Crêpes for Soup Garnish
Sift together 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat in with a wire whip 2 beaten eggs. Add 1 cup milk (or half milk and half broth) and mix well. Follow the directions for cooking crêpes, but make them larger than usual. Cut the crepes in fine julienne strips, 1/4 inch wide or less, or in small rounds or in diamond shapes. Serve in consommé.
Crêpes for Hors-d'Oeuvre
Follow the directions for making crêpes for soup garnish, but make them quite small. Spread the crêpes with fish paste, caviar, or any hors-d'oeuvre mixture and roll them.
Crêpes with Cheese
Make crêpes for soup garnish, about 3 inches in diameter. Cut Swiss cheese into small sticks the thickness of a pencil and 2 or 3 inches long. Roll the cheese slicks in the crepes, dip the crêpes in egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water and then in fine, fresh bread crumbs. To serve, fry the rolls in deep hot fat. The cheese will melt to a creamy mass.
Beignets de Carnaval
Dissolve 1/2 cake or envelope yeast in 3 tablespoons lukewarm water. Dry granulated yeast requires slightly warmer water. Sift 1 cup flour onto a board or into a bowl and make a well in the tenter. Put the dissolved yeast in the well and add 1/2 cup soft butter, 1/3 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoons rum, a little vanilla extract, and the grated rind of 1 lemon. Mix all together well with the hands or with a heavy wooden spoon, gradually pulling the flour into the center. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cover it and let it stand in a cool place for a few hours or overnight. Roll the dough into a very thin sheet and cut it into strips about 2/3-inch wide and flinches long. Tie each strip in a loose knot and let the knots rest for 20 minutes. Fry the beignets in deep hot fat (375'' F.) to a golden brown. Drain them on paper towels, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve immediately.
Beignets d'Orléans
Dissolve ½ cake or envelope yeast in 3 tablespoons lukewarm water. Dry granulated yeast requires slightly warmer water. Add ¼ cup lukewarm milk and then 1 cup flour, and beat all together well. Cover the sponge with a towel and put it in a warm place to rise until it is light and bubbly. Sift 3 cups flour into a howl, make a well in the center, and in the well put 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup soft butter, 3 eggs, and the grated rind of 1 lemon. Gradually pull the flour into the center with the hands or a heavy wooden spoon and add 1 cup warm milk little by little to make a soft dough. Add the yeast mixture and work the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cut off small pieces of the dough, flatten them in the hands, and put 1 teaspoon jam in the center of each. Form the dough into balls around the jam. Let the beignets rise in a warm place until they double in bulk and fry them to a golden brown in deep hot fat (375° F.). Drain them on absorbent paper and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Beignets Suzette
Meat 2 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean and gradually add 1/2 cup farina, stirring briskly to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture is very thick. Remove the vanilla bean. Add 1/2 cup sugar. 1 tablespoon sweet butter, and 2 slightly beaten egg yolks, and mix all together well. Return the pan to the heat and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Spread the batter about 3/4-inch thick on a buttered shallow pan or baking sheet, and chill it. Invert the pan on a floured pastry board. Cut the dough with a regular doughnut cutter. Dip the beignets in flour, then in beaten egg. and finally in fine white bread crumbs, and saute them in hot butter to a golden brown on both sides. Arrange the fritters in a ring and put a candied cherry in the center of each. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot with a fruit sauce.
Pinterest
