"MardiGras" news and stories

• Happy Valentine's Day! Chocolate desserts cure everything, you know.
• Next holiday: Mardi Gras. Ready for king cake?
• Speaking of French-inspired traditions, try knocking back a French 75.
• One can always use a refresher course in chicken and dumplings.

If you're lucky, you've tried it and found the baby.

Carnival means it's king cake season in New Orleans. Rings of the gold, purple and green sugary delights have cropped up all over the Crescent City, but they've likely come to your neighborhood too, as Louisiana natives -- many of whom relocated after Hurricane Katrina -- celebrate Mardi Gras (on Feb. 24 in 2009) with the king cake and its hidden plastic baby.

"It's a very interesting time for the king cake," says Chef John Folse, an expert on Cajun and Creole cuisine. His Gonzales, La., company is part of a growing number of bakeries that sell king cakes nationwide.

Mardi Gras could become a national holiday, if a Louisiana jambalaya maker has its way.

Zatarain's launched an online petition on Jan. 30 to ask Congress to make the observation of Fat Tuesday a federal law.

"Mardi Gras is a huge celebration in New Orleans, but what we've seen is people across the country -- almost 50 percent according to a national survey -- actually celebrate the holiday," Ken Beals, a Zatarain's spokesman, told Slashfood.

The New Orleans food company hopes to collect 100,000 signatures on MotionforMardiGras.com by Feb. 24 -- Mardi Gras 2009 -- and present those signatures to Congress. Zatarain's is also approaching local Louisiana officials to make the case for a national Mardi Gras.

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.

[Via ColdMud]

Source

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.