It's that time again, Mardi Gras. Now I've never been personally but would love to experience at least once in my life. But since I can't go....I'll eat like i'm there!! This is the first year that I'll be doing a king cake (minus the baby part of it). I'm really excited about it actually. More than I thought I would be! HA!!
Here are the recipes I'll be making tonight:
Bacon and Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato Sauce
- 3/4 cup cold water, divided
- 1/4 cup crumbled cooked turkey bacon
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 cups hot cooked brown rice
Directions
- In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, celery and green pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, bacon, parsley, sugar, salt, thyme, curry powder, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually stir into tomato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add shrimp. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings.
Mardi Gras King Cake
(the original recipe had an almond paste for the filling, i don't like almonds so i changed it to be more like a cinnamon roll. Either way it's cake and you can't go wrong with cake!! -the points I list are based on the cake with the changes that I made)
- 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
- 1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp I can't believe it's not butter spread
- cinnamon
- sugar (like a cinnamon roll center)
GLAZE: - 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water
- Purple, green and gold colored sugar
Directions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 16-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Spread butter to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. For glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to achieve desired consistency. Spread over cooled cakes. Sprinkle with colored sugars. Yield: 2 cakes (12 servings each).
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1 comment:
I've never celebrated Mardi Gras beyond the traditional pancake supper - love the ideas you've posted
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