only one thing - make them kind of small. I used an icecream scoop instead of a Tablespoon and some of them weren't quite done in the middle.)

Next, enjoy some wine and American Idol and veg out on the couch!