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October 7, 2007
Beignets - They're Not Just For Breakfast Any More
Jennifer and Allie persuaded me to cook beignets this morning. Actually, they made them. They made the dough, rolled it and cut it to size. I just run the deep fryer, mainly. I've seen kids in the burn ward before, and there's nothing sadder than that. So, that's where I draw the line. In any event, these two chirren scarfed down about four beignets each, which is sickening.
Probably one of the biggest disappointments of our trip to Paris was the Beignets and the Jambons. The Jambons in Ireland were actually better than the ones in France, and the Beignets were just ordinary donuts. Nothing like what they serve at Cafe du Monde. (I desperately wanted to get down to Portugal to sample the local Malasadas, but we ran out of time.)
I can hear Napoleon now, seated at Cafe du Monde, clutching a cup of chicory coffee, exclaiming through his big walrus-like front tusks, "I don't see how you kids eat that crap....It's too sweet."
Posted by Rob Kiser on October 7, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Comments
Are you gonna share the recipe? I've wanted to make beignets for a while. Since I've never been to New Orleans, and therefore never had Cafe du Monde's beignets, I have no idea what they should really taste like.
I'll be checking back here tonight, so I can make them tomorrow :-D
Posted by: Alice H on October 7, 2007 at 4:01 PM
Alice, buy beignet mix at grocery store and follow directions.. Happy eating.
Posted by: sl on October 7, 2007 at 10:39 PM
Alice,
I can’t find the beignet mix here in Denver area. I did once, but was a long time ago. Now, I order it online from Cafe du Monde, and they ship it to me. My recipe is somewhat different than what’s on the box. I've watched them make the beignets in New Orleans, and they don't roll them out nearly as thin as they say to on the box. Plus, since I'm at 7,500 ft, it's harder to get the beignets to rise(puff up) up here for whatever reason.
Beignets
I don’t use quite as much water as they call for. They say 2 cups of beignet mix and 7 fluid oz of water. I use only about 6 - 6 ½ fl oz.
At Café Du Monde, they make the beignets thicker than I normally do, so that’s probably why theirs puff up more. The directions say to make them 1/8� thick, but at Café Du Monde, they appear to be rolling them out at 3/8� or 1/4� thick.
Flour the counter and roll them out in flour with a rolling pin. I roll them out fairly thick...like 1/4", approx. Flour the knife to cut them into squares.
Fill a cast iron skillet with about 1"-2" of vegetable oil and heat the oil to 370 degrees F. Then, I turn it down to about medium high.
Throw them in and turn them when each side begins to brown slightly. If the planets line up just right, they'll puff up (rise) in the pan.
Remove them and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Be careful not to inhale when you're eating one, or you'll choke on the powdered sugar.
Enjoy!
Posted by: Rob Kiser on October 10, 2007 at 3:16 PM