As we've now mentioned several times, today is Pancake Day (Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday). Historically this is because pancakes were a good way to use up the ingredients in your cupboards that were prohibited during Lenten austerity. As with all things in this age, Pancake Day has been somewhat co-opted by society at large. Case in point? The International House of Pancakes isn't celebrating Pancake Day until next week!

Today is also Super Tuesday, which means that citizens across 24 states will be going to the polls today to cast their vote for their candidate of choice. Apparently, the fact that Pancake Day and Super Tuesday fall on the same day caused great consternation to the IHOP. They didn't want to share the date with democracy and so have announced that next Tuesday, February 12th is when they'll be celebrating National Pancake Day. It sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

[via Metafilter]

I'm assuming that you didn't take the day off from work to run half-naked through the streets of your neighborhood in celebration of Mardi Gras, which probably means you didn't start your day with Hurricanes and Brandy Milk Punches at 7 AM.

Starting the day with cafe au lait -- French for "coffee with milk" -- is a better option. It's not a latte. Cafe au lait is drip coffee with hot milk. After years and years of drinking coffee black -- no sugar, no cream, no love, baby -- I conceded to trying coffee with milk because I "had to" when I was at Cafe du Monde last month. I have to say, I have been drinking it this way at home for the last month since I've been back.

Oh, okay, so I'm using soy instead of regular milk.

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]

My father (aka Mo) is something of a pancake connoisseur. He spent a bit of time working at the International House of Pancakes as a short order cook during his youth. He found their pancakes to be so bland and unimpressive that he set off on a life-long mission to create the best pancake he could. This meant that I grew up with excellent pancakes. His were nutty and full of belly-satisfying whole grains. One of his secrets is the addition of honey-toasted wheat germ to the mix. Sadly, this ingredient has gotten increasingly difficult to find over the years.

Despite the challenges to find the appropriate wheat germ, he still makes a good pancake and has passed that knowledge on to me. I've always been an eager study when it comes to food and so hungrily drank in his pancake wisdom as a small child. He recommends to carefully monitor your heat, so that the insides of the pancakes cook completely before the outside gets too dark. He always greases his griddle with vegetable oil, wiping off the excess with a carefully folded paper towel. Lastly, he teaches that you know it's time to flip your cakes when the bubbles start to pop at the edges and don't close back over themselves.

In some parts of the world, tomorrow is known as Mardi Gras. Others know it as Shrove Tuesday and still others simply refer to it as Pancake Day. For those of you who like to eat a big stack of pancakes before heading into the austerity of Lent, check out the recipe for Mo's Famous Pancakes after the jump and get cooking!

The Super Bowl is Sunday, but not two days later, we jump right into Mardi Gras festivities. Since Mardi Gras is on a Tuesday and we know you're utterly responsible on "school nights," why not celebrate it a little early by serving classic New Orleans fare at your Super Bowl Party? Gumbo, jamablaya, and of course, the muffuletta.

The muffuletta is something new to me. I've heard about, read about, and seen this giant Sicilian stuffed sandwich, but only tried it for the very first time a few weeks ago when I was in New Orleans for the BCS Bowl. Though I am not normally a huge fan of sandwiches in general, I fell in love with the powerfully garlicky olive salad, one of the specific ingredients that makes the muffuletta a muffuletta.

The muffuletta's size makes it the perfect party sandwich, since you can make a few, then cut them into single-size servings for your guests. The basic ingredients are a round, somewhat flat seeded loaf of firm bread (for which the sandwich is named), salumi, cheese, and olive salad.

If you can't get your hands on muffuletta bread specifically, something like a focaccia is a good substitute. Slice the bread horizontally, rub the cut sides of the bread with oil from the olive salad, then pile on any of assorted salumi, provolone cheese, and of course, the olive salad, which you can either buy or make yourself. Press the sandwich together and you're good to go.

Of course, if you live in New Orleans, you can just pick some up from the place that invented the sandwich, Central Grocery (where I got and ate mine)!

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.

Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone.

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.

There are several methods to making jambalaya, and I am sure people will argue until the end of time as to which is better, but personally I like them both. The first type, which is what I made, is known as Creole-style or red jambalaya which includes tomatoes. The second type, Cajun jambalaya, is brown in color and does not have any tomatoes added.

Red jambalaya is very easy to prepare and can be made in one pot, though I tend to fry my sausage separately to ensure that it is well done. That's just my choice though, you can do it either way. I chose to use ham and andouille sausage for mine, but there are a number of different meats and seafood you can use, it is all a matter of personal taste and what you have available.

I've included the recipe after the jump, as well as some suggestions as to how you can make this dish suit your personal preferences.

Most every country or region uses a trinity, or a basic mix of flavors (generally vegetable-based, spice-based, or a combination of the two) for a majority of their signature dishes which include soups, stews, sauces, or variations thereof. Though we have touched on this a few times in the past, I think it bears repeating - especially as to why these flavor combinations are so important for regional dishes.

The Szechuan trinity is a mix of ginger, green garlic, and chili peppers. In Lebanese cuisine, it is a combination of garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Italy has two - the first is tomato, garlic and basil, which is obviously used for anything with a tomato-based flavor, and the second trinity is olive oil, onion and garlic which is used for just about everything else. In France they use a combination of onions, carrots, and celery called Mirepoix. Admittedly, I make a fresh batch of Mirepoix twice a week and simply keep it in a Zip-lock bag in the fridge because I use it so often.

Over the next few days we'll be taking a look at a number of dishes that fall into the 'Cajun', 'Creole', and 'Southern' food categories. Though there are distinct differences between each style of cooking, for ease of posting I'm going to lump them into the single category of "Mardi Gras food".

I use a basic Creole spice in most of my dishes which I'll be referencing back to over the next couple of days. This is very similar to Emeril's "essence", though each recipe varies slightly. You can adjust the amounts to suit your own personal taste, though the mixture below will produce a nice blend of seasonings and spice that will accent and flavor your food without adding too much heat. If three-alarm is what you are looking for, by all means add more cayenne!

The recipe can be found after the jump.

King Cake is a staple of Mardi Gras celebrations. The pastry is made with a rich, brioche-like dough that is light in texture, but made with plenty of butter and eggs, and wrapped around a decadent filling of either cream cheese or marzipan. Usually shaped in a round, the cake is frosted with tri-colored icing: purple to represent justice, green to represent faith, and gold to represent power. Amanda and Tyler (the cook and the eater, respectively) from What We're Eating baked up a decadent Mixed Berry & Cream Cheese King Cake to celebrate the season, filled with a combination of berries, cream cheese and sour cream for a sweet, fruity take on the seasonal favorite. The berries are actually cooked with sugar to form a quick jam, which is layered with the cheese mixture inside the cake. King Cakes can be eaten for breakfast or dessert, and this one seems like a prime candidate for the former category.

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.

Related Posts:

• Why it's Fat Tuesday
• Mardi Gras Cocktails: Sazerac
• Mardi Gras Cocktails: Hurricane

Today - February 28th, 2006 - all participating IHOP restaurants will be giving away free pancakes to their customers. The free pancakes are in celebration of Fat Tuesday and each diner who requests them will be given a short stack at no charge! In IHOP speak, a short stack of pancakes is three pancakes, but diners with large appetites shouldn't worry about the small-sounding portion, since each pancake is nearly the size of a plate. During the promotion, customers will be invited to donate to the Children's Miracle Network, a nonprofit group which works to raise funds for children's hospitals in North America. Check out the IHOP website for full details and locations for your free breakfast!

Even the name of "Fat Tuesday" implies that there should be at least a little indulgence in the day. In keeping with the tradition of making pancakes to celebrate the last day before lent, I made a batch of pancakes, using up some buttermilk, butter and eggs. As if that weren't enough for a delicious breakfast of classic comfort food, I added chocolate chips to really get into the decadent spirit of Mardi Gras. The pancakes themselves are light and fluffy, and the chocolate chips melt deliciously into your mouth as you eat. These don't really need syrup, but to really get into the theme of "Fat Tuesday", top yours with whipped cream. IF you have kids, use the whipped cream to make a smiley face, just like the IHOP Funny Face Pancakes.

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:

• Gumbo z'Herbes (Gumbo made from all green vegetables)
• Gumbo File with Crab from Gourmet
• New Orleans Chef Leah Chase's Creole Gumbo
• Gumbo Ya Ya from Emeril Lagasse