Seriously, is there anything better than a hot beignet, covered in powdered sugar , puffy and a tad crispy, fresh from the oil? Like gumbo, boiled crawfish and stuffed mirlitons, NOLA does it best.
I live in a "next door to LA" state. And while turducken, stuffed chickens, gumbo, etc. are on my menu all the time, I haven't ever tried to make a beignet. I reviewed every last recipe, and yes, even the one on the box, and it was a real trial and error thing. I think New Orleans girls are very adventurous in their culinary skills. But this one involves a candy thermometer, a special peanut oil, a frying basket, and if you are smart, a protective glove and some flour to throw on the fire you could create.
My first batch look like tired little brown roofing shingles. But I dusted them with powdered sugar and ate one anyway. The next batch was a little thicker and puffed up a bit, but seemed a touch gummy inside. No one wants to eat paste. Well, over the age of 4.
Not to be deterred, I thickened it up a little more and VOILA! and TaDa. Perfect.
What brought this up was a friend from Seattle who texted me "where is the best beignet in NO?"
So I contacted the 5 people I text regularly who are still in New Orleans- and I got 5 different answers. One said "Cafe du Monde but ONLY at City Park", another said "Cafe du Monde but only downtown".
Etc. So obviously, New Orleans is still in the beignet business big time. And I wish they'd open up here.
Prayers for East Tennessee and North Carolina-- I guess Katrina didn't teach FEMA much, did it?
