You'll find the beignets every Saturday for the next few weeks.

It’s Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. You may not be Catholic and even if you are you may not be giving anything up for Lent but that doesn’t mean you can’t partake of the feast, especially if you live in or near Healdsburg.

Maybe you’ve noticed the beignet booth at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market on Saturdays. Chef Rob Lippincott sets up shop next to Costeaux Bakery’s booth and deep fries little squares of dough and sifts powdered sugar on them just before passing the tray of three ($5) to a hungry customer. They are hot, sweet and so very authentic. All that’s missing is the sultry air of New Orleans.

Chef Rob showers the hot beignets with sifted powdered sugar

Now Rob is setting up shop inside Costeaux. On Mardi Gras (Tuesday, March 8), he’ll be on hand with his wife Rita, preparing shrimp and grits for breakfast and offering seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee and muffaletta throughout the day. And you can end–or start, depending on your preference–your meal with beignets and cafe au lait.

Costeaux Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) will be celebrating Mardi Gras from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Don’t forget your beads!

If you want to make beignets at home, here’s a recipe from the Seasonal Pantry archives using Cafe du Monde’s Beignet mix, available at Traverso’s. And here’s Seasonal Pantry’s muffaletta recipe.

Hot beignets at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market.

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