I have never heard of Pancake Day. I've heard the day referred to as Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, of course, but never Pancake Day. I don't know if that's because I am not particularly religious or I don't pay enough attention, but the result is the same. I am woefully under informed and had no idea what other bloggers have been posting about.
So in order to correct this situation, and to catch up with everyone else, I did a little research. It turns out that it's called Pancake Tuesday/Pancake Day because, in the olden days, you had to use up all the ingredients in your home that were forbidden during Lent. Most of these things (eggs, milk, butter) can be used in pancakes.
There are all kinds of celebrations out there. In Olney, England there is an actual Pancake race. The Pancake race in Olney goes back 500 years. The story goes that one woman was so engrossed in making pancakes that when she heard the church bells calling for Shriving Service, she just threw on a head scarf and ran to church with frying pan in hand.
If you're interested in a fun way to serve pancakes, watch this video. It is interesting and informative with a lot of good ideas on what can go in a pancake. I believe it's more European than American, but it looks mighty tasty all the same.
Happy Mardi Gras folks! Just about everyone who has been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans has had one of Pat O'Brien's Hurricanes. A tall red drink served in a 24 oz. Hurricane glass which looks like the tall glass chimney of an old fashioned oil hurricane lamp. Sipping a Hurricane is one of the most popular ways to celebrate when in New Orleans, and I've had my share back in the years when I made my annual pilgrimage to Mardi Gras. It's a tasty drink with a bit of a kick, the saving grace is that it is served in a tall glass filled with ice so you can sip it slowly. If you slurp it down fast, then after a few you're gonna feel like you went through a hurricane yourself. Your clothes will start to come off, your popularity will soar, and you'll soon be wearing a lot of Mardi Gras beads and pearls.
Pat O'Brien operated a speakeasy during prohibition called Mr. O'Brien's Club Tipperary. The semi-secret password to get in was "storm's brewin". Then in 1933 after the repeal of prohibition Pat O'Brien moved across the street and opened Pat O'Brien's and a while later in 1942 moved to the present location at 718 St. Peter Street. The Hurricane was created at Pat O'Brien's some time in the 1940's during the war years. Whiskey was hard to get but rum was plentiful and to order a case of whiskey a bar had to order as many as 50 cases of rum first. So Pat O'Brien created this punch like drink to make use of the available rum.
The whole idea behind having pancakes on Fat Tuesday is to use up the butter, milk, eggs and other indulgent ingredients that you might having lying around the house so that you won't be tempted during Lent. But because everyone likes pancakes and not everyone observes lent, calling the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday "National Pancake Day" makes the tradition open to all - and I think that we can all agree that more pancakes are not a bad thing.
For my pancake day breakfast, I opted not to go with something decadent, but instead with something more wholesome so that I don't feel too bad about starting the day with a couple more pancakes (topped with maple syrup, of course), than I need.
If there was ever a time to try a Ramos Gin Fizz, Mardi Gras is it.
The fizzy, frothy, creamy drink was invented by Henry C. Ramos in the 1880s, in his bar, the Imperial Cabinet
Saloon at Meyer's Restaurant in New Orleans. The two ingredients that make the cocktail a Ramos Gin Fizz are
orange flower water and egg whites. The "fizz" comes from shaking the drink. Supposedly, the drink has
to be shaken for at least five minutes.
Rub the rim of a glass with a cut lemon, then dip in sugar. In a cocktail
shaker, combine 2 oz. gin, ½ tsp. orange flower water, 1 egg
white, 1 oz cream, 1 oz. lemon juice, and ½ oz. lime
juice. Shake vigorously for five minutes, until frothy. Pour into sugar-rimmed glass with ice, and top off
with soda water.
Gumbo is a very thick soup, almost a stew, that can be attributed to the Creole kitchen (it has
also been called "Cajun" but I'll let them experts fight that one out).
Gumbo likely began when French settlers in Louisiana made their native bouillabaisse, substituting
ingredients that were available to them locally. As settlers from different countries arrived in Louisiana and added
their influences, bouillabaisse gradually evolved into gumbo. The name "gumbo" is derived from the
African word "quingombo," which refers to okra, one of the primary ingredients in a proper gumbo.
The base for gumbo is a dark roux made from a 1:1 ratio of flour and oil. The roux acts as a thickener. Okra is
also added, and is what thickens the gumbo. However, when okra is not in season, cooks use only the dark
roux. File powder or gumbo file, made from
sassafras, was used at one time as a thickener as well, but is not as common today. If there is okra in the gumbo,
however, it is absolute sacrilege to add file powder.
Once the roux has darkened, cooks add the Holy Trinity (chopped bell pepper, celery, and onion) and stock made from
whatever ingredients will be in the final gumbo - chicken, sausage, or shellfish. The meats are added and the gumbo is
simmered on the stove top until the meats are cooked through.
Though gumbo is sometimes considered a thick soup, some gumbo purists argue that it must be ladled over plain white
rice.
I had my fill of gumbo at restaurants over the weekend, so I'll leave the home-cooking up to you:
Even though the may of Pancake Town USA doesn't seem to think that
any time is a good time for pancakes, he certainly can't deny that Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is a
natural day for them. The tradition of eating pancakes on the last day before the season of Lent was started to use up
dairy and eggs that were often abstained from, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. But enough with religious roots: you don't
need an excuse to eat pancakes, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Here are Slashfood's eight favorite pancake
recipes:
It's not really a Mardi Gras party
without indulging in a drink, or two, or a half dozen, so don't forget to add some cocktails to your Fat
Tuesday Feast.
Sazerac might be the world's oldest known cocktail.
Granted, not the oldest liquor (or wine), but cocktail which, by "definition," is a
mixture. We're not exactly sure where the name comes from, but it could be from a French brand of
cognac called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils, or it could be named after the cafe in which it was first reported to be made,
the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans (thus, its association with New Orleans and Mardi Gras). It doesn't matter
because a sazerac by any other name still tastes as sweet.
To make a
Sazerac cocktail, crush one sugar cube with a drop of water in the bottom of a glass. (Some recipes call for 1 tsp. simple syrup instead.) Add a few drops of
Peychaud's Bitters, 2 oz. rye whiskey, a few ice cubes, and stir.
Pour this into another glass that has been swirled with a few drops of Pernod (or absinthe, you decide). Twist a
lemon peel over the cocktail.
Purists will say that you cannot make a true Sazerac without the Peychaud's bitters, and that you don't add the
lemon peel to the drink after you twist. As far as the rye whiskey, I am guessing a fine cognac would work just as
well, if not better, but don't use Bourbon. Save that for a mint julep on Derby Day.
Though the parades and festivities have been scaled back a bit this year in New Orleans,
Slashfood will be fully indulging in all kinds of food, drink, and traditions in honor of Mardi Gras next Tuesday.
We know Mardi Gras as a time of excessive celebration, and like many "holidays," through the
commercialization, we might have forgotten why it's there. As a refresher "Mardi
Gras" translates from French to "Fat Tuesday." The celebration has its roots in Catholicism -
the Church established the period from January 6th (12th Night) until Mardi Gras as "Carnival," a time of
celebration and enjoyment. Mardi Gras is the last day of Carnival, and is the last chance for us to enjoy
ourselves, before we go into the 40 days of Lent, a period of prayer and penance.
Mardi Gras is also known as both Shrove Tuesday and
as Pancake Day because pancakes are eaten to
use up milk and eggs, which are not eaten during Lent.
Happy Mardi Gras folks! Just about everyone who has been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans has had one of 
If there was ever a time to try a Ramos Gin Fizz, Mardi Gras is it.
Gumbo is a very thick soup, almost a stew, that can be attributed to the Creole kitchen (it has
also been called "Cajun" but I'll let them experts fight that one out).
Even though the may of 
It's not really a 
Though the parades and festivities have been scaled back a bit this year in New Orleans,
Slashfood will be fully indulging in all kinds of food, drink, and traditions in honor of Mardi Gras next Tuesday. 
DIY Foods: Making homemade sausage
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
