Quickie King Cake

Sometimes Mardi Gras sneaks up on you. You wouldn't think so, as it is a set day every year - the day before Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter, and the whole Mardi Gras season actually starts on Three Kings Day (January 6) so, again, you think you'd have time to plan. Well, Mardi Gras snuck up on us. We managed to (barely) get our crawfish order in on time to have them delivered on Fat Tuesday, but the king cakes were outrageously expensive, if not sold out entirely. 

Amy hemmed and hawed and finally came up with a plan, inspired by a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls in the fridge and the vague memory of making some sort of stuffed holiday wreath appetizer with them at someone's Pampered Chef party years ago.

This particular version is simple enough to be worthy of the Big Easy itself, where King Cake rules tables in office lunch rooms and teacher lounges for the first two months of the year. Someone starts by bringing in the first cake, and the person who finds a plastic baby in their slice gets the dubious honor luck of bringing in the next one. Needless to say, King Cake has ruined many a New Year's resolution. 

The colors of Mardi Gras have meaning, so remember that when you are decorating - purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. And don't forget to put a plastic mini baby doll (or dried kidney bean) somewhere inside for luck.

If Mardi Gras snuck up on you, too, you still have time to grab a few ingredients and make this quickie version before midnight rolls around. 

Happy Mardi Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Quickie King Cake 

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce container whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla, divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cans refrigerated croissant/crescent roll dough

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 plastic mini baby doll or dried kidney bean

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons whole milk

purple, green and gold colored sugar

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, and the cinnamon until well-combined. 

2. Unroll each piece of dough in a circle with the flat sides of the triangles on the outside of the circle and the pointed ends of the triangles in the center of the circle, slightly overlapping each other. 

3. Spoon the cream cheese mixture about half way out, then sprinkle with the chopped pecans, if using. Place the baby somewhere on there.

4. Flip each piece of dough over the cream cheese mixture and press on it the seam in the center so it doesn't leak out.

5. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, until golden brown and allow to cool completely.

6. Whisk together the sugar, milk and remaining teaspoon of vanilla to make the glaze. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip over the sides.

7. While the glaze is still wet, decorate with purple, green and gold sugar.

Mardi Gras Crawfish Desire

Circumstances beyond our control prevented us from having our annual Mardi Gras Madness party. But a 5-pound bag of cooked, frozen crawfish gifted to us by Amy's mom and a desire for the taste of New Orleans made today feel like Fat Tuesday nonetheless.

Amy created this recipe long ago, based on a favorite dish served at Jazz Fest called Crawfish Monica. It can be made with shrimp, but crawfish is much more authentic, so if you can get it, go for it. Even if it's frozen.

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!

Crawfish Desire

Ingredients:

1 lb. seafood: crawfish (cooked and peeled) and/or shrimp (raw, peeled and deveined)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pint half-and-half
½ cup chopped green onions
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Creole seasoning to taste (the more, the spicier, and I prefer Tony Chachere’s)
1 lb. pasta (rotini if you’re being authentic)

Put water on to boil pasta and cook pasta al dente. Melt butter and sauté garlic and green onions until fragrant. Add shrimp and/or crawfish and cook for three minutes. Gradually add half-and-half, then the thyme and Creole seasoning, stirring well*. Cook five minutes so that the seafood is cooked through and the sauce becomes thickened. Add cooked pasta and let the dish sit over low heat for five more minutes, stirring often. Serve with crusty French bread, of course!

*It is important to stir often so that the sauce doesn’t break (separate).

Maida Gras 2014 (with recipe for Mardi Gras Pasta Salad)

John Maida and Cyndi Corker-Cherry 

Mardi Gras 2010

Our annual Mardi Gras Party, which takes place the Saturday before Mardi Gras, has come and gone. Thankfully, we did not have 3 feet of snow this year (see Nemo Gras 2013). What we did have, though, was a night of revelry but also of remembrance, as we celebrated the life, and mourned the passing, of one of our regular "Krewe" members, John Maida. Mr. Maida died in a car accident late December. His fiancee, Cyndi, who was in the car with him, was badly hurt and her medical bills and living expenses have been piling up since. Thus, we renamed the party "Maida Gras," and made it a fundraiser to help Cyndi out. We are proud to say we made about $600. Speaking of which, further donations can be made HERE.

Gumbo

Chris holding one of several fried turkeys

As always, we supplied the hurricanes (four gallons!), fried turkeys (seven of them!), and Coca-Cola ham (a 13-pounder). We also made chicken and andouille gumbo (K's Semi-Homemade recipe), and "Mardi Gras Pasta Salad" (recipe below). Over 100 guests, ranging in age from 7 weeks to nearly 70 years old, brought a wide variety of dishes such as: jambalaya, shrimp ceviche, jalapeno meat poppers, a plethora of dips and chips, kielbasa, andouille, and so many more. And that doesn't include the desserts, with cupcakes in such flavors as: Mardi Gras margarita, red velvet, and chocolate with chocolate frosting; plus cookies like Mardi Gras meringues, Barb's famous chocolate chip, and inside-out Almond Joy macaroons; not to mention brownies, various other bites, and "Frenchie's" most amazing King Cake.

Frenchie's King Cake

Mardi Gras Margarita Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes and Mardi Gras Meringues

To manage the hostessing and take pictures of all of that is nearly impossible, but here are a few shots to inspire you to "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" And don't forget the recipe for Mardi Gras Pasta Salad, which can very easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled to suit your own Mardi Gras Party needs. It was inspired by two of New Orleans' most famous foods - the muffaletta sandwich and Gulf shrimp.

The Afternoon After

And, not for nothing (as C's family loves to say), Amy would like to add that the best part of hostessing is being reminded of how blessed we are to have so many amazing people in our lives. And the second best? Getting to eat the crispy-crunchy turkey wings the next day for lunch. Just sayin'. 

Mardi Gras Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound box tri-color rotini pasta

1/2 pound mozzarella "pearls"

1 10-oz. jar salad olives

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil 

1 4-oz. package mini-pepperoni

1 lb. cooked (frozen/thawed) salad shrimp

salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil, to taste

Creole seasoning, to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Toss pasta with remaining ingredients. Chill and serve.

Amy's Mardi Gras Pedi and Flip-Flops

Nemo Gras!!!

Chef C's amazing King Cake

If we say so ourselves, our annual Mardi Gras Madness party has become somewhat of a legend. Last year was an excellent example of its reputation - read about it here. This year, we spent much of last week prepping for the epic-ness - buying, thawing, injecting (with secret marinade), and rubbing 6 turkeys; boiling 10 pounds of ham in cola; purchasing all the ingredients for muffaletta pasta salad; having Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix shipped to the house. You know the drill. Oh, wait, you don't? 

The post-blizzard view from our porch...not good

This party has been happening since 2003. So we were rarin' to go for the 10th anniversary Mardi Gras Madness. 87 people responded "YES," and we were ready. Then came Nemo.

Turkey set-up. That's Amy's car behind it. Yup. It was that bad.

Nemo dumped nearly 3 feet of snow on us the-day-before-into-the-day-of the party. When, at noon on Saturday, the governor declared that ALL roads were closed to traffic, we postponed to the next day. Surely that would be plenty of time for people to dig out, for roads to be plowed, for power to be restored? Maybe not so much.

Chris digs out our back deck

Sunday morning, the Krewe was intact, shoveling, snowblowing, and helping us set up for who knows how many guests. Every year we rely on our Krewe to help us set up, clean up, whatever, and this year, even more so. We even had the neighborhood kids (8 and 3 1/2 year olds) helping out.  Super special thanks to G, S, B, D, J, N, K, W, B and especially, L for all you did. We couldn't have done it without ya'll, as usual!

At 3 1/2, our youngest Krewe member ever!

By 12:45 we had 3 guests at the house (including a strange bearded man - pictured below) and things looked somewhat dim. Over the next several hours, however, the regulars rallied. We ended up with about 40 people, all of whom brought wonderful dishes to add to the fried turkey, cola ham, and muffaletta pasta party. Hurricanes were plentiful, though some people thought they should be called "blizzards" this once. Awesome pastry chef C brought a king cake worthy of the best Big Easy bakery. There was shrimp dip, shrimp and grits, drunken andouille pigs in a blanket,  Mardi Gras meringues, spanokopita, B's best chocolate chip cookies, Mardi Gras cupcakes, and so much more. B even sent her amazing quiche for us to enjoy the next morning. She is the sweetest thing!!!

"Bearded Man"

Cola Ham

(Chris makes the most awesome) Fried Turkey

Drunken Andouille in a Blanket

Muffaletta Pasta Salad with Shrimp

Shrimp n Grits

Around 5, a bunch of us teachers got text messages saying schools and other "non-essential personnel" were not to report to work on Monday. This brought cheers and a round of shots for those of us who are proud to be "non-essential." We ate, drank, visited, and celebrated until around 10, when the party wound down.

Cupcakes

Mardi Gras Meringues

Barb's Best Cookies

Suffice it to say, not even 34 inches of Winter Storm Nemo can stop Mardi Gras! 

Laissez les bon temp rouler!!!

Morning-After Quiche

Super Bowl XLVII King Cupcakes

Super Bowl XLVII - The San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans. The football part, we're not really into. The New Orleans part, however, is another story since Amy used to live there. And this time of year, when Amy thinks of New Orleans, she thinks of King Cake. Particularly, King Cake stuffed with Creole Cream Cheese. Yummmy. And that is why, when neighbors D and J asked us to bring "dessert" to their Super Bowl party this year, we were determined to make cream-cheese-stuffed King Cake Cupcakes. 

The ingredients

Cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract for the filling

Cinnamon and sugar

We knew the weekend would be a busy one, since our own Mardi Gras Madness bash is next Saturday, and so we searched for an easy recipe to inspire us. We got lucky with this one by Amanda, of The Virtuous Wife, because it seemed pretty easy, and is only "semi-homemade." Perfect for a busy weekend.

Cut the crescent dough on a floured surface

Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar

Cover with the cream cheese filling

Roll together, pinch the ends and fold

Place in a greased cupcake tin

Because Amanda's cupcakes both looked and sounded delicious, and because the recipe was pretty much exactly what we were looking for, we followed Amanda's instructions just about to the letter. Using only a few ingredients, we created these magical desserts, inspired by the city of the Super Bowl, and decorated in the colors of the teams that will play tonight.

Powdered sugar, lemon juice and water...

...make a tangy glaze the sugar can stick to.

Hot out of the oven

Thanks, Amanda, for the great recipe (click here to get it), and we hope everyone enjoys tonight's game!

Mardi Gras Madness

Saturday night was our 9th Mardi Gras Madness party. Amy used to live in New Orleans, and misses it very much, especially around Mardi Gras. In an attempt to ease her (second)-homesickness, we started having a Mardi Gras party when we moved into our house. It has grown so much over the years that on Saturday night, we had (by our count) 101 people attend (including the two of us). And our house is only about 1400 square feet, so...yeah.

Mardi Gras consumes our lives for about 2 weeks every year. It's a lot of work to have that many people over! There's the buying and the prepping and the decorating and the cleaning, and since it's winter here, there's the building of "Tent City" - one assembled insta-tent under which the turkeys are fried, and one giant tarp covering our back deck to provide heat and warmth since not everyone can fit inside the house. Luckily, we have plenty of friends, family and neighbors who pitch in. Those that do are known as the "Krewe" and are given special krewe-beads, different ones each year, to honor their efforts. Special thanks to Krewe 2012!

But since you're reading our blog, you're probably more interested in the menu. Chris is in charge of the fried turkeys (this year, 90 pounds of it) and spends most of the night in the driveway where many of the guests watch in awe as each perfectly seasoned crispy fried turkey is lifted from the vat of hot peanut oil (right). It is quickly brought into the house to the carving station (a cutting board set on top of our washing machine) where one hard-working guest volunteers to do the honors. (Thanks, Chipper!) 

Amy makes a few other dishes, some appear each year, and others depend on her mood. One traditional dish is the Coca-Cola Ham, a spiralled ham cooked in cola and topped with a molasses-brown sugar-mustard glaze. Then this year she also made Pepper-Jack Gougeres (left); Bacon-Walnut Pralines; Muffuletta Pasta Salad with steamed shrimp; and in honor of our local moonshiners, Drunken Piggies in the Blanket (andouille sausage marinated in garlic mustard and Onyx Moonshine and wrapped in crescent dough). As we do every year, we provide the hurricanes (made with Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix of course) (this year, about 15 gallons' worth) and a little bit of beer and wine, soda and water. And enough Mardi Gras beads to go around. "Throw me somethin', Mister!"

You're probably wondering how that is enough to feed everyone? Well, it isn't, of course. That's the best part about our Mardi Gras party. Just about everyone brings a dish, and just about every dish is homemade. On Saturday, there was jambalaya, deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, jalapeno-meat poppers, Cajun nacho dip, three-bean dip, Cajun meatballs, regular meatballs, mashed potato-stuffed tomatoes, chili cheese dip,     veggie pizza, stuffed peppers, American chop suey, stromboli, stuffed mushrooms, spicy mac-n-cheese, Buffalo wings, and much, much more. Then there was the desserts, which included paczkis, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, anise cookies with Mardi-Gras-colored frosting, brownies with walnuts, and plain brownies, among others.

People brought beer, wine, and liquor to share, consume, or offer as gifts. Awesome neighbor J, saint that she is, made 400 (that is not an exaggeration, but an actual number) purple, green and gold (well, yellow), Jello shots. Which are all gone. And her daughter, B, made us a delicious quiche for us to heat and eat the morning after.

There's always room for Jello shots!

Where are all the rest of the pictures, you wonder? Where's all the "food porn"? Amidst the chaos of prepping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, serving, hosting, drinking, eating and enjoying everyone's company, there just isn't any time for that. So, enjoy the few that we have, but you'll have to use your imagination (and yes, you can let it wander - it's Mardi Gras after all). Maybe next year we'll hire a photographer. Until then, laissez les bon temp rouler, and Happy Mardi Gras to all of you!

Louie and Newfie enjoy the festivities