Tantalizing Grilled Glazed Donuts [PHIL-OSOPHY]

I was so happy to hear that Ma's Donuts is going to reopen in New Bedford, sometime this year, by the younger generation of the wonderful Lemieux family, whose decades of hard work turned the iconic donut shop into a destination stop-off.

The news also reminded me of the University Restaurant, directly across from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, during a time in my life when Mary Hopkin would sing, "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end."

Before then, I had never heard of 3.2 beer, that you could purchase if you were only 18 years old. I also had never heard of grilled glazed donuts topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream, slowly melting into the toasty, caramelized donuts, sliced sideways so you'd get two circle-shaped halves.

You ought to try grilling some for a fabulous and easy dessert. Oh, I didn't tell you that I'd wash it down with a "hot chocolate float" at about 3:15 a.m., concluding a very long night.

So for the weekend, I thought I'd give you this mouth-watering idea: if you're ever stuck with leftover glazed donuts, don't throw them out. Cut them into one-inch pieces and freeze them. When you accumulate about six cups' worth, make an easy, glazed donut bread pudding that will tug at your heartstrings.

All you do is place the donut chunks into a one-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter over the top and lightly mix it. Then simply take four eggs slightly beaten with two cups of milk, a half-cup of sugar, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Pour this mixture over the top of the donuts and let them soak it up for five minutes, making sure all the chunks have sopped up some of the mixture. Cover that baby with foil and bake it in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes, remove the foil and finish baking the delicacy for an additional 25 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, and then send me your love letters!

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.