Beignets
Pronounced ben-YAY.
Sugary sweet pastries, sort of like doughnuts, except different.
Made famous at the Cafe duMond in New Orleans

1 cup boiling water
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 package dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg, beaten
3 + cups white flour
6-8 cups vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
powdered sugar

In a medium bowl combine the water, butter, yeast, salt, sugar, evaporated milk, and beaten egg with an electric mixer. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until all the flour is added and the dough is smooth and workable. Set aside. Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot such as a Dutch oven, or a wok, until the pot is half full, and no more. Heat the oil until it is 375 degrees (it takes about 15 minutes). Meanwhile, place a cookie sheet covered with paper towels nearby.
Sprinkle flour onto a clean countertop, and roll half the dough out until it is very thin, about 1/4 inch thick (save the other half in the refrigerator until ready to use). Cut the dough into 2 inch squares. I always stretch the dough a bit- maybe to one and a half times it's original size, before cooking. 
To see if the oil is hot enough, drop a couple of water drops into the oil. When it sizzles quickly the oil is ready to use. Be very careful doing this! Add the beignets very slowly.  If they don't rise immediately to the top, the oil isn't hot enough. Cook only 3 to 5 pieces at a time so that they cook evenly. They will cook to a golden brown when done. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the doughnuts, and transfer them to the cookie racks. After they drain, place them in a clean paper sack with powdered sugar.
Shake, remove & serve with strong, hot coffee.

Key Lime Pie

There is only one way to make a Key Lime Pie... with Key Limes. They are sort of yellow, and taste different. Nellie & Joe's is one brand of bottled Key Lime juice to try, if you can't find fresh. Try to find fresh, though.

1 9" Graham cracker crust, or home-made shell, baked.
1 3/4 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
6 oz. Nellie & Joe's or other Key Lime juice
The zest of 1 lime

Whip all ingredients together and pour into pie shell. Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately five minutes or until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface. DO NOT BROWN! chill and serve with a slice of lime and freshly whipped cream. 8 slices.

Peach Cobbler
Use fresh fruit, never canned!
 
8 Tablespoons (1 Stick) butter
1 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
Peaches

Clean, peel, and core 2 cups of fruit and mix with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. In a saucepan, bring mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure sugar is completely dissolved.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Put butter in deep baking dish and place in oven to melt. Mix sugar and flour; add milk slowly. Pour over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Still do not stir; batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Good with fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.

You could also use strawberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, or blueberries, but do not used canned fruit!  Yuck!

French Vanilla
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
Here is a quick-frozen tasty dessert treat using Nitrogen, to be enjoyed by your entire family. You can make this ice cream in about 15 minutes or so. No more hours in front of the crack handled churn. This produces a nice flavourful ice cream with tiny bubbles & a very good texture.
If you decide to try this, for goodness sakes, follow the safety directions carefully. Liquid Nitrogen burns. And, in an enclosed place, Liquid Nitrogen can displace Oxygen & you need Oxygen to breath & live & continue to cook.
Figure out how much ice cream you want to make, by volume. Say you want one gallon. Then you will need 5 gallon Dewar of liquid Nitrogen (a ration of 1:5).
A note: As you have read above, Liquid Nitrogen displaces O2, which you need to breathe & live & stuff like that. Do this in a large, well ventilated room. Really.

Equipment:
Stainless Steel mixing bowls (plastic or glass will get brittle & break)
Wooden mixing spoons
Heavy Lab Gloves
Goggles
Stainless Steel Sink or level area outside. Do not try this on your kitchen
table.

Ingredients
3 quarts whole milk or half and half
4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
6 eggs
6 Tablespoons vanilla
3 cups Cream

Place 6 cups milk or half and half on stove and bring to a boil. Beat eggs and set aside.  Mix sugar, flour and salt together until smooth.

Add 3 cups milk to sugar mixture, then add this mixture to the beaten eggs.  Pour hot milk slowly into milk & egg mixture, stirring all the time.  Cook over low to medium heat until thickened.  Let cool.  Mix vanilla into mixture.  Add cream and enough milk to make 6 quarts.  Mix all together well.

Add flavourings. You can go wild here. Cut the vanilla in two, and add different flavours or fruit. Even liquors will freeze fixings.
Next: Move to the sink.
Now: Pour in the Liquid Nitrogen slowly and mix with the wooden spoon until completely frozen, which should be about 10 minutes. Wear the gloves & the goggles, because it's really, really cold. No joke.
Serve & Enjoy.

Bananas Foster
This dish was created in the 50's at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans & was named after a customer, Richard Foster, owner of Foster Awning Company in New Orleans.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 medium bananas, sliced
1/3 cup light or dark rum
1 quart vanilla ice cream
Banana Cordial, to taste- I usually use 1/4 cup or so.
Vanilla extract (real, not fake)

Heat brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, & banana cordial in a flambe pan.
Place bananas in pan (cut length wise) and sauté until soft.
Add rum and flambe until flame dies out.
Serve over vanilla ice cream.
With whipped cream, if desired ( I do).
 

Shoofly Pie
Most people have heard of this, but I doubt many have eaten it. It's actually pretty good when it's made right. It's very sweet.

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup hot water
1 un-baked pie shell (make your own, of course. It's easy: 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon lard*, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water. Cut lard into flour & add salt, until bits are the size of peas. Slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with fork until the flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons water can be added if necessary). Shape pastry into a ball. Flattened ball onto lightly floured board. Roll pastry a few inches larger than inverted pie tin with rolling pin. Fold pastry into quarters;  set in pie tin. Unfold and ease into tin, pressing firmly against bottom and side.)

Back to the pie...
Combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter in bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  In a separate bowl, stir baking soda and hot water.  Add molasses, egg, and spices.  Beat.  Sprinkle 1/3 crumb mixture into pie shell.  Pour molasses mixture on top.  Sprinkle with remaining crumbs.  Bake on bottom shelf of 350° . oven for 45-50 minutes. Pie will be jiggly until it cools. Serve with heavy cream.

*Yes, lard. Lard is indispensable in making pie crusts. It makes a flakier crust than anything else, due to it's composition.
A little won't hurt you.
Use lard.

Churros
Mexican dessert bread. Sort of like beignets, but different.

1 c. water
1/2 T. oil
dash salt
1 c. flour
oil for frying
granulated sugar for sprinkling)
Cinnamon
Bring water, oil, and salt to boil in a saucepan. Add the flour all at once, reduce heat, then stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Let cool at bit, then put into a pastry bag with 1/2 in. star tip. Heat 1/2 in. oil for frying. Squeeze dough into oil in 4 in  strips. (Do a few at a time.) When golden on one side, turn over. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle sugar & cinnamon.

Bienenstich
Bee Sting Cake, in German. Why is it called this? I don't know. It doesn't even have honey in it.
This isn't a particularly easy cake to make, so try it when you have lots of time. It is good, so do try it! 
Cake:
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter (use butter, 1 stick = 8 tablespoons, FYI)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, unbeaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons milk

Almond topping:

1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1 tablespoon milk or cream

Filling mixture:

2 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten
a pinch of salt

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9 inch spring form pan. Sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Cream the butter until fluffy, then add sugar gradually, beating until light.  Add eggs one at a time, beating
well after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Add dry ingredients 1/3 rd at a time, alternating with the 6 tablespoons of milk.  Stir only enough to blend thoroughly.  Pour into the spring pan.

Topping: Heat together almonds, sugar, butter and milk or cream until the sugar is dissolved.
Pat a spoonful of flour over the top of the cake batter using the back of a clean spoon.
Pour the almond topping evenly over the batter.
Bake 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

While the cake cools, prepare the filling:
Combine sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks in the top of a double boiler.
In a separate pan, heat the milk to scalding, then very slowly pour over egg yolk mixture, stirring quickly & constantly with a whisk.
Place mixture over hot (but not boiling water), stirring constantly until smooth and thick.  Do not allow the mixture to boil!
Stir in almond extract.
Beat egg whites, adding the salt, until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites into the yolk mixture. Stir briefly, then  place a piece of wax paper over the top and chill in the fridge.

Completion:
After the cake has cooled, slice in half crossways, forming two  layers (Hint: it's easy to do with a cake cutter, available in kitchen shops. Otherwise, use a long knife & a sawing motion).
Place bottom layer cut side up on cake plate.  Spread with
filling.  Top with the second layer with the almond glazed side up.
Refrigerate until you serve.