Fried Elephant Ears with Cinnamon & Sugar

     I moved from the Bronx to a quaint little town in Pennsylvania back in 1990.  Culture shock is an understatement.  For each thing that I missed about city life there was something I was grateful for in the country.  And somewhere between the two, oddly enough, there was the derby.  While living in the city my folks and I discovered the Westchester County Fair and one of the featured events was the demolition derby.  This quiet and shy little girl was hooked instantly at the concept of screaming for people to smash cars up on purpose. 
    We attended the first West End Fair and derby the very summer that we moved here.  Looking back I wish I had a photograph of our group for each year.  It was a who's who of the people in our lives in that given year.  Friends and family joined us on those special nights.  The crowd has grown and dwindled and was always changing.  My Mom would order the tickets in advance...always getting several extra for the person that might be around to join us.  Several years back her body no longer allowed her to climb the bleachers and she stayed back at home.  I would bring her the turkey bbq we lived for in a plastic container.  Then babies came.  My children have grown up with this same annual tradition.  Through the years the need for the girl to scream at the cars smashing into one another has only grown.  Last night it was probably needed the most.  The derby did not disappoint.  I am off on a tangent aren't I?  Guess I needed to tie in the beloved derby somehow.  Ok, ok....so I had my turkey bbq.  I grabbed the 3 for $7 popcorn that I nervously dig into the whole time I watch.  I had my traditions.  I needed something new before the derby began.  21 years folks...it's not that easy...the fair is not that big. 
     Elephant Ears were my Mom's thing.  I didn't understand why she needed to eat fried dough with cinnamon...but then again I also weighed quite a bit less back then.  Yesterday as I thought about my new thing she whispered it to me.  This vendor specializes in just that one item.  They have different toppings...one was "puddin' toppin'".  I went with the tried and true cinnamon and sugar but had them throw some apple topping on one half.  It was utterly delicious.  It was a great dessert and a little shout out to my Mama all in one gulp.