One of the best things about the Holidays, other than seeing family and friends, and eating great food, is reconnecting with certain dishes and recipes you’ve lost touch with. In my case, there are plenty of foods that fall into that category. How that happens in a culture where everything happens in the kitchen, is beyond me.

How do you keep up with all the food there is to eat, cook, learn to cook, try, and re-incorporate into your “diet?”

I think talking about recipe organization and prioritization is a whole ‘nother post in it of itself. So, I’ll gather my thoughts and points and work on that one for a later date.

For now, let me introduce you and re-introduce myself to beignets, or buñuelos, as we call them. These globally loved doughnuts are something I remember eating as a child, but have no recollection at what point abuela or mami just stopped making them. In fact, the last time I remember having one, was about 13 years ago during a visit to Miami, where my paternal grandmother’s brother was making them from scratch.

I stood in complex amazement of how he made the dough, more so the ingredients he was using to make them, and then how he meticulously shaped them into mini size 8’s. I was so giddy and couldn’t wait to dig in; acting more like an adolescent at an amusement park, so perhaps it was more than 13 years ago.

Oh yes, it must have been!

During Christmas, mami and I got really hyped up about cooking different things. She’s been more and more intrigued by the non-Cuban dishes I prepare for my clients, and I’ve been more and more interested in going back to solid, traditional Cuban food, 3-4 generations back, as I continue the saga of writing my cookbook.

So on a cold afternoon a few weeks ago, while experiencing gut-wrenching cabin fever (because DC got hammered with 23” of snow 2 days before Christmas), we decided to take a stab at making these figure eight Cuban luvies. After 2 hours of table-talk-turned loud debate over which was the right recipe, we finally agreed on one, which was more or less a combination of 4: grandma’s brother, my cousin’s aunt, some Cuban website and my mother’s own creativity and determination to make it our own.

Our Cuban beignets are primarily made of starchy vegetables! Imagine that. Yuca, my all-time favorite tuber, malanga, plantain, Cuban white sweet potato (boniato) and other vegetables can be used and combined to make the dough. Eggs, and BUTTER no doubt, are part of the equation for some.

Choose wisely.

We limited ours to 2 main vegetables, though I’m putting plantain in my next batch. We figured too many elements would take a way from the intensity of the intended flavor. Of course, you can play around and get all messy, if you’d like!

ALERT: This recipe is not for the lazy, the cheater or the one that take short cuts. It’s a tedious recipe of ratios. One Michael Ruhlman would love to apply his theory to. In this, it’s a must. One too much of a single vegetable, then it becomes either too sticky or gooey. Another thing, these Cuban buñuelos are topped with a most juicy almibar, or honey sauce made with star anise and cinnamon sticks–two of my favorite spices. The ratio aspect applies here as well. Too much sugar or not enough water will jack up the desired consistency.

So, proceed with caution and fun!

The most important thing about these buñuelos is the light crisp factor: not too crispy like funnel cakes, but not too soft like flan. And, if made right, a few won’t even make it to to the final stages of adding the syrup! You won’t resist. Okay wait, I’m lying. The syrup is really the icing on the cake on these eloquently shaped doughnuts!

This stuff what right here is guaranteed to get you long and over-due accolades, make you a star home baker and a connoisseur of other Cuban desserts; oh  yeah and score some serious  goodie points with the guy!

How could any of that be bad? Even if it takes you two hours to make?!

And lastly, how could something this sinfully divine have escaped our making for over a decade! Cuban nationalism now re-instated, thank you very much!