Lemon Curd
Lemons are in season and it is a perfect time to make lemon curd. Lemon curd is such a versatile dish. It’s a sort of lemon pudding and can be served plain, or with a dollop of whipped cream. It is also great in trifle or served as a topper for any number of cakes and sweet treats. I especially like to make lemon curd to serve with scones. It is also really nice served with berry shortcakes.
It is easy to make and packed with fresh lemon flavor. Lemon curd is just a few ingredients, cooked over low heat until it thickens up. You can make a batch in under 10 minutes. The longest part of the prep time is just waiting for it to cool down after cooking.
So here is the recipe for the lemon curd. If you never made your own- you might want to give it a try. Certainly worth the effort.
Lemon Curd
1/2 c. lemon juice
zest from one good sized lemon- you should have 2-3 teaspoons
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
6 T. unsalted butter- cut into little cubes
In medium saucepan combine all ingredients. Whisk the mixture until the eggs are well blended. Cook over medium low heat, whisking often, until the mixture thickens. This will take 5-7 minutes. Whisk more often as mixtures warms and starts to thicken. Better to heat over lower heat and take longer than over too high a heat. You don’t want the eggs to scramble. Once the mixture is thickened , transfer to a bowl or jar. Cover the surface with a piece of plastic wrap to keep the surface from developing a skin- like any pudding will do. Chill until ready to use. Makes about 2 cups. Will keep in fridge a week or two.
Ham and Swiss Bread
These stuffed breads are always fun to serve. Friends were coming over to work on a jigsaw puzzle. I wanted a dinner that would be easy to eat.
I have made a number of versions of this bread. Ham and Swiss is one of my favorites. You can add all sorts of fillings. I made a sauce to spread on the dough, before adding the ham and cheese. I used a combination of mayo, mustard, honey and horseradish. My friends loved it. Alos feel free to swap out a different cheese.
Here is the recipe with directions for using quick rising yeast or regular dry yeast.
Ham and Swiss Bread
3 ¼ c. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 package quick-rising yeast
1 c. hot water
1 T. oil
Dressing
2 T. mayonnaise
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. honey
1 T. horseradish
Fillings
8-10 oz. thin sliced ham
4-6 oz. sliced Swiss cheese
oil
Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Combine dressing ingredients. Spread dressing down center middle of dough. Top with meat slices and cheese. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Pinch last strips to seal. Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with oil or melted butter, if you like. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.
Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are Reuben, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, Spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, pizza, assorted fillings. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move. Use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.
If you want to use regular yeast (not quick rising) use warm, rather than hot water. Also, don’t let dough rise over boiling water. After kneading, cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.
Cooking with Oranges
Winter is citrus season. Oranges and other citrus fruits are abundant this time of year. I love them. I love the tiny Mandarins, the big navels and the seedy, but oh so juicy, Temples. I am content to just peel and eat any of them, any time.
You can do a lot more with oranges than just eating them fresh or juicing them. Oranges can be added to both sweet and savory dishes. We use lemons and limes in cooking all the time, why not cook with oranges?
I have put together some of my favorite recipes using oranges. I’ve even including recipes to use the peels!! Enjoy!!
Orange Broiled Salmon
2 large oranges
4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven’s broiler. Slice, peel, and pith oranges; slice crosswise into 1/4 inch rounds. Season fillets with salt. Place salmon fillets on broiling pan. Place the pan of fillets 4 to 6 inches from heat. Cook for 15 minutes under the preheated broiler, or 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Remove from broiler just before they are cooked through. Sprinkle with vinegar. Arrange orange rounds on top. Sprinkle with green onions and cracked black pepper. Broil 1 minute longer. Serves 4.
Orange Kissed Chicken
1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon oil
3 onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and sauté for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add juice, broth, salt and pepper. Stir all together. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Serves 4.
Orange Vinaigrette
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
In a medium bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, orange juice, orange zest and mustard. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to one week. Great on mixed greens or on chicken or seafood salad.
Hot Cranberry-Orange Punch
2 quarts cranberry juice cocktail
3 cups orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 pinch salt
2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
In a 4 quart or larger slow cooker, combine the cranberry juice, orange juice, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon sticks. Stir to dissolve sugar. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours. Turn heat to low and keep warm for serving. Or heat on stove in saucepan. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes before serving. Serves 10-12.
Orange Tea Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs (egg substitute optional)
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Syrup
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-1/2″x4-1/2″x2-5/8″ loaf pan. Line pan with wax paper or parchment and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, butter and orange zest. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, and stir mixture until well combined. Transfer batter to loaf pan, smoothing top, and bake in oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. While the bread is baking, combine orange juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat while stirring, and simmer for 1 minute. Keep syrup warm. Make holes in top of bread with a thin wooden skewer and drizzle with syrup. Let stand in pan until cool. Makes 1 loaf.
Whole Orange Liqueur
3 oranges, unpeeled, cut into wedges
½ lemon
3 whole cloves
3 cups vodka
1 c. sugar syrup
Combine fruit, cloves and vodka in jar. Vodka should cover fruit. Steep 10 days. Strain and filter. Add sugar syrup and mature 3-4 weeks. Makes 4 cups. Note: Sugar syrup is made from 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cool. You will have 1 cup of syrup.
Orange Peel Liqueur
Peels only from 4 large oranges, scraped and cut into chunks
3 cups vodka
1 c. sugar syrup, see note
Remove all traces of white from orange peels. Mix peels and vodka and steep 2-3 weeks. You can use more peels for stronger flavor. Strain and filter and add sugar syrup. Let mature a week. Makes 4 cups. Note: Sugar syrup is made from 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cool. You will have 1 cup of syrup.
Orange Beef Sauce
1-1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef (turkey or chicken would also work)
1 T. olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
½ c. chopped onion
¼ c. grated carrot
½ c. orange juice
1 c. beef, chicken or vegetable stock
½ t. caraway seeds
½ t. orange peel
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
¼ c. water
2 T. cornstarch
Brown meat in oil until no longer pink. Drain and place in Dutch oven with the vegetables Cook until onions are tender. Add remaining ingredients, except water and cornstarch and simmer, covered, 30-60 minutes. Five minutes before serving dissolve cornstarch in water and add to sauce to thicken. Cook until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve over pasta.
Citrus Sugar
1 c. sugar
1 T. orange, lemon, lime or tangerine peel
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. allspice
Mix all ingredients and place in pie pan. Place in a preheated 200 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Cool sugar before storing in airtight jar or you can powder the sugar in a blender for 10 seconds or so before storing. Use in tea, on sugar cookies, on toast and bagels or with fresh fruit and yogurt.
Note: you can also make a citrus mint variation by combining sugar with citrus peel and 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves, omitting other flavorings. This sugar is great in lemonades and iced teas.
Orange and Oatmeal Scones
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup very cold, unsalted butter – cut into chunks
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
2 t. grated orange peel
1 cup raisins – plumped and well dried
Glaze
milk, sugar, orange zest
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (double two sheets if you have them – one inside the other). Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large bowl, place flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and mix together. Cut or rub in butter to make a mealy mixture. Stir in egg and orange juice. Add orange peel and raisins. Mix to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes. Roll or pat out into a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a serrated cookie cutter cut into disks or rounds. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar and orange zest. Bake until nicely browned – about 14 minutes. Makes about 24.
Chocolate-Orange Scones
1 1/2 c. baking mix, like Jiffy or Bisquick or homemade
1 T. grated orange peel
3/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips or 3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
Combine baking mix and orange peel in medium bowl. Stir in cream to make a soft dough that forms into a ball in the bowl. On floured surface gently knead in chocolate and press or roll dough to 3/4- inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/4 -inch rounds, re-rolling scraps. You should get 8. Place on and ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
Double chocolate version: Knead 3 tablespoons of cocoa into dough with the chocolate chips.
Orange and Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
8 chocolate graham crackers
3 T. butter, melted
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
½ c. sugar
2 t. orange zest
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
4 or 5 mandarin oranges
4 T. sugar
3 T. water
Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Set aside. Crush graham crackers into crumbs- you should end up with about a cup of crumbs, or a bit more. Place crumbs in small mixing bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs, and toss to distribute the butter evenly. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of the crumb mixture into each of the paper lined muffin tins. Press firmly on the crumb mixture. I used the bottom of a small glass to press the crumb mixture down. Set aside. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, zest and vanilla for 1 minute with electric mixer. Beat in the eggs until just mixed in. Divide this mixture in the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees. While cheesecakes are baking, prepare oranges. Peel oranges and break apart into segments (sections). You will need 36 segments in all. In small pan, boil together sugar and water for two minutes. Place orange segments in a small bowl and pour the sugar syrup over them, tossing gently to coat. Set aside to cool down. Place three orange segments on top of each cooled down cheesecake. Makes 12. Serves 6.
Candied Orange Peel
2 large oranges ( you can also use 1 grapefruit or 3 lemons)
¾ c. water
¾ c. sugar, plus extra for rolling
3 T. light corn syrup
Remove peel from fruit using a sharp knife. Try to get the peel off in 4 pieces. Cut the peel into ¼-inch wide strips. Place peel in a pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, drain and rinse under cold water. Repeat process 2 more times. Return to pan with fresh water and boil 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Bring ¾ c. water and ¾ c. sugar to boil in sauce pan with the corn syrup. Boil 2-3 minutes and then add the peel. Simmer, stirring occasionally until all but a spoonful of the syrup is left. This should take about 10 minutes. On a wax-paper lined baking sheet sprinkle 1 cup of sugar and arrange the peels on top of the sugar. Toss the peels around until cooled adding more sugar if needed. Place peels on a drying rack for 24 hours before storing. Once dried you can also dip one end of the peels in dark chocolate. Makes ½ pound.
Dried Orange Zest
I love to use orange zest in a lot of recipes, but I don’t always have fresh oranges around to zest. I dry my own, so I always have orange zest handy. It’s easy to do. You don’t need a dehydrator, but you can use one, if you have one. You can save the entire peel from thin-skinned oranges, like mandarins or temple oranges. For oranges with a thick, white pith, use a peeler to remove the peel in strips- leaving as little of the white portion on them as possible. Place in a single layer in a basket. Air circulation helps them to dry faster. If you pile them up, you risk them getting moldy before they dry. Leave room for air circulation. You can also leave them on a tray in a single layer. When the peels are brittle, break into smaller pieces and grind into a powder. A spice/coffee mill works well. A blender works fine, too. I have tried to powder them up in several types of food processors and the peels seem to get wedged between the blades and the sides of the work bowl. Once they are powdered up, I use a fine strainer to get out any larger pieces. To be safe, just in case they aren’t completely dry, I put my zest in a freezer container and store in the freezer. The freezer helps the zest to retain its flavor and color longer, too. Better to use organic oranges, if you can.
Salmon Quiche
I like canned salmon. There, I said it. I know it sometimes gets a bad rap, but I find canned salmon very convenient to have around. If you didn’t already know this- canned salmon is made from wild caught salmon and has all the nutritional benefits of fresh. If you are looking for something different to do with canned salmon, you might want to try this recipe.
If you prefer, you could use fresh salmon. About 12 oz. of cooked salmon, flaked, would be used in place of the canned salmon.
The crust is a breeze to make. It’s pressed into the pie pan, rather than being rolled out. The crust is made with whole wheat flour, almonds and cheddar cheese. Yum. You could use this crust recipe for other quiches.
Did I mention it also freezes well?
Salmon Quiche
1 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 c. chopped almonds
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. paprika
6 T. oil
1 (15 oz.) can salmon, flaked, drained, liquid reserved, bones and skin removed
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. mayo or salad dressing
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 T. grated onion
1/2 t. dillweed
3 drops Tabasco
For crust, combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and mix well. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Meanwhile, begin filling. If needed, add water to reserved salmon juice to measure 1/2 cup. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, including reserved liquid. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set in the center. Makes 6 servings.
Rich Blueberry Muffins
I froze a lot of blueberries when they were in season. I realized that recently when I defrosted my freezer. This time of year I often enjoy using some of those frozen berries in baked goods. Reminds me of warm summer days.
This muffin recipe is one of my favorites. The secret, I think, is the cup of melted butter that is folded into the batter. I also add a little cinnamon, which goes so well with the berries.
You end up with a rich muffin with a crumbly, tender texture and a great flavor. This recipe makes 36 muffins, so you will have extra to freeze. They freeze great.
Rich Blueberry Muffins
4 c. flour
2 T. baking powder
1 ½ t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1½ c. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 eggs
1 ½ c. milk
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted
4 c. blueberries -fresh or frozen
Paper line 36 muffin cups or grease lightly and preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl mix dry ingredients. In smaller bowl mix eggs and milk and beat until smooth. Stir into flour mixture with a fork and mix until just moistened. Fold in melted butter and blueberries divide batter among cups. Sprinkle muffins with a little extra sugar. Bake 25 minutes, or until light golden. Makes 36.
Chicken Florentine
I love spinach. I always have, even when I was a kid. My Mom used to make Pork Chops Florentine and it was one of my favorite dishes. She had to add more spinach to her recipe because I loved the spinach so much.
Chicken Florentine is another spinach dish I just adore. It is a simple dish to prepare, too. Great for a weeknight, when you might not have a lot of time to get dinner ready. It is also special enough to serve to company. The most difficult part is getting all that spinach in the skillet.
A pound sounds like too much spinach, but trust me, it is the right amount. The spinach cooks down so much, you need more than you think.
The hardest part of making this dish is just getting all the spinach in the skillet. Don’t try to get it in all at once. As you add the spinach, it will cook down a lot. As the spinach wilts, keep adding more, until it is all in.
I served the Chicken Florentine on its own, but you can serve it over rice, pasta or potatoes. You can also cook it longer to thicken the sauce more, if that is how you prefer it.
I used boneless chicken breasts, because that is what I had. Boneless thighs work great in this dish, too.
So here is the recipe. I hope you give it a try. It is an easy way to get a lot of leafy greens in your diet, for sure.
Chicken Florentine
2 T. oil
1 c. sliced onion
1½ lbs. boneless chicken, I like thighs
Flour
Salt and pepper
1 c. chicken stock
½ c. half and half or milk
¼ c. sherry
1 lb. fresh spinach, washed
In large skillet, oven medium high heat, heat oil. Add onions and sauté until golden. While onions are cooking, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Add chicken to the skillet. Cook until chicken is golden on both sides, turning once. Add stock, half and half and sherry to the skillet and bring mixture to a simmer. Add the spinach, a few handfuls at a time, until it wilts and will fit in the skillet. The spinach wilts down a lot. Turn down heat to medium and cook until spinach is cooked down, stirring to get spinach mixed in. Cook a few minutes more so sauce will reduce and thicken a little. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serves 4.
Note: If you prefer, you can use frozen spinach instead. add 2 (10 oz. ) packages, thawed and drained a bit.
Whole Wheat Biscotti
I love biscotti. They are so easy to make. I try to make a batch every couple of weeks. These are made with whole wheat flour. I think it gives them a nice flavor and texture. I like this recipe so much, I normally double the recipe when I make them. I store them in a cookie jar and they stay crisp for a couple of weeks.
Helpful hint: Since biscotti are twice-baked you bake the loaves until just firm, then slice and return the sliced biscotti to the oven to finish baking and get really crisp. Problem is you have to turn them half-way through the second bake to be sure they cook evenly. Tedious. Instead- place a cooling rack on the baking sheet then place the freshly sliced biscotti on them for the second bake. The air circulates under them and you don’t have to turn them over halfway through. Simple.
Whole Wheat Biscotti
¾ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ c. walnuts
¼ c. golden raisins
Combine all. Add.
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
Shape into loaf (2”x11”) on oiled sheet. Bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. Remove loaf to cutting board. Slice thin and place slices on a cooling rack on a baking sheet then return to oven, reduce heat to 300-degrees bake 25 minutes.
Feel free to dip one end of cooled biscotti in melted chocolate or drizzle them with melted chocolate, if you like. You can also change which nuts and dried fruit you use. I also sometimes make these with all spelt flour in place of the whole wheat and white flour.
Homemade Vegetable Soup Base
I have made a lot of stuff from scratch- could I make my own soup base? I could, and I did! Not soup stock, but the stuff in jars that you just mix with water for instant broth. I wanted a no-meat soup base for when I was cooking meat-free.
I made a vegetable soup base that is a mixture of vegetables, both fresh and dried, herbs, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, spices and salt. There is pretty good amount of salt, but I wanted to be able to store it in the fridge and be safe.
It worked out that every teaspoonful of the finished base has less than 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Not great, but a lot less than bouillon cubes.
If you want to make yours with less salt or no salt- you’ll have to freeze the mixture in ice cube trays and take it out of the freezer as needed. Sort of like your own bouillon cubes.
The nice part is, I can now make a vegetable soup easily and I know exactly what is in it. It can also be added to chicken or other meat-based stocks, in place of the salt, to add extra flavor.
Homemade Vegetable Soup Base
4 carrots, peeled and cubed
3 celery ribs, washed and cubed
1 large sweet onion, peeled and cubed
3 green onions, washed and cut up
1 c. sun- dried tomatoes, soaked in water 30 minutes, and drained
1 c. dried mushrooms, soaked in water 10 minutes and drained
1 c. chopped cabbage
1 c. parsley, chopped
1/2 c. chopped sweet pepper
1/4 c. nutritional yeast, optional
2 T. turmeric
8 oz. salt- I used sea salt and used a scale to weigh it. It’s around a cup but will differ if you are using a coarse salt
Combine all ingredients, except the salt, in a food processor and blend until smooth. I have a decent size Cuisinart and still had to do this in batches. Combine in a bowl with the salt and stir well to blend. Store in a clean jar in the fridge until ready to use. I ended up with about 5 cups of soup base. To use, add about 1 teaspoonful to a cup of hot water for vegetable broth. Use less or more according to your taste. Use in place of salt in other soups, stews and sauces.
Peanut Soup – Vegan
This is one of the easiest soups I make. It is also one of my favorites. It’s a rich soup with a creamy texture and just a hint of heat. You could make it spicier, of course. The recipe is very versatile. As written, the soup is vegan, but you could make it with a meat-based stock, if you prefer.
If your only experience with eating peanut butter is on a sandwich or in cookies, you might be surprised at just how good this soup tastes. I have made it with almond butter. If you don’t have peanut butter, the almond butter works fine. Other nut butters would also work. but I still prefer it made with peanut butter. It freezes well, too.
Peanut Soup
2 c. chopped onions
1 T. oil
cayenne pepper to taste
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped sweet potatoes
1 c. chopped white potatoes
5 c. vegetable stock or water
1 c. tomato sauce
1 c. smooth peanut butter
1 T. sugar, optional
1 c. chopped green onions
Sauté onions in oil until tender. Add seasonings and carrots and sauté 3 minutes more. Add potatoes and stock and simmer until vegetables are tender. Puree soup in blender in batches until smooth. Return to pot and add tomato sauce and peanut butter. Add sugar if soup is not sweet enough. I never add the sugar, but some people do. Warm gently and serve with green onions on top. You could also top with chopped peanuts, for a little crunch. Serves 6-8.
Beignets
Beignets are a fun addition to any Fat Tuesday/ Mardi Gras celebration. Beignets are the official fried dough of New Orleans. These squares of fried dough are often referred to as a fritter or doughnut.
Beignets can be made with a choux pastry- like the type of dough used for cream puffs. They can also be made from a yeast raised dough. I made mine with a yeast dough.
Once fried, beignets are drained on paper towels and then tossed in a bag with powdered sugar. They are served hot, or at least warm. The fresher the better.
They really aren’t that difficult to make. The dough is soft and pliable. Very easy to handle. When you roll the dough into a rectangle to cut into squares, do your best to get the corners squared off. But don’t get too concerned. I always end up with the four corners a little misshapen. They still taste good. I use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares.
Beignets
1½ c. lukewarm water
½ c. granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, room temp, slightly beaten
1 c. half and half, warmed a little
¼ c. oil
7 -7½ c. flour
2 t. salt
Oil, for deep-frying
2-3 c. powdered sugar
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. In another bowl, beat the eggs, half and half and oil together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. Add 3 cups of the flour and the salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add more flour, a little at a time until soft dough forms. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Return dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours. Roll the dough out to about ½-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees. Add the confectioners’ sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside. Deep-fry, flipping every 30 seconds or so, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them on paper towels. Once you are done frying them, toss them into the bag of confectioners’ sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly. Makes about 4 dozen.
Note: This recipe makes a lot. I cut the recipe in half when I don’t need so many. You can cut them a little smaller, if you prefer. They puff up a lot when fried.
