And when I say beignets…

I don’t mean beignets as they’re known in France. I mean beignets as they’re known in New Orleans. Proper French beignets are more like what we know as fritters, batter-dipped items of various kinds, often fruits but sometimes vegetables. However the fruit was long ago disposed of in the cafés of New Orleans, and today beignets are more like doughnuts, simple squares of yeast-raised dough fried in peanut oil (a southern thing) and piled high with powdered sugar. They’re especially nice when paired with a cup of chicory-tinged coffee, the sort that is served at Café du Monde at the far end of the French Market in New Orleans. An afternoon snack at that place is a unique experience, one that can’t be replicated anywhere else, but I’ll try to make the beignets competitive.