_edited.jpg)
Its week four, but honestly kind of feels longer... or is that just me? I was a big Katie fan from the beginning, but last week just sealed it for me. Watching almost every girl dig into Sarah with about as much empathy as a bridge troll was pretty difficult to watch, especially since they'd done it more than once throughout the episode. Katie did what I wish more people did on this show, tried to empathize before judging, which I, and many other viewers from what I've seen, truly applaud.
On a lighter note, was anyone else shocked to hear Chris Harrison's book is a lot more "intense" than we all expected? And does anyone else want to hear the full, bleepless stories from that group date? I also admired Serena P's one-on-one date if only because those interrupting donkeys were damn entertaining. The only thing that truly bugged me was how production could supply a plane for one date, but couldn't even secure a board for the cheese on this one...
Moving on to this upcoming episode, trying to figure out what was going to happen without actually spoiling the week was NOT easy. Every commercial and release was basically the same: Coming up next week, sparks will fly, new girls arrive, tension comes to a head... but how? You'll have to watch to find out—or, as it turns out, research like a mad woman on a mission.
After some sleuthing, I found a post that said this week's dates include a boxing competition (apparently regular season canon at this point, but if the photo of Wells means he's announcing, I'm cool with it) and something called Fall in Love Fest. After finding that most of my boxing related recipe searches yielded results for Boxing Day rather than actual boxing, I turned my attention to what I can only assume to be some sort of 'festival'. I have always been a huge fan of fairs and carnivals, so festival food is not only something I've been wanting to try making for a while—I still have a cotton candy machine waiting to break out of my closet—but a genre I also very much enjoy chowing down on.
And what's more iconic to festivals than funnel cake? The recipe I found could not have been easier. I know most "easy" recipes say that you should have all the ingredients you need at home already, but for this one, as long as you've baked anything in the past few weeks, it's probably true. And for those of you who are probably thinking this is more fried than baked, I'm ignoring you; all's fair in love and food.
It's literally just eggs, milk, sugar, flour and baking soda (plus whatever you decide to top it with). Mix it up and add it to a Ziploc bag, then get your oil frying nice and hot (about an inch or two). Once the oil is ready, cut a small-ish hole in one corner of the Ziploc bag—with the corner side up so it doesn't start spilling out all over your floor. Hold the bag over the oil and let it fall out, moving it around to create a random pattern. Leave it frying for about a minute on one side (until golden brown), then flip and do the same on the other.
You'll probably want to let some of the oil seep out of the cake, so when you take it out, let it sit on a paper towel for a minute or two while you fry up the others. Then transfer to a plate, top with whatever you'd like and dig in! I went with a classic powdered sugar topping, but played it up with another favorite carnival staple, caramel corn. Let me tell you, it was a great choice.
The fried dough and sugar combo bring back memories of every fair, amusement park, and carnival I've gotten funnel cake at before and the caramel corn was a fun and surprising added texture and flavor point. I also learned, after botching my first one by making too big a hole in my Ziploc, that the batter lends itself to some easy, quick, soft and pillowy doughnuts should you want to experiment with that option.
I have no clue what The Bachelor actually has planned for Fall in Love Fest, but if funnel cake and caramel corn aren't involved, I'm happier here on my couch with my carnie food. I'm loving this food-based interpretation and hope you do too!
Comentários