King Cake

King Cake, History And Recipe For The Mardi Gras Tradition (VIDEO)

Mardi Gras just isn't Mardi Gras without a King Cake.

But it's not solely a Fat Tuesday tradition.

The season for the King Cake actually extends from the Twelve Days of Christmas through Mardi Gras, though many indulge in the desert as a last pleasure before the start of lent. Regardless of your fasting habits, King Cake has become a Fat Tuesday tradition.

The religious history behind the cake can be traced back to the three kings that visisted the baby Jesus on the night of his birth. Historically, King Cake parties can be traced back to the eighteenth century.

The cake, which existed in different forms in different cultures, often takes a Southern twist in New Orleans.

From : Wikipedia

The king cake of the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted bread similar to that used in brioche topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green, and gold (the traditional Mardi Gras colors) with food coloring. Cajun king cakes are traditionally deep-fat-fried as a doughnut would be, and there are many variants, some with a filling, the most common being cream cheese and praline.

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Source : The Huffington Post

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Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler: What Does it Mean & How Do You Say It?

If you didn’t take French in high school, you may struggle to say “laissez les bon temps rouler.” To our American tongues, this phrase is – literally – foreign. And what does it mean in the first place? Plus teach yourself – and your kids – how to say it today, just in time for Fat Tuesday.

This phrase pops up throughout the Mardi Gras season. “Laissez les bon temps rouler” means “Let the good times roll,” always a nice thought. As for pronunciation, try it phonetically - lay-zEh leh bAwn taw rOO-leh or you can try Lazay Lay Bon Tom Roulay.

Now all you have to do is get a King’s cake, some gumbo, a festive mask and some beads and you are set for your own Mardi Gras magic.

Image: Cafe Press

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Source : Babble

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Fat Tuesday

Fat Tuesday Options for the Paczki Day Skeptics

If my Twitter feed is any indication, my fellow Chicagoans are filling up on paczki, the last-minute-before-Lent Polish treat. Of course, it's not just here; Hamtramck claims it's the paczki capital of the world, and the Michigan-based Achatz Handmade Pie Company (yes, that Achatz family) makes paczki-inspired pies and lighter, brioche-like, baked paczki.

But it doesn't seem like this was always the case. The first reference I found to a Paczki Day in the Tribune archives comes from a 1981 Jewel ad. Prior to that, the treats come up in reference to Fat Tuesday in 1966... but paczki had to share the city's palate with fasnachts (like packzi but made with potato flour, which sounds amazing, and a bigger deal in Pennsylvania Dutch country), semlor (basically a packzi sandwich from Sweden, with cardamom and marzipan), and fastelavnsboller (Norwegian, like semlor only with whipped cream instead of marzipan).

All of which are basically in the packzi family. The exception was the British; the 1966 article cites Mrs. Michael Lewis of the British consulate following Callop Monday by ringing in Lent with--in the grand tradition of keeping British food as boring as culinarily possible, even for a big pre-Lent blowout--pancakes.

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Source : Chicago MAG

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