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?

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. ;)