Happy Paczki Day! Eastern Euro’s fried cakes get the fat out of Lent

While the rest of Christiandom will celebrate Fat Tuesday next week, with jambalaya, po’ boys, and plastic beads, our Eastern European friends will be scarfing down paczki (pronounced poonch-key), tasty little fried cakes stuffed with rich, fruity fillings. According to tradition, paczki-making served as a way to use up fats and sweets before the onset of Lent, which arrives on Wednesday. Nowadays, though, the puffy little doughnuts are mainly a delicious excuse for cold-weather diet-busting. ...