Zeppole are an Italian style ball doughnut with more variations than one could count. They can be both sweet and savory, light and fluffy or dense and cakelike.

It seems that there is little zeppole can't be - including delicious. The dinner at Tenh Penh has proved to be particularly inspirational for recipes, for it is there that I had the most delicious doughtnut I've ever had in my life.

I should add right now that I have never liked doughnuts. I'm not typically a fan of much anything that's sweet, instead favoring savory preparations or a dessert with a strong sourness or bitterness - like this Meyer lemon tart. However, at Tenh Penh I ordered a doughnut dessert just because I wanted to see how they made them.

When they arrived they were piping hot, fresh from the fryer and coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture. I have never enjoyed a doughnut quite so much as I enjoyed those little beauties.

After returning home I was still itching to have another so I set out to find just the right type of recipe. I chose, instead of a yeast recipe, a doughnut leavened with baking powder. The addition of sour cream adds not sourness, but a creamy, underlying richness and a complexity of flavor that strays far from the flat sweetness of your typical maple bar.

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When TA and I went to DC for New Years we had the chance to dine at Tenh Penh with the MiL and sFiL. While the service could have used a little polishing, the food was particularly delicious. At the end of the meal, in lieu of the traditional fortune cookie, four gorgeous little cakes were dropped off at the table.

They were about the size of a half dollar and smelled gloriously of almonds. They were chewy and dense and sweet and ridiculously delicious. TA and I are both fans of Asian cuisine, especially any sweets made with mochiko, a glutinous rice flour.

First attempt - not enough liquid, too puffy, and not enough sugar or almond extract.I decided right then and there that I absolutely had to try and make these at home and after two failed attempts I finally succeeded. Although these would be even better if I had a mini-muffin pan, they are nevertheless satisfying.

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One of my favorite things about wintertime is the profusion of citrus fruits. I can stuff myself day after day with navel oranges, honey tangerines, ruby red grapefruits, clementines, blood oranges - you name it, I'll eat it.

I suppose, if nothing else, I'll never get scurvy.

That being said, I found myself with a few too many fruits the other day. I had forgotten about the five pound bag of oranges I'd bought one day and came home the next with an eight pound bag. That's a few too many for our house even.

After indulging in fresh squeezed orange juice for a couple days I decided to make a navel orange sorbet. However, even though my ice cream maker attachment was frozen solid and my sorbet base was chilled thoroughly, it refused to set up. I fell back on popsicles, but even then they weren't too my liking. The navel oranges just don't offer enough in complexity of flavor to make a satisfying frozen treat. Best eaten directly out of hand, or squeezed.

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These herald the end of my scallop flight and were, by far, my favorite preparation. A rustic recipe with bold flavors, the combination of heat, garlic, mushroom and tomato were cut perfectly by the buttery sweetness of the scallops.

This could be either an entree or appetizer, depending on the size and quantity of the scallops served. It would also be a bold amuse bouche, if one were inclined to plop it on a large spoon or into a shot glass.

Unlike the previous recipes, this one is not intended to play on the delicate flavor of the scallop - this one use the scallops inherent clean flavor to counter the piquancy of the sauce.

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