King Cake

First of all, I had somehow managed to completely forget about this blog but I remember really enjoying it back in the day. I randomly stumbled upon it today so now I'll try to return regularly and post things the rare times I actually cook something interesting. Nobody's posted on here for over a year so I'll have to start poking people to try to drum up some other traffic from some of the previous contributors. Truthfully, I don't even know who owns this blog.

Now, to the food...


For anybody familiar with Mardi Gras, you know that king cake is an integral part of the season. That's right, Mardi Gras is an entire season lasting from January 6 until Mardi Gras day, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. January 6 is Epiphany or King's Day and, according to tradition, it is the day that the wise men reached Bethlehem. Ash Wednesday is, of course, the first day of Lent, the Christian season of fasting, which is why Mardi Gras (meaning fat Tuesday in French) exists; it's the last day of partying and eating rich, fat, or sweet foods before Lent. The Brits traditionally eat pancakes and call it Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Tuesday), I think the Czechs eat kolaci and the Poles eat something whose name escapes me at the moment. Most traditionally Catholic or Orthodox cultures have some sweet to use up the last of their sugar and oil and in New Orleans we have the king cake.

The king cake comes from the French tradition, as does Mardi Gras itself, but the Louisiana king cake quickly differentiated itself from the French cake and is now a distinct Louisiana tradition. King cakes are sold throughout the Mardi Gras season and, even though stores will begin selling them immediately after Christmas, locals are usually very strict about not eating them outside of Mardi Gras season. Occasionally, you can find king cakes in bakeries outside the Mardi Gras area (southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, western Florida, and SE Texas) but, if so, it's usually only the week before Mardi Gras and not the entire season. As I'm currently living on the Left Coast, I can't buy king cakes at the store so I've had to make them myself.

I did a little searching and found a recipe by Emeril that I like a lot. The traditional king cake is similar to a twisted loaf of sweet, cinnamon bread that is shaped into a ring, iced, and sprinkled with sugar that is colored green, purple, and gold, the official colors of Mardi Gras. However, every bakery also sells king cakes filled with cream cheese or fruit fillings. This recipe is filled with cream cheese. I find that the filled cakes are much more forgiving as the unfilled ones dry out easily so are trickier to make well.

If you're not familiar with king cakes, you might get down to the party about baking a baby in and think we're all crazy down in Louisiana. I got lots of weird looks at church and at work when I brought and shared king cakes there. We always bake a small plastic baby into the cake and whoever gets the baby is king for the day. The lucky finder of the baby is also the person who gets to bring the king cake to the next king cake party; back in NO it's common to have weekly king cake parties in offices or classrooms throughout Mardi Gras season. If you can't find small plastic babies (amazingly, I found a package of them at a local novelty shop), people sometimes use a kidney bean, pecan, or coin. Just make sure you warn your eaters that there's something non-edible (and probably plenty chokable) in the cake.

Anyway, I've rambled more than enough, here's the recipe:

* 2 envelopes active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
* 1-1/2 cups warm milk (about 110°F)
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
* 4 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
* 4 cups confectioner's sugar
* 1 plastic king cake baby or a pecan half
* 5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sugar sprinkles

Combine the yeast and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the melted butter and warm milk and warm water. Beat at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks, then beat for 1 minute at medium-low speed. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and starts to climb up the dough hook. If the dough is uncooperative in coming together, add a bit of warm water (110 degrees), a tablespoon at a time, until it does.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a bowl with the vegetable oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioner's sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, pat it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Spread the filling lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough, then flip the top half of the dough over the filling. Seal the edges, pinching the dough together. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring and pinch the ends together so there isn't a seam. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush the top of the risen cake with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the lemon juice, and the remaining 3 cups confectioner's sugar in medium-size mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors around the cake.

The cake is traditionally cut into 2-inch-thick slices with all the guests in attendance.

YIELD: 20 to 22 servings

If you want a fun Mardi Gras workout, try making it without a mixer!

Gooey Butter Cake

Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from but it's a favorite in my family. I recently had my sister send the recipe to me and I made it myself for the first time. I even left in the piggy comment at the end, which probably originates with one of my aunts. It's more of a snack bar than a cake. Even though it's rich and sweet, we sometimes have it as a breakfast pastry. It probably works better as a dessert, though, for most people.

Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma
Ingredients
1) 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2) 1 onion (chopped)
3) 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
4) ½ teaspoon julienned ginger (I use ground)
5) 1 teaspoon salt
6) 1 teaspoon turmeric
7) 1 teaspoon ground cumin
8) 1 pound chicken (cooked)
9) 1 cup water
10) 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala (or to taste)
11) ¼ pint heavy whipping cream
12) Finely chopped coriander

Directions
Step 1: Heat oil in a large deep frying pan adding chopped onions and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on a medium heat until onions are slightly brown.

Step 2: Add garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 3: Add salt, turmeric, and cumin. Turn up the heat and cook for an additional 1 minute. It is crucial that the spices are well mixed in the pan with the chicken at this point to ensure that the chicken cooks with texture and flavor.

Step 4: Add chicken.

Step 5: After the chicken has been well mixed with the spices add water to mixture.

Step 6: Turn down heat slightly then add garam masala, and the cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 7: Sprinkle top with Corriander if desired

Sean’s note: I find that the sauce is a little thin so I add some flour to the water to help thicken it up a little.

Bola (Rum Punch Party Time Drink)

Mix 1/4 kg sugar and 1.5l of water; bring to boil so that sugar dissolves, let it cool down a bit. Pour the mixture in a big, stylish looking bowl. Squeeze in juice of 4 oranges and 4 lemons. Add 1/2 l of rum.

Put the bowl into the freezer and let it cool down completely. Add more sugar if needed, along with generous amounts of vanilla sugar, clove, nutmeg and other assorted spices and exotic fruits you happen to have handy.

Use a big laddle to serve bola in party cups... A good party will require more than one bowl of bola!

Armadillo Eggs

Since I'm currently visiting Texas, I figured I'd make my first post about a recipe I picked up on one of my other Texas visits. I guess I didn't actually get a recipe, I just ate a few and replicated it but it's a simple dish.

Here's what you'll need:
large jalapeño peppers
ground beef
cream cheese
shredded cheese
spices

The ground beef can have whatever amount of fat you prefer but the higher percentage, the less likely they'll fall apart, just like hamburgers.
For the shredded cheese, I usually just use cheddar but I have been known to use Mexican or other mixtures.


Cut the tops off the peppers and cut them in half lengthwise. Cut out the seeds and other junk.
Scoop out some cream cheese into a cup and add an equal amount of the shredded cheese. Mix it well. If I had any idea how much to make, I'd happily tell you but I just eye everything. The idea is to fill the halved peppers with the cheese mixture.
Season the ground beef with whatever spices suit your fancy. I use Cajun seasoning (i.e. Tony Chachere's, of course, I use that in almost everything I cook), some garlic salt, and sometimes chili powder. Mix the seasoning in evenly. If you're not sure of the seasoning, taste it. People are much too scared of uncooked meat; that is what tartar and sushi are.
After you've filled the pepper halves with the cheese mixture, take a handful of beef, flatten it out pretty thin, place the stuffed pepper half on top of the beef patty, and wrap the beef around the pepper half. Make sure the pepper is completely encased in the beef and the seams are well squished together to prevent splitting when cooking.
Once you've created all the armadillo eggs, grill them however you typically grill things. I've broiled them in my toaster oven and grilled them over charcoal.

I think that's about it. As I post more, you'll come to realize that I don't believe much in actual recipes or measuring. Cooking is more fun that way, it's all about experimenting and exploring. Cook fun stuff and have fun cooking.

7-Layer Taco Dip

OK, if brands are mentioned, they matter. In a 9x13, prepare the following 7 layers:

1. 2 cans Frito Lay bean dip
2. 1 part mayonnaise vs. 2 parts sour cream and 80% of a packet of Ortega seasoning
3. 2 freshly sliced avocados or guacamole
4. chopped black olives (1-2 small cans to taste)
5. diced/chopped green chilis (1-2 small cans to taste)
6. scallions - enough to sprinkle
7. Sharp cheddar (shredded)
8. diced roma tomoatoes

I know... there are 8 layers... GET OVER IT!