Mardi Gras King Cake

We are two weeks away from Mardi Gras or "Fat Tuesday" which is on Tuesday, February 12th this year.  Fat Tuesday celebrates the last day of Carnival season in New Orleans but the parades began back in mid-January.  King Cake is the traditional dessert served during the Carnival season, and usually has a plastic baby hidden somewhere in the cake.  The person who gets the slice of cake with the baby is declared "King of the Day" (assuming they don't choke on the baby) and is supposed to host the next party.  It seems like a constant party circuit and a great way to keep your social calendar full.

As many of you may know, I also vowed as part of my 2013 New Year's Foodie Resolutions to bake something this year.  So I thought I would try to bake a King Cake.  It actually turned out really, really well so I thought I would share the recipe with you (which is modified from Southern Living).  Please note:  Baby not included.

PS - Don't get any ideas in your head, I will not turn into a baker.  This cake took upwards of 4 hours to create.  I just do not have the patience for this sort of thing. 

Ingredients 
1 (16 oz) container of sour cream
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of butter
1 tsp salt
2 (1/4 oz) packages of active dry yeast
1/2 cup of warm water
2 eggs
6 cups of bread flour
1/3 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of milk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Purple, green and gold sprinkles
 
Preparation 
1.  Mix the sour cream, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium sauce pan over low-medium heat, stirring often until butter melts.

 
2.  While the sour cream mix is warming, stir together the yeast, sugar and warm water in 1 cup sized cup.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  It will bubble and rise.  It may overflow so put the cup in a bowl to catch any overflow.

3.  Whisk your two eggs.

4.  Mix the sour cream until smooth and remove from heat once the butter is melted.

 
5.  Using a stand mixer, blend at medium speed the sour cream, eggs, yeast and 2 cups of bread flour.

 
6.  Once it is well blended, reduce the mixer speed to low and add one cup of flour at a time until the remaining 4 cups of flour have been added and dough begins to form.

 7. Turn out dough mess on a lightly floured surface (I use about 1/4 cup of the bread flour).  Knead until smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes.  (This is quite a work out... my hands were tired).

8.  Generously grease a bowl with butter and add the kneaded dough.  Flip dough over so it is greased on top.  Cover with towels and place in a warm area (like 85 degrees) and let rise for 1 hour until it is doubled in bulk. (I don't know about you, but my house is not 85 degrees in the dead of winter, so do the best you can with this one).

9.  While the dough is rising, take out the 1/3 cup of butter to soften at room temperature.  Mix 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon in a bowl. 

10.  Take dough out of the bowl, "punch it down" (which means to use a fist and press in the center of the dough and then the sides to get the air out) and divide in half.  

 
11.  Take one dough ball and roll out into a rectangle that is 12 inches x 22 inches (or somewhere close to that).  Spread HALF of the softened 1/3 cup of butter over the dough.

12.  Sprinkle HALF of the sugar/cinnamon mix over top of the butter.

 
13.  Starting with the long end of the rectangle, begin to roll the dough toward the other side (like you are making a tube).  

14.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and form into an oval.  Cover with towels again and let sit for 30 - 45 minutes in a warm place so it rises.  Repeat steps 11-14 with the other dough ball.  (Surprise - you are making two cakes!!)

 
15.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Once the oval dough has risen, place in the oven for 16 minutes until golden.

16.  Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  While it is cooling, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, 2 tbl of milk, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter in a bowl and mix until smooth (it's icing!).

17.  Once the cake is cooled a little, drizzle HALF the icing on the cake and drizzle the other half on the other cake.

18.  Get out the sprinkles and sprinkle alternating bands of purple, green and gold on the icing.  Let your cakes cool completely.

19.  Your cake is ready to serve *and* you have an extra cake to give to a friend to continue the party spirit!  You are so nice...

 

Ragin' Cajun Jambalaya

I love cajun food -- it is Southern, spicy, and soulful.  It is the perfect comfort food and is easy to adjust based on your preferred flavors and 'heat-tolerance.'  As an added bonus, the ingredients are rather simple and most folks have the items on hand to be able to make most cajun recipes.

I am also planning a trip to New Orleans this coming March, so I'm trying to get my palate ready for my travel adventure celebrating food (and music!). So first up on my list is the traditional cajun cuisine, Jambalaya.  Here is the recipe I use and just so you know, I like it to be saucy (not soupy) to give it that full flavor.

Ingredients
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 tbl of butter
1 tbl of vegetable oil
1 cup of frozen okra
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of rice
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 chicken breast, diced
12.8 oz Andouille sausage
6 oz frozen shrimp
1 tsp of hot sauce
1 tsp of worcestershire sauce
1 tbl of cajun spice

 
Preparation

1.  Slice and dice all your vegetables -- onion, celery, green peppers, and jalapeno.  Leave the seeds and membranes in the mix, as it adds heat and flavor to the dish.  Same with celery leaves.

2.  Dice the chicken.  Sprinkle with salt and a pinch of cajun spice.

3.  Heat a stock pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Melt one tablespoon of butter with one tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Add chicken to the butter/oil mixture and heat until cooked through (about 10-12 minutes).

4.  While the chicken is cooking, slice the sausage and add to the pot.  Cook with chicken for about 5 minutes (10 if the sausage is not pre-cooked) to blend flavors.

5.  Remove chicken and sausage with a slotted spoon.

6.  Add all the vegetables to the pot (onions, peppers, celery, jalapeno, and okra).  Saute until tender (about 8-10 minutes).  Add one tablespoon of cajun seasoning.  Mix and cook for one minute.

7.  Add chicken and sausage back to the pot with the vegetables.

8.  Add diced tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes to blend flavors. 

9.  Add chicken stock and rice to the pot.  Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes until rice is fully cooked.  Stir often to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot!  Also, add any additional chicken stock as needed to ensure a lighter consistency/broth to cook the rice all the way through.

10.  Once the rice is fully cooked, add the shrimp to the pot.  Cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 10 minutes.

11.  Your jambalaya is ready!  Add a dash of hot sauce and salt to taste.  

Enjoy your ragin' cajun dinner!