It's a beignet. And it's one of New Orleans' two iconic sweets (the other being the party-loving king cake). With Mardi Gras approaching, it's a perfect time to get to know beignets.

Truth is, beignets are a form of doughnut or fried dough. They originated in France, where the term is used to describe a wide variety of fried treats that are filled with fruit or jam. In New Orleans, they traditionally are served with a cup of coffee and chicory au lait.

To celebrate Mardi Gras, we're offering our take on the beignet, a praline beignet with cafe au lait icing. And of course, you also could add the traditional showering of powdered sugar.

Praline Beignets With Cafe au Lait Icing

Start to finish: 2 hours (30 minutes active)

Beignets

500 ml (2 cups) milk

15 ml (1 tbsp) instant yeast

50 ml (1/4 cup) packed dark brown sugar

875 ml to 1 l (3 1/2 to 4 cups) bread flour, divided

2 ml (1/2 tsp) baking soda

1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt

125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped toasted pecans

Canola oil, for frying

Icing

45 ml (3 tbsp) heavy cream

30 ml (2 tbsp) water (approx)

15 ml (1 tbsp) instant coffee

750 ml (3 cups) powdered sugar (approx)

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk to just lukewarm. You should still be able to comfortably leave your finger in the milk without it feeling too hot.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine warmed milk, yeast, brown sugar, 875 ml (3 1/2 cups) of the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix on low until ingredients come together and form a smooth, elastic dough. If needed, add remaining flour, a bit at a time, to form a soft, elastic dough.

Add pecans and mix just until completely incorporated. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

When dough is ready, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. Lightly dust counter with flour and turn dough out onto it.

Roll dough out to 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Using a pizza wheel or dough cutter, cut dough into 5-cm (2-inch) squares. Transfer dough squares to prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean towel. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a large pot with about 5 cm (2 inches) of canola oil. Heat oil over medium-high until it reaches 190 C (375 F). Set a cooling rack over another sheet pan next to the stove.

When oil is hot and dough has rested, work in batches to fry beignets. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower 3 to 4 dough squares into hot oil and fry, turning once, until golden brown, puffed and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and continue working in batches until all beignets are fried.

In a medium bowl, whisk together cream, water and instant coffee until coffee is dissolved. Add sugar and stir well until mixture is smooth. Add more water or powdered sugar to adjust consistency to be able to drizzle as a thick icing. Drizzle icing over warm beignets and enjoy warm.

Makes 24 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 220 calories; 70 calories from fat (33 per cent of total calories); 8 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 5 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 1 g fibre; 55 mg sodium.

Potato-Crusted Catfish

15 ml (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard

15 ml (1 tbsp) Creole mustard

15 ml (1 tbsp) honey

5 ml (1 tsp) cider vinegar

2 farm-raised catfish fillets (each 175 to 250 g/6 to 8 oz)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in paper-thin slices

30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

Apple and Jalapeno Glaze

50 ml (1/4 cup) apple jelly

15 ml (1 tbsp) water

1/2 apple, peeled and diced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Lightly grease or line a baking sheet and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together mustards, honey and vinegar. Spread mustard mixture over top of fillets and arrange potato slices over mustard, pushing down gently so potato adheres.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place fillets potato-side down in skillet and pan-fry for 5 minutes.

Remove fillets and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake in centre of oven for about 12 minutes, until potatoes are golden and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

While catfish is baking, combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Remove catfish from oven. Place on serving plates and drizzle with glaze.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional information per serving with a 175-g (6-oz) fillet: 623 calories; 31 g protein; 65 g carbohydrate; 27 g fat; 3 g fibre.

Note: Creole mustard is a specialty of Louisiana’s German Creoles made from vinegar-marinated brown mustard seeds with a hint of horseradish. This hot, spicy mustard is available in specialty shops or gourmet sections of some supermarkets.

Source: U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

All of our kids went to the same high school. Two are seniors at Ivy League schools and one graduated from a prestigious state university last year. Yet their prospects and outlook are starkly different. Our host's (couple A) daughter is a college senior and is just now starting to focus on finding a job post-graduation. She isn't really sure what she wants to do and currently has no prospects. Couple B's son graduated university last year and like so many others is still unemployed and looking for work. According to a recently released study by the Pew Research Center, only 54% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 have jobs, the lowest level in 60 years. Our daughter is also a college senior and has 2 firm offers for positions with attractive compensation plans. The conversation turned to why our kids' circumstances were so different and a parents' responsibility to help their children prepare for and find a job post-graduation.

More...]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:35:09 -0500 is essential to America's economic prosperity in the 21st century. But you wouldn't know that reading last Sunday's New York Times, where former Obama Administration CEA Chair Christina Romer writes that there are no compelling reasons for U.S. manufacturing policy.

According to Romer, the recent hubbub about manufacturing is due to the fact that people have a "feeling" that "making things" is important. In reality, she writes, consumers "value haircuts as much as hair dryers." To be sure, all of us need haircuts, some of us more than others. But Romer's argument that we should value all industries of the economy the same is just not true. It's reminiscent of economist Michael Boskin, another former CEA chair, who said it doesn't matter whether a country makes computer chips or potato chips.

More...]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:31:37 -0500
2/9/12; 1,475 likely Republican primary voters, 2.6% margin of error

More...]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:29:50 -0500 An air ambulance is responding to a passenger bus rollover near Redwater, Alberta that has caused multiple injuries.

Some passengers are still trapped inside and efforts are underway to extract them.