Beignets

With winter here, I have been craving fried foods like crazy. I think it has to do with the perpetual chill that has settled over our home and lives. Fried foods are little bits of joy. Beignets are the most perfect food. Traditionally, they are served as a dessert with powdered sugar but there is nothing in this recipe that demands they have to be a dessert. We eat them with soups and sauces like biscuits. Pieces not eaten with dinner are often covered with butter and honey. They are not unlike Indian Fried bread except that this particular recipe uses yeast instead of baking powder. I make small pieces but you can easily make larger ones to use in place of bread for sandwiches or for tacos.

Beignets
1 cup milk
1 TB yeast
1 egg
2 TB sugar
2 TB oil
3 ½ - 4 cups flour
Cooking Oil
Heat milk to about 100 degrees. Add yeast and sugar. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Add egg and oil, beat well. Add flour ½ to 1 cup at a time until the dough is firm but still sticky. Remove from bowl and lay on floured surface. Knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky and still pliable. Roll out to ½ thickness and cut into squares. Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a deep skillet to 375 degrees. Fry until golden.

Winter Mint Julep

I'm working on a home spa party book. It's been a project near and dear to my heart for years. I thought it was finished and decided to change how I did the food part. Because of this, I had to experiment with some dishes so I could offer complete meal ideas. My biggest problem is drinks. I'm really a water or tea drinker. I've never liked punches and I'm really picky about juices. As a kid at class parties I would beg the teacher to let me just drink water. I never have liked those punch drinks parents bring to kid's parties. Sunny Delight was like poison to me. I hated it. As an adult, I still can't stand most drinks. I'm very basic - water, tea, cocoa, and coffee. I can make great presentations and variations of those (except I have developed a sensitivity to coffee). The idea of creating punches just makes me crazy.
Well, when writing a menu for a party it's important to offer drink ideas. Not so easy for me. I make a lot of Southern/Cajun/Creole dishes and thought a party centered around these foods would be fantastic but then I had to find at least one drink idea. Mint Juleps are the stereotypical dinner party drink for the South. I've never had nor made a Mint Julep so I did a search.
Then I hit another problem. I do grow mint but mint's not available in January, not here in my Washington home. I came up with an idea that resulted in the most amazing drink I have ever had in my life. I don't know if Mint Juleps are always this tasty but I found me a keeper. Starting with a syrup made with Spearmint Essential Oil (make sure you use a food grade variety or I bet you could substitute with an all-natural mint extract like Watkins sells).
We tried the syrup in a variety of alcohols. For whiskey, I used Jack Daniels. That was awesome. We tried some tequila and that wasn't a great blend. Then we tried Irish Cream which made a nice drink but I preferred the whiskey. We wanted to try rum only to find we were out. I put all the stuff in the freezer before dinner so it would be nice and cold when it came time to mix the drinks. Alcohol can be stored in the freezer but the syrup should be stored in the fridge.

Winter Mint Julep
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
20 drops spearmint essential oil (in summer use 6-8 mint sprigs, let sit overnight)
Combine water and sugar. Bring to boil and let reduce slightly. Add mint. Will be overpowering.
Add ½ oz syrup to 1 oz whiskey. Best served ice cold.

Gumbo

With the weather changing, I'm starting to crave hearty soups to fight back the growing chill. Gumbo is a great soup and it makes a lot so you can feed everyone. Now the ingredients are extensive and can seem pricey. What I love about Gumbo is that it's really a stone soup sort of dish in that you can throw in just about anything. I always use this recipe as more of a guide than a recipe so I know kind of what could go in the pot. Often I make it with shrimp and sausages. Gumbo File is a "spice" of sorts that helps thicken the soup and give it a distinct flavor. I, almost, prefer my gumbo without it. With Okra - feel free to use frozen which I almost always do.

Gumbo
6 oz unsalted butter
4 TB cornstarch
4 oz onions, diced
3 cloves garlic
4 oz green pepper, diced
½ LB celery, chopped
1 LB okra
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teas oregano or marjoram
1-2 bay leaves
2 stock cubes in water
1 teas nutmeg
1-2 tbs. gumbo file
1 lb. uncooked prawns
4 sm. crayfish or crab claws
4 cooked/smoked chicken wings
½ lb. ham or sausage
2 lb. rice, cooked
In large saucepan melt butter, mix with cornstarch, stir well, and heat 5-10 min until light brown. Add onions, garlic, pepper, celery, and okra fry ten min. Add tomatoes and prawns, cook for 5-10 min on low heat. Take care not to burn. Add fish, chicken, oregano, bay leaves and stock. Cook for about 20 min. Add ham and nutmeg. Stir well, cover and simmer for another 20 min. Mix the file with an equal amount of warm water and a small amount of sauce. Add to sauce, stir well. To serve, scoop rice into bowl, arrange meat around rice, top with sauce.