Sourdough King Cake for Mardi Gras!

 Every year at my office, we have a Mardi Gras potluck.  One year I brought a boudin king cake; another year I made one from pre-made cinnamon roll dough. Another year I just made kingcupcakes. But I hadn't ever made one from scratch. But since I've managed to keep my sourdough starter alive for a year, I figured it was about time to try.

I found this recipe online and stayed pretty true to the recipe, but found the dough to be a bit too sticky.  I made a practice version the week before Mardi Gras--but didn't get the seams sealed well so it leaked out quite a bit, and was a bit dense.  

So for the actual Mardi Gras potluck, I decided to add about a teaspoon of active dry yeast and about 20 extra grams of bread flour. I also modified the filling: rather than mixing the butter in with the cinnamon & sugar, I spread the melted butter on the dough and then sprinkled the cinnamon sugar generously on top of that.  

I used this video to learn how to make the braid (about 15 minutes into video), since I didn't want to just do a simple roll.  

I've given up on trying to keep powdered sugar around the house. It always ends up going bad before I use the whole bag.  So I discovered I can make about 1/2 a cup in my coffee grinder, which is all I needed to make enough icing for this cake.  (You can vary the amounts of the liquids to get to your desired consistency. )

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp milk

I also made the purple, green and yellow sugar to go on top of the icing--pretty simple, just mixing a few drops of food coloring in a ziploc bag with 1/2 cup sugar per bag, then zip, and knead until color is mixed all the way through, then open the bag and spread out the sugar to let dry.

The cake turned out great, not too dense, good flavor, and no leaks!

This was probably one of our best potlucks so far!  We had red beans & rice with jalapeno cornbread, dirty rice made with collard greens & chicken andouille, shrimp boil, apples with praline dip...all the good things!

Instant Pot Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo (HAPPY MARDI GRAS!)

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!

Tree at New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

This year, I was able to make it down to Scott, LA for their parade.  This is always my favorite:  the floats aren't anything amazing like what you see in New Orleans, but my friends live on the parade route, and they throw a big shindig with lots of food and I get to see some of my favorite people on the planet.

Yes, that is a Minion Porta-John.

Robin wins for best catch--hula dancing dolphins with coconut bras.

And I got to meet this lil' cutie, my friend B's new baby!

As per usual, since I am no longer a resident of the great state of Louisiana, I have to work on Mardi Gras. In fact, I will be in training all day learning how to use our new accounting software.  HOWEVER, we will be taking a break over lunch to have the annual Mardi Gras Potluck (coordinated each year by yours truly, because I just can't give it up.)

Last year, I made a boudin king cake, before that it was bacon gouda grit fritters w/pepper jelly sauce, then it was king cake cupcakes, and before that it was another king cake (sans boudin).  This year, a coworker is picking up a king cake kringle from Supreme Bakery here in town, so I decided to make gumbo.  I've done gumbo several times here (see list at the bottom of this post for links), but I've never made it in my Instant Pot.  So I figured...why not?

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 8-10 two-cup servings) 
* Note: if cooking for a smaller group, you can halve this recipe...or you can freeze part of it. It freezes really well.

• 4 cups cooked brown rice (aka 2 cups uncooked rice, cooked)
• 1 lb small or medium shrimp, tails/shells removed
• 1 lb smoked sausage (andouille if you can find it), cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
• 1 tsp olive oil (as needed) 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used both red & green since that’s what I had on hand) 
• 2 stalks of celery, diced 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 cup instant roux 
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock (or 2 cups regular + 1 cup water)
• 6 cups water 
• 2 cups chopped okra, strung* 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 Tbsp parsley 
• 1 tsp basil 
• 1/2 tsp thyme 
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or more to taste after cooking)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cook the rice in your preferred method (I used the Instant Pot) and set aside.

2) Set the Instant Pot to Saute and cook the sausage (about 4 minutes). Once browned, remove the sausage and set aside in a medium bowl.

3) Put the okra in the pot and stir for about 3 minutes.  You'll see "strings" of slime coming off the okra--this is good, as cooking out the slime now will keep it from being slimy in the gumbo.  It will start to brown a bit as well, which is a good thing--adds flavor.  After the 3 minutes are up, remove the okra from the pot and set aside--you can put it in the same bowl as the sausage so you're not making extra dirty dishes for yourself.

4) Add the olive oil, onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot and saute until softened and the onions start to go translucent (about 3-5 minutes).

5) Mix 1 cup water & instant roux together and then add to the pot, stirring until the roux thickens (just a minute or so).

 

6) Add the sausage, okra, rest of the water, chicken broth and spices to the pot and stir well--make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Then lock the lid on, make sure the lid is set to "Seal", Press "Manual", and cook on "High" for 10 minutes.

7) Let the pot de-pressurize naturally (about 10 minutes), then open the lid and throw in the shrimp.  The residual heat from the gumbo will cook them without letting them get too tough & chewy.

Serve over rice (or with the rice mixed in, because my co-workers are a bunch of Yankees who aren't used to assembling their own gumbo bowls), with a side of potato salad and french bread.  

...and a side of red beans, jambalaya, veggies, Jimmy Johns, and king cake....  Because it's a potluck. And you start Keto tomorrow...so one last hurrah!!!

My Other Gumbo Recipes:
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (made from scratch)
Pressure Cooker Gumbo
Gumbo Risotto
Duck & Sausage File Gumbo
Slow Cooker Gumbo

Thirsty Thursday (Primo Edition): No Throw Solo

Happy Valentine's Day!  You might be expecting a holiday-themed cocktail...and you'd be right...just not THAT holiday.

My cousin Primo messaged me over the weekend with this new cocktail recipe, so I had to get it posted for this week!  Since Mardi Gras season is in full swing down in in New Orleans, he created this as his cocktail special to run through Fat Tuesday (March 5 this year).  If you're going to be in NOLA for Carnival season, head over to La Bayou, say hey to Primo, and order one up...or you can make it at home.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz Scotch (Primo uses Grant's Family Reserve)
1 oz dry Riesling (Kung Fu Girl)
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz Thyme simple syrup (recipe below)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme (and charred pineapple, if you have the means).

P.S. Don't forget to follow Primo's newest culinary adventure, Snaxidermy, a pop-up restaurant serving up killer creations like Texas brisket tacos and smoked rib sliders.

Thyme Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
handful of fresh thyme

Combine sugar, water, and thyme sprigs in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature(~30 minutes). Strain to remove thyme sprigs. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Boudin King Cake - Happy Mardi Gras!

As you know, I get to travel to Louisiana about 4 times a year for work.  And I generally try to schedule the first quarter visit so that it overlaps with my favorite Mardi Gras parade--the Scott parade, which rolls past my friends Bonnie & Paul's house, so they always host a big shindig and it's a great chance to see all my old friends.  

But this year, I couldn't make it happen. I had to schedule my trip much earlier in the year, and missed Mardi Gras season altogether.  And was very, very sad.

So sad, that I convinced my coworkers to let me host a Mardi Gras potluck at our office, on Mardi Gras day!  (This really didn't take a lot of convincing.  My coworkers are generally down for anything that involves food and chit-chatting over lunch.)

My colleagues were up for the challenge. Our CFO made gumbo, the compliance team brought red beans & rice, our social media manager (whose wife's family is from Abbeville, LA) made crawfish macque choux...one of my teammates made shrimp cornbread, and a senior scientist (who also lived in Lafayette for a spell) helped me put together a shrimp boil, with jumbo skrimps fresh from the Gulf. We even had bread pudding with bourbon sauce.  Everything was AMAZING.

And me...well, I was so inspired by all the tales I heard of Twin's Bakery making boudin king cakes, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Now, if I ever make this again, I think I'll use the sheets of crescent roll dough from the refrigerated section.  I tried using pre-made pizza dough with this version and it ended up a little doughy.  But overall, it tasted amazing.  And it was relatively easy to put together!

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 12 servings)

2 rolls of pre-made dough sheets (again, I'd recommend trying crescent roll dough)

1 package boudin (I was able to find Richard's at my local market, which hails from Church Point, LA) - 2 links, casings removed

1 egg

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you could opt for pork cracklins instead, like the Twin's original)

1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted in butter for about 5 minutes

2-3 Tbsp Steen's cane syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then roll out one of the dough sheets. Place one of the links down the center of the sheet, and then using a knife, cut slits along the sides, and then braid the slits together (over/under).  Leave the first two and last two unbraided, so you can use these to "tie" the two sides together.

Now roll out the second sheet and do the same, with the link curving toward the first braid.  Once braided, curve the two sides together until they meet (you may have to break the boudin link) and then use the unbraided ends to combine the two sides.  Mine ended up a little wonky where the two halves met, but it still baked up just fine.

Heat the oven to 350, and then bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and drizzle with the Steen's syrup, and sprinkle on the bacon and pecans.  Cut into about 12 pieces and serve while warm!

So while I didn't get to spend Mardi Gras season with my LA peeps, we still got to have a great time, eat some great food, listen to some good Louisiana music...

...and enjoy each other's company.  Because Missouri Yanks can pass a good time at work, even while the entire state of Louisiana enjoys their day off. :)  Happy Mardi Gras y'all!  

Mardi Gras 2014!!!

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all!  As always, if you’re not in Louisiana, you can tune in to live parade coverage here:

Or Here: 

(PSsst:  Brush up on your Parade Knowledge here…)

Need a king cake?  We’ve got your recipe right here:

Or you could opt for cupcakes:

Need something cold to drink?  There’s a whole list of Hurricane Recipes you could whip up:

Or you could try out a King Zulu, made with King Cake Vodka:

Or, even try this frozen version that I whipped up last night:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup ice

1 cup fresh pineapple

3-4 oz King Cake vodka

1 oz lime juice

3-4 large fresh mint leaves

2 dashes cinnamon (it brings out the king cake flavor)

DIRECTIONS:

Blend together until frothy, and enjoy!  Garnish with fresh mint and a wedge of pineapple that’s been dipped in purple sugar.

Perfect for studying!  (Which is why I didn’t have time to make a King Cake this year)

Thirsty Thursday: Mardi Gras Edition!

Hey gang!  It’s the return of Thirsty Thursday!!!  And with Mardi Gras coming up next week, I’ve got the perfect cocktail for you!

This is the King Zulu; I snagged the recipe from Cannata’s stock pile of recipes for King Cake Vodka.

Oh yes… King. Cake. Vodka.

Lucky Player also makes a King Cake vodka, but it’s about $29/bottle…whereas Taaka is only $7, and from what I hear tastes exactly the same.  It’s a combination of almond, cinnamon & vanilla.  VERY tasty stuff, but with just a lil’ bit of a burn.

The Zulu parade is noted for their tradition of tossing coconuts to the parade watchers, so this recipe pulls in a delectable layer of coconut flavor, which pairs perfectly with lime juice, pineapple, and the King Cake vodka!

INGREDIENTS:

Purple colored sugar (mix about a 1/4 of a cup of sugar with 3 drops each of red & blue food coloring, and toss to mix)

lime juice (for making the sugar stick to the glass)

2 oz King Cake Vodka

2 oz Pineapple juice

0.5 oz Coconut syrup

1 oz lime juice

sparkling wine or club soda

Lime & Pineapple to garnish

 

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the vodka, pineapple juice, cocnut syrup, and lime juice in a glass with ice and mix to chill. 

Dip the rim of a glass in lime juice, then dip into the colored sugar.  Add ice to the glass, and then pour the cocktail into the glass.  Top with the soda/sparkling wine.  Garnish with the pineapple & lime wedge.

Purple, gold & green!  The perfect Mardi Gras cocktail!

Happy Mardi Gras! (& King Cake Cupcakes!)

The Big Day is upon us!  The day when all of my Louisiana friends are off work, enjoying parades or just lounging at home, recovering from the month of parades prior to today.

And here I am…in Missouri, with 40 degree weather, and yes…I have to work today.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t still celebrate a little bit!  Same goes for you!

You can watch WWL’s live coverage of the New Orleans parades today on their website!

And…you can make cupcakes.  Like I did, for my coworkers.

These were really easy (aside from the ones that were really hard, but we’ll get to that in a minute).  I wanted to capture the flavors of a traditional king cake without all the work.  So we use a box mix as our base, but add cinnamon, brown sugar, and cream cheese.

 

Ingredients: (makes about 12-16 cupcakes)

1 box golden or butter cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup applesauce

1.5 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 oz fat free cream cheese, room temperature

Icing packet from a cinnamon roll tube (or you can make fresh glaze with 2 tbsp milk, 1/2 c powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla)

purple, yellow, and green colored sugar (read more about making your own colored sugar here)

Muffin liners (DO NOT attempt this recipe without these!)

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F, and prepare two 12-cup muffin trays with liners.  This is VERY essential.*

Beat all the ingredients together (except the glaze and the colored sugar), and then use an ice cream scoop (1/2 cup batter) to portion the batter into the cups.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown & cooked through.

Let cool for about 15 minutes on a baker’s rack, and then top with a dollop of glaze, and spread across the cupcake.  Sprinkle your colored sugars over the top in thirds to represent the colors of Mardi Gras (purple for justice, green for faith, gold for power).

Now…here’s the dealio.  I didn’t follow my own advice. I am giving you the “I screwed up, but here’s how to fix it” version.  I had a limited number of muffin liners, so I only lined one of my muffin tins.  The other I just spritzed with cooking spray.

But this dough (probably because of the brown sugar and cream cheese) is EXTRA sticky, so when I went to turn out the cupcakes… only the tops came out.

After I resisted the urge to throw the pan on the kitchen floor (where my pug would have happily devoured the stuck cupcake bottoms), my brilliant husband suggested trying to mold the pieces together using the ice cream scoop.  Which made me think of CAKE TRUFFLES!

So I mixed in the remaining glaze into this Bowl Of Disaster:

I tried a couple different molding methods—the ice cream scoop didn’t work out because the cake+glaze was too sticky, so instead, I used a small circle cookie cutter and just pressed the “dough” into the middle to make a form.  Then I dusted the tops with colored sugar.  It worked out perfectly!  They taste just like the cupcakes.  So now, I share this with the world, in case anyone else happens to screw up while making cupcakes.  All is not lost!  DO NOT THROW THAT PAN ON THE FLOOR!

Super Easy Mardi Gras King Cake!

So…I should probably be updating you all about my Canadian vaycay, right?  Well, I had a post all written up for our time in Whistler… and then BAM… my editor crashed and ate the post.  After about a minute of cursing…I decided it was time to take a break and get back to cooking.

And in case you haven’t heard, there’s a big par-tay going on in New Orleans right now.  Maybe you even hit up a local pub crawl this weekend in its honor.  Tuesday is MARDI GRAS, y’all!  And this is the first year since 2004 that I haven’t gotten to attend a Louisiana Mardi Gras celebration in some shape or form.  Because you don’t have to be in NOLA right NOW…there’s a whole Carnival Season that started WEEKS ago, all across the Gulf Coast.  Last year, my Hubs & I got to ride in the Scott City Mardi Gras parade.  I’m sad I missed out this year.

Our church group had a small gathering this weekend, so of course, I decided to throw together a King Cake since I was in charge of the desserts.  But I didn’t have a lot of time to make dough from scratch.  Thankfully, some other brilliant person realized that refrigerated cinnamon roll dough makes a perfect substitute. 

I decided to make two small King Cakes—one for the church group, and then another later on this week.

Ingredients:

3 tubes cinnamon rolls, room temp

Filling #1 (Cream Cheese & Cherry)

2 oz fat free cream cheese

1/4 c powdered sugar

1 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp vanilla

splash of skim milk

1/2 cup low-sugar cherry pie filling

Filling #2 (Praline)

1/8 cup light butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

(Note: if you decide you only want to make one big King Cake with one type of filling, just double the ingredients for that filling so you have enough.)

Directions:

Knead the 3 cans of dough together in a large bowl, then turn out onto a floured surface.  Roll into a large rectangle.

For the Cream Cheese Cherry option: combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla, & milk  until smooth, then spread onto half of the rectangle.  Spoon the cherry pie filling on top of that. Don’t spread it all the way out the edge—leave yourself about an inch on each side.

For the Praline filling:  Combine the ingredients until thorough mixed, then spread on half of the rectangle.  Don’t spread it all the way out the edge—leave yourself about an inch on each side.

Fold the filling-covered portion on top of itself, pinch the ends so that the filling won’t ooze out, and then roll up the rest of the way.  Twist around to form a ring, with the seam facing down. Pinch the ends together.

Congrats, you have a giant bagel.

Bake at 375F for about 30-35 minutes. 

While that’s baking, make your own colored sugar for the top!  This is so simple and brilliant, I can’t understand why I never did it before.

Get one ziploc baggie for each color you need.  My food coloring box came with green, blue, red, and yellow, so two of the colors you need are easy-peasy.  Add some sugar to the bag, drop in a drop or two of coloring, close the bag, and then just shake and mix and rub until all the sugar is uniformly colored.

For the purple, you’ll combine blue & red in equal parts.  If you accidentally use too much color and it’s really dark, just add more sugar to lighten it up.

Purple for Justice, Green for Faith, Gold for Power.

Now…here’s the BONUS brilliant bit.  You know those icing packets that come with the cinnamon rolls? Yup…that’s the glaze for the top of your cake! Once the cake has cooled, spread one of the icing packets across the top.  Sprinkle your colored sugar on top of that.

Have a Happy Mardi Gras, guys!!!

Happy Mardi Gras, Y’all!!!

And how do we celebrate Mardi Gras in the blogosphere?

Well, first, I hand you a virtual drive-thru daiquiri (because yes, they’re open this early):

 

…because you’re going to need to take it with you to the parade!

(Clicky-clicky below for LIVE FEED of the parades!)

http://www.experiencemardigras.com/ 

http://livewire.wdsu.com/Event/Live_Wire_Mardi_Gras_On_WDSU

 

After that, you’ll want some king cake, right?  Where do your loyalties lie?  With Haydel’s?

Or Gambino’s?

Or maybe Meche’s, if you’re near Lafayette?

Me, I’m partial to Southside Bakery in Lafayette:

 

What’s your favorite type of king cake?  So many of them are just jammed full of cream cheese…and while I like a LEETLE cream cheese, I prefer the fruit fillings—cherry being my fave.  However, I’m also a sucker for a good slice of traditional cinnamon & pecan.

 

Alas, I have never been brave enough to attempt my own king cake, but someday…someday.  (I’d say, “later this week”, but it’s a crazy week around the FeauxCajun household.  I’ve got a two day out-of-town work conference, and a pirate-themed murder mystery party later this week, for which my husband & I still need to make our costumes. SO EXCITED!)

However, if you’re looking for a fun recipe, I recently came across this recipe for a King Cake Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce on the Raised On A Roux blog, and I am ITCHING to try it.  Because it combines two of my favorite things—king cake, and bread pudding!  So if you’ve got a random king cake on hand & want to try something new & fun with it, give that recipe a whirl & let me know how it comes out!

(I’d try it myself, but I found it after I’d already made my New Year’s Resolution of “no new recipes”.  Sad face.)