Thread: Cooking techniques

On Sep 9, 8:10*am, angie-...@webtv.net (z z) wrote:
> Saw this on PBS thought it was quite amazing. They were making
> beignets-something I have never eaten but read about. Recipes I have
> seen previously never seemed to match what I imagined in my mind.
>
> So first they boil lemon rind and orange rind in water. Then they add
> flour and cook stirring constantly til it gets dry like spritz cookie
> dough.
>
> LOL I cant remember when sugar gets added but there must be sugar in
> this recipe?
>
> So then they put the dough into a food processor, allow to cool, and
> start processing in large amount of eggs. They end up with a light &
> fluffy but stiff batter that can be put in a pastry bag.
>
> Lay down a cut square of waxed paper and pipe out a spiral of stiff
> batter. Reminds you of churros.
>
> Now for the amazing technique-they lay the piece of wax paper onto the
> hot oil to cook the exposed, hanging downward, batter. Once it is
> browning the wax paper can be removed easily with tongs and then flip
> the beignet to cook the other side.

Where was this place?
I've never seen anyone do that.

z z wrote:
>
> Now for the amazing technique-they lay the piece of wax paper onto the
> hot oil to cook the exposed, hanging downward, batter. Once it is
> browning the wax paper can be removed easily with tongs and then flip
> the beignet to cook the other side.

Weird technique, indeed. The wax is soluble in oil,
more so because it's hot. It's safe to eat small
amounts of paraffin wax, but I don't do so willingly.

On Sun, 9 Sep 2012 10:01:52 -0500, [email protected] (z z) wrote:

>Saw this on PBS thought it was quite amazing. They were making
>beignets-something I have never eaten but read about. Recipes I have
>seen previously never seemed to match what I imagined in my mind.
>
>So first they boil lemon rind and orange rind in water. Then they add
>flour and cook stirring constantly til it gets dry like spritz cookie
>dough.
>
>LOL I cant remember when sugar gets added but there must be sugar in
>this recipe?
>
>So then they put the dough into a food processor, allow to cool, and
>start processing in large amount of eggs. They end up with a light &
>fluffy but stiff batter that can be put in a pastry bag.
>
>Lay down a cut square of waxed paper and pipe out a spiral of stiff
>batter. Reminds you of churros.
>
>Now for the amazing technique-they lay the piece of wax paper onto the
>hot oil to cook the exposed, hanging downward, batter. Once it is
>browning the wax paper can be removed easily with tongs and then flip
>the beignet to cook the other side.

I doubt that the French who brought the food here in the early part of
our history ever thought of messing about with their beignets that
way. Beignets are a common food of the people. PBS obviously found
some cooks who decided to glorify and make trendy a very simple
fritter.
Janet US

In the words of my hero, Julia Child, who appeared one night on Emeril, "You
really don't have to do all that." Polly

Polly Esther wrote:

> In the words of my hero, Julia Child, who appeared one night on Emeril, "You
> really don't have to do all that." Polly

That reminds me of the time that fool Jeff Smith was making tomato
sauce. He chopped whole tomatoes and threw them in the pot, saying
"you don't have to take out the seeds and skin".

The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me. That
wax paper technique allowed them to pipe out a controlled shape rather
than piping them into the hot oil free-form or dropping a load in. It
was a british chef and a french chef working together-the british guy
visits the kitchens of famous chefs of today. No idea of the name of the
show. British guy is kind of uptight and well...british :-)

On 9/10/12 10:35 PM, z z wrote:
> The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
> recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me....

Beignets are light and airy.

-- Larry

On Sep 10, 10:41*pm, pltrgyst <pltrg...@xhost.org> wrote:
>
> On 9/10/12 10:35 PM, z z wrote:
>
> > The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
> > recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me....
>
> Beignets are light and airy.
>
> -- Larry
>
>
Exactly.

On 2012-09-11, pltrgyst <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 9/10/12 10:35 PM, z z wrote:
>> The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
>> recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me....
>
> Beignets are light and airy.

Yeah, a "light and airy" "oil-fried doughnut". Basically, a beignet
is a glazed donut with no hole.

nb

--
Definition of objectivism:
"Eff you! I got mine."
http://www.nongmoproject.org/

On 11 Sep 2012 12:56:11 GMT, notbob <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 2012-09-11, pltrgyst <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 9/10/12 10:35 PM, z z wrote:
>>> The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
>>> recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me....
>>
>> Beignets are light and airy.
>
>Yeah, a "light and airy" "oil-fried doughnut". Basically, a beignet
>is a glazed donut with no hole.

Most every ethnicity has the same (fritter), beignet is really no
different from zeppole.

beignet [ben-YAY]
A traditional New Orleans yeast pastry that is deep-fried and served
hot with a generous dusting of confectioners' sugar. The name comes
from the French word for "fritter." Savory beignets, such as herb or
crab, are also very popular.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

On 11 Sep 2012 12:56:11 GMT, notbob <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 2012-09-11, pltrgyst <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On 9/10/12 10:35 PM, z z wrote:
> >> The end result was a light and flaky pastry whereas every previous
> >> recipe for beignets sounded like a heavy oil-fried doughnut to me....
> >
> > Beignets are light and airy.
>
> Yeah, a "light and airy" "oil-fried doughnut". Basically, a beignet
> is a glazed donut with no hole.
>
I've never been to New Orleans, so maybe I haven't had the real thing
but I remember beignets as being crispy pillows of loveliness with a
hollow middle. Not at all like cake donuts, more like sopapillas.
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11..._54_125330.jpg
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11...8_54_28826.jpg

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

I found the website of the show, with the beignet recipe and
picture-these are nothing like an oil-laden lump of donut lol (and I
missed a few ingredients in the watching!)

http://cuisineculture.tv/?menus=warm...d-cream-gelato

On Sep 11, 9:10*pm, angie-...@webtv.net (z z) wrote:
>
> these are nothing like an oil-laden lump of donut
>
>
Soooo, you're telling us you have no idea what a beignet is and you
think everything that is fried in oil, even the ones you're saying are
fabulous, although you've never had one, are all oil laden lumps of
donut? Yet these are fried in oil as traditional beignets but the wax
paper trick somehow makes them less greasy? Is this what you are
trying to convince everyone of? These are somehow magical beignets
because you saw them on a tv show?

On Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:38:28 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sep 11, 9:10*pm, angie-...@webtv.net (z z) wrote:
>>
>> these are nothing like an oil-laden lump of donut
>>
>>
>Soooo, you're telling us you have no idea what a beignet is and you
>think everything that is fried in oil, even the ones you're saying are
>fabulous, although you've never had one, are all oil laden lumps of
>donut? Yet these are fried in oil as traditional beignets but the wax
>paper trick somehow makes them less greasy? Is this what you are
>trying to convince everyone of? These are somehow magical beignets
>because you saw them on a tv show?

I read it as 'I don't care for beignets--- but this *isn't* a beignet
recipe.'

I've never had a real beignet-- but I've seen them-- and I agree that
thee don't resemble beignets in appearance-- nor do they resemble them
in the recipe.

That recipe uses a cooked roux- the ones I've seen use a yeasty dough.

The question I ask is *why* did they call them beignets?

Jim

Jim Elbrecht <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:38:28 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>

-snip-
>
>I read it as 'I don't care for beignets--- but this *isn't* a beignet
>recipe.'
>
>I've never had a real beignet-- but I've seen them-- and I agree that
>thee don't resemble beignets in appearance-- nor do they resemble them
>in the recipe.

ooops-- That should be *these*, not *thee*. I don't know thee, but
thee probably doesn't look like a beignet, either.<g>

Jim