"beignets" news and stories

Earlier this week, I mentioned that I was doing some frying at breakfast, since I wanted something sweet that didn't involve using the oven. I ended up making beignets. Beignets are made from a yeasted dough that is deep fried and covered, usually, with powdered sugar (although savory versions exist). They are similar to doughnuts, but are almost always cut into small squares and lack the center hole that practically defines a doughnut. New Orleans is famous for its beignets and making them at home is almost as good as hopping on a plane and heading to Cafe du Monde to pick up some fresh ones, served with a cup of coffee with chicory on the side. You can try the recipe yourself, or stick to your summertime diet and just feast on food porn here.

Source

A few days ago, I did a post about a site that had a humorous cultural history of the dumpling. In a somewhat similar vein, here's an illustrated listing of fried dough from around the world. The site is hosted by OSO-ONO, a California-based wholesaler of fried dessert dough. Basically, they sell frozen bags of an all-purpose dough that they say can be used to make all kinds of donut-like things. I'm a little skeptical that one dough can do it all, but their chart of fried dough from different countries is great. There are dozens of items--from fry bread to beignets to gulab jamun--each with a photo and brief explanation. It seems like it would be a great jumping off point for any donut enthusiast looking for new ideas.