Mardi Gras Recipe Roundup!

Did you know that today is Fat Tuesday? {Isn't every Tuesday around here?}

This week is just full of all kinds of celebrating -- from Mardi Gras to Valentine's Day -- but since I've already covered a few Valetine's recipes last week, I thought I'd put together a list of some Fat Tuesday favorites!

Last year I dedicated a whole week to Mardi Gras {I even managed to put together a little history lesson for ya} and, man, were those dishes tasty! Here's a little recap:

Cajun Jambalaya - A hearty classic filled with sausage, seafood, and loads of spicy seasoning.

Mini King Cakes - My take on a Mardi Gras tradition, scaled down to portable {and adorable!} size, complete with a step-by-step guide on how to make your own!

Oven Baked Beignets - I know, nothing beats the real, deep fried New Orleans delicacy... but if you're trying not to take "Fat Tuesday" quite so literally, this oven baked version satisfies your sweet tooth without all the guilt.

All these fun foods put me in such a party mood that I even designed some Mardi Gras printables for you! They can be printed out onto sticker paper for some cute treat bag seals, or onto cardstock for party tags you can cut out, hole punch, and tie with ribbon onto party favors.

Mardi Gras Label by

I haven't gotten around to trying out the recipe ideas I have in mind for this year, but I'm hoping I'll have some time to get in the kitchen and test them out this week. So, stay tuned and give these a try in the meantime!

Do you have any Mardi Gras favorites?

Post-crastination

Welp, I fell off the face of the Earth for a few days {Ok, a week. But who's keeping track?}. I had totally planned on wrapping up Mardi Gras week last Friday... but I didn't. And then I planned on posting over the weekend to make up for the lapse... and had a sudden aversion to sitting in front of the computer. It happens.

So here we are. It's Thursday, and I've got nothin'. Mainly because I think the most interesting thing I've made this week is a bowl of cereal. {Although I did have some really delicious & different pasta this weekend at a local restaurant. I'll have to give you the details soon.}

Since it's been a while, let's recap what was happening in the kitchen last week:

Cajun Jambalaya...

Mini King Cakes {and step-by-step directions on how to make them}...

Oven Baked Beignets with Cafe au Lait Dipping Sauce...

I'd say all that work deserved a week's worth of resting... wouldn't you? ;)

So, yes, Mardi Gras is over. But luckily, you don't have to store these recipes away with your beads & crazy jester hats. And that's a good thing because a year is way too long to wait for all that deliciousness.

Speaking of storing Mardi Gras beads, I thought I'd offer a suggestion for those of you who have no extra space {Read: completely taken up by cooking gadgets & baking accouterments...} or would rather do something useful with your glittery goodies.

Each year, ARC Gateway collects unwanted beads and baubles, providing employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The beads are repackaged and resold at a discounted cost, while simultaneously keeping tons of plastic out of landfills. It's a double duty good deed!

If you'd like to donate your beads to ARC, you can visit any of their drop off locations listed here {and if you don't live close by, I'm sure you can mail them in, though you might want to call & double check to make sure.}

Alright... enough cereal and yogurt this week. It's back to the kitchen for me! Looking forward to coming up with some new spring recipes!

From "Fat Tuesday" to "Skinny Thursday"

I have enjoyed this week of festive eating as much as the next girl, I'm not gonna lie. But the way I see it, we still have two more days to go until the end of Mardi Gras week and we've gotta pace ourselves. And by "we", I mean "I". {You might not have a pair of skinny jeans threatening you from your closet as I do. Lucky.}

Anyway, I love to feed my friends. I actually like cooking for others way more than I like making food for myself. {Which could be why, more often than not, I'm eating leftovers or throwing together random things when it's time for a meal.}

When my girlfriends and I have "Girls Night",  I see it as a time to make all the things I don't get to make at home on a daily basis. Like bite sized appetizers. And cute little finger foods. And desserts that include as many forms of chocolate as humanly possible. {Because the hubs doesn't eat chocolate. At all. Weirdo.}

But I also know that these lovely ladies watch their girlish figures. And the last thing I want to do is sabotage all the hard work they do to keep looking svelte.

So, when I volunteered to bring dessert to our get together last night, I knew I wanted to find a recipe that was 1. New Orleans themed {to coordinate with the blog, of course}, 2. Figure friendlier than, say, Nutella Caramel Swirl Cheescake Bars, and 3. Worth the calories.

I'd say these Oven Baked Beignets fit the bill.

When I pulled these out of the oven yesterday and sacrificed one beignet for "quality control", I was so pleasantly surprised with the results. They were warm and delicate little powdered sugar covered pillows of dough. And between the airy texture and the Cafe Au Lait dipping sauce, I didn't miss the fact that they weren't fried. At all.

Sure, they're no Cafe du Monde beignet, I'm sure. But that just means you can eat a few more without the guilt {or the air travel, for that matter.}

Make these to share with friends, or to savor all by yourself.

Oven Baked Beignets with Café Au Lait Dipping Sauce

from Good Housekeeping

Beignets

• 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 package quick-rising active dry yeast
• 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut up into little cubes
• 3/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 to 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, for coating

Café au Lait Dipping Sauce

• 4 tablespoons cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips {depending on how chocolatey you want it}

1. In a small bowl, combine warm water and yeast, plus of 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. In large bowl {or in the bowl of a stand mixer}, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining granulated sugar.With paddle attachment, pastry blender, or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3. Stir buttermilk and egg into yeast mixture until blended. Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and stir until combined and soft dough forms. {Dough will be sticky.}

4. On lightly floured work surface {and with floured hands unless you want more dough on you than in the beignets}, knead dough lightly several times until dough is smooth. Spray same bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place dough in bowl. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

5. Spray 2 large cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray {or use silicone baking mats}. Punch down dough. On floured work surface, with floured rolling pin, roll dough to 9-in. square. With floured chef's knife {or even better, with a pizza cutter} cut dough into 6 strips, then cut each strip into 6 pieces, making 36 (1½-in.) square pieces.  {They will seem small, but they grow a bit in the oven.}

6. Transfer Beignets to cookie sheets, placing about 1½ inches apart. Let rise 20 minutes in a dark place.

7. Meanwhile, prepare Café Au Lait dipping sauce. In 3-quart saucepan, with wire whisk, combine granulated sugar, espresso powder, and cornstarch. Place over medium heat, and whisk in milk, making sure there are no lumps. Cook for 8 minutes, whisking often, until mixture comes to a slight boil and begins to thicken. {Be careful not to scorch.}

Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Add chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth; cover and set aside. Makes 1 3/4 cups {that's a lot, in case you were wondering.}

8. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake risen Beignets 10 to 12 minutes, or until just golden brown, rotating sheets between upper and lower racks halfway though baking. 

Remove from oven and immediately toss with confectioners' sugar, until coated. Serve Beignets warm with warm Café au Lait Dipping Sauce.

How To: Mini King Cakes

If you're reading this right now, I'm guessing you took it easy on the Hurricanes and survived Mardi Gras, give or take a few strands of beads. Kudos.

Yesterday I posted about the Mini King Cakes I made for my family and friends, but didn't have time to go into detail. So, today I'm giving you a step by step on creating these cute little cakes so you'll be ready to go for next year. {Although you certainly don't have to wait that long if you don't want to.}

As I mentioned, the King Cake recipe I used makes a lot of cake - 2 decent sized ones to be exact. So, I halved the recipe and wound up with 12 minis and a medium cake.

The process of forming the minis was actually pretty easy, though I think using a mini bundt cake pan definitely helped.
Here's how I did it:

{Please pardon the horrible pictures. I took them at night and I'm still getting acquainted with my camera settings and lighting adjustments.} :)

1. Make King Cake recipe, halved.

2. Once the dough has risen the first time, punch it down and roll it out on a floured surface into a 12 x 17ish inch rectangle. Liberally apply softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon. {Alternatively, you can make a cream cheese or fruit jam filled recipe.}

3. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut 4 inch wide strips from dough.

4. Cut dough strip into mini rectangles. {About 2x4 inch}

5. Roll rectangles, jelly roll fashion, into little logs.

6. Bring ends together and pinch dough to seal the seam.

 {They should look like little donuts.}

7. Place in a buttered or sprayed mini bundt cake pan, and press down slightly. {If you don't have one of these pans, just put them on a baking sheet. The holes in the middle might close up while they bake, but they'll still be cute.}

8. Cover and let rise in a warm place, 20-30 minutes.

9. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes, or until cakes start to get slightly golden in color. Let cool slightly, and remove from pans. Cool completely before icing and decorating.

To decorate:

1. Make Creamy Glaze.

{Note: Because I used milk and lemon juice as suggested in the recipe, my glaze looked slightly curdled, though it tasted just fine. If that kind of thing grosses you out, replace fresh lemon juice with 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract, and that should do the trick.}

2. Dunk cakes upside down into glaze, and place right side up on a cooling rack with a foil lined pan underneath to catch drips.

3. Sprinkle with colored sugar while still slightly wet. {I made my own because I only had white sanding sugar in the pantry. Tutorial coming soon!}

4. Allow icing to set, and package these cuties up, if desired.

Well, that about covers it for these little guys.

I know Mardi Gras is over, but I'll be continuing the New Orleans themed foods the rest of the week... and tomorrow I have another Big Easy sweet treat you won't want to miss. Any guesses on what it might be??

I'll also be sharing some info about what to do with all those left over Mardi Gras beads now that the celebration is over. {Unless you want to keep them and rock them all year long. Hey, I won't judge.}

Stay tuned!

King Cake Cuties

Hello All!

I'm running out the door in just a bit to meet up with my dear friend {and her sweet little guy. I hope she'll let me post some pics of him from our meeting!} to spend the day working on a top secret project {!} but I wanted to stay true to my word and bring you another fun Mardi Gras recipe, especially since today is actual Mardi Gras!

Yesterday I posted a spicy dish to put you in the party spirit, but today I'm sweetening things up a bit on the menu. {Really... are you surprised?}

Last year I made a King Cake {good grief, please don't laugh at my photographic "skills" on the blog back then. I'm making progress, folks.} to share with family and friends for Mardi Gras week. But I've gotta tell you... it made a LOT of cake. And while it is "Fat" Tuesday, it would have taken us a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to finish that baby up.

Since I knew I'd be making a few stops to visit some friends around town today, I thought I'd come up with a more portable idea for the traditional King Cake.

Behold... King Cake Cuties!

Aren't you in love? I am. :)

I put each mini in a cupcake liner after I finished decorating them, individually wrapped them up in plastic treat bags with some festive beads inside, and finished it off with some pretty ribbon. With these teensy cakes, you can share in the King Cake tradition without committing to having a week's worth of cake on your hands!

I used a different recipe this year, and found that this one tastes a little more like bready cinnamon rolls. Which isn't a bad thing. Both recipes were tasty in their own way.

You can follow the original recipe that I found at Southern Living/My Recipes if you want to make your own King Cake. {Their recipe actually makes 2 medium sized cakes.}, but tomorrow I'll be posting a few tricks to making these sweet little minis. {Just a heads up, if you attempt the minis on your own, I halved the SL recipe and got 12 mini cakes and 1 medium cake.}

Have a "Bead-utiful" day. ;)

Mardi Party

This week kicks off Mardi Gras, the gluttonous and debaucherous festival that is celebrated near and far; from revelers on the streets of New Orleans to homes, bars, and restaurants nationwide. Like St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, and various other festive days on our calendars, many have jumped on the celebratory bandwagon though most have no idea what or why they're celebrating to begin with.

Let's face it: We like to party. And we don't need a reason.

Since I'm down with any occasion that calls for food and drink{s}, I thought I'd pull out my feathered mask and don my Mardi Gras beads {purchased, not "earned", of course} and post a few recipes this week that will get you into the spirit whether Bourbon Street is down the road or on the other side of the world from where you live.

But first, some history about Mardi Gras. {I never said these recipes wouldn't come with a price.} Literally translating to "Fat Tuesday" in French, Mardi Gras preceeds Ash Wednesday {imagine that, a Tuesday that comes before a Wednesday.} which commences the Lenten season on the Christian calendar. Basically, Mardi Gras is the last chance to get sinful behaviors out of your system before the start of Lent - a time of fasting, repentence and prayer - in the weeks days leading up to Easter.

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is synonymous with "PARTY!" and the rich tradition of music, food, and celebration has been around for ages. {Since the 1700's, in fact, according to this source}.

Sadly, I've never been to New Orleans, though it is on my list of places to visit soon. {Hint, hint hubs!} I have to admit that now that I'm well beyond my college years, I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much by not attending Mardi Gras. {If I want to trip over intoxicated people, I would rather do so in the comfort of my own home after a few bottles of wine on girl's night. But thanks.} I do hope that one day I'll get to make my rounds in the Big Easy and check out all they have in store for foodies as they're known for some good eatin' in those parts.

Anyway.... food.

I can't vouch for the authenticity of this Cajun Jambalaya recipe {aside from the fact that it's adapted from Emeril's recipe}, but I can say that it definitely isn't lacking in the flavor department. It's rich, spicy, and delicious. And not all that difficult to put together, which makes it a winner in my book.

So, get into your kitchen and, in the words of Mardi Gras revelers..."Laissez les bons temps rouler"! {Let the Good Times Roll}

Cajun Jambalaya
Adapted from Food Network

12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of a medium onion, chopped

1/2 of a medium green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalk celery, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 cup rice

3 cups chicken stock

5 ounces Andouille sausage {or your favorite}, sliced

Creole Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 - 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Store in a cool, dry place.

For Jambalaya:

In a bowl combine shrimp and Creole seasoning well, set aside.

In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat. Add onion, pepper and celery,  and saute, 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

When rice is just tender, carefully stir in shrimp and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning if desired.

Let Them Eat Cake

King Cake, that is! We may not live in New Orleans, but this year we decided to get into the spirit of Mardi Gras and celebrate Fat Tuesday with a King Cake. It is most definitely a king of a cake, big enough to feed quite a few party goers and certainly festive enough with the colorful sprinkles.



What do you think of my Polaroid effect? Just trying to keep it interesting, kids!