Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
The Carbo King
I made beignets yesterday from this recipe.
Big, big hit with Wife and Boy. I rolled the dough out to one-quarter inch thickness, which yielded a hefty beignet. This was great for Jake since he liked the insides better than the crust; Karen would have preferred a less doughy beignet, so next time, I’ll roll some of the dough out to one-eighth inch for her. Jake preferred them without any sweetener at all. I liked them best with honey (the ones on the bottom of the pic — although you can hardly see the honey).
The recipe can easily make 40 – 60 beignets, depending on how thin you roll out the dough and how small you cut your squares. I divided the dough into four balls and froze three of them.
Key point: the oil has to be at the right temperature, 360F, so invest in a candy thermometer. And by the way, this dough would be terrific for pierogis.
How about the New York Times No-Knead Bread? Not nice-looking enough to take pictures of, I’m afraid, but the flavor and texture were great. I’m wondering what I did wrong. Perhaps, as Spocko suggested, I should have used fresh yeast. And maybe the fact I let it go 24 hours was a problem — the dough lacked oomph for that last rise. Still, the results were promising, and I intend to revisit No-Knead Bread sometime soon.
We had the bread with oxtail stew. I don’t think I’ve ever given you my oxtail stew recipe, so I’ll do that, too, sometime soon.
D.
I’ve seen several posts on the foodosphere that the No-Knead Bread doesn’t bake right for every one.
If you’re going to try again, why don’t you save some of the dough (maybe a quarter cup’s worth) and add it to the next batch? It’s supposed to add flavor.
Looks delicious! I have sent the no knead bread recipe to the chef to see what he makes of it. He loves bread. We had not seen the recipe. Thanks!
Would have been perfect, except it didn’t plump up in the oven as much as I would have liked. Not as flat as a ciabatta, but not a nice domed loaf, either. But the flavor and texture were excellent.
hmm…i wonder how those beignets would hold up to being shipped across the country–can you say “care package”? 😀
yummm…
I have dreams about getting back to New Orleans for th coffee and beignets. Yum! Cafe du Monde sells their beignet mix as well as their coffee/chicory mix.
Next time, use powdered sugar. Half the fun of beignets is wearing the dusting of sugar on your shirt. 🙂
That IS powdered sugar! On the top ones. The bottoms got honey.
Sadly, Shaina, these sorts of things go stale within hours. You wouldn’t be impressed.
The first and only time I ever ate these things was in New Orleans. Feh! I was not impressed; I guess they are an acquired taste.
Marilyn Mallow (remember her?) had raved about them to me going on and on about how heavenly they were and how you could see your footsteps in the powdered sugar at these places that sold nothing but beignets. To use a cliche, she made them sound better than sex. They weren’t.
Was Marilyn Mallow the librarian? It’s a vaguely familiar name.
No food is better than sex. The attraction of beignets: FRESH BREAD! FRIED! Yummy.
We make fried dough for X-mas morning with similar toppings. I guess I’m a bit more Carnival than Bayou.
Fried dough rules. I want to use this recipe to make pierogis. Soon!
Yes, Marilyn Mallow was the librarian.
So then you’d probably like that fried dough they make in Amish country. Spaetzel? I mutilated the spelling on that. It’s like ropes of fried dough. Actually, I have always had a soft spot for fritters.
My late ex-MIL was Hungarian, and made spaetzel (pronounced shpetz-la in her house). Her recipe called for eggs and flour, beaten vigourously for longer than my arms could manage. She had a thing like a giant garlic press that she put the batter in, squooshing it into boiling water. Delicious with anything stewish.
Dean and I had beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans, and I loved them. I’ve never tried making them, though – I prefer my mom’s homemade donuts.