Mardi Gras King Cake

Posted by Tiffany at recipegoldmine.com 1/27/2002 6:10 pm

1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
6 teaspoons milk, scalded and cooled
4 cups flour (to 5 cups)
1/2 pound butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons melted butter
Small plastic doll (or bean)
Light corn syrup for topping
Granulated sugar for topping - green, yellow, purple

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk and about 1/2 cup of flour. In a large bowl, blend butter, sugar, salt and eggs. Add yeast dough and mix thoroughly. Gradually, add 2 1/2 cups flour to make a medium dough. Place in a greased bowl and brush with melted butter. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double in volume, about 3 hours.

Use 1 cup or more flour to knead dough and roll into a 4 to 5 foot long rope. Form into a oval on a 14 x 17-inch greased cookie sheet, connecting ends of the rope with a few drops of water. Press the doll (or bean) into the dough from underneath. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double in volume, about 1 hour.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush top of cake with corn syrup and sprinkle with alternating bands of colored sugar. Cake freezes well.

Linda Fisher’s King Cake with Streusel Filling and Caramel Icing

Posted by Keplerkid at recipegoldmine.com on 1/27/2002 9:34 pm

I haven’t made this cake but it sounds good. I live in Louisiana and can buy good King Cakes. I’ve never known anyone to make one because all bakeries and even grocery stores have good ones. This one is from The Times-Picaynue website, www.nola.com. I’m sure they have others in their archives, if you are interested. King Arthur Flour also sells a King Cake kit by mail.

Makes 1 large cake or about 40 servings

2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
6 tablespoons margarine (or butter or low-fat spread),
    plus 1/2 cup chilled margarine cut into small cubes, divided
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
About 6 3/4 cups flour, divided
3 eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus oil for mixing bowl
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Yellow, green and purple (or red and blue to make purple) food coloring
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
King cake baby or bean to insert in cake, optional

Dissolve yeast in warm water; let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt six tablespoons margarine and one-half cup white sugar in milk over low heat; let cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl, sift salt with six scant cups flour. Make a well in center and add eggs, milk mixture and yeast. With a wooden spoon or your hands, mix ingredients until they form a dough; if batter-like, thicken with one-fourth to one-half cup more flour. Knead dough in bowl 10 to 15 minutes. Form into a ball and grease surface with one tablespoon oil. Place in a large lightly-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Meanwhile, make filling: In a bowl, combine one-half cup white sugar, one-half cup brown sugar, two tablespoons flour and cinnamon. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut in one-half cup cold margarine until mixture looks like wet sand; set aside.

Place risen dough on a lightly floured surface; roll out to an 18 x 10-inch rectangle. Parallel to each 18-inch side, about one inch from edge, sprinkle a two-inch band of filling, using it all. Roll up each 18-inch side until the two rolls meet in center. With a knife, cut lengthwise between rolls to form two ropes. To seal in filling, pinch dough shut along lengthwise edges. With ropes parallel, start at the center and work outward to make one long rope by folding the ropes over one another. Shape rope into roughly an 18-inch x 12-inch oval; tuck one open end inside the other. Carefully transfer oval to a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet, lifting dough with one hand at tucked ends and the other on opposite side of oval; reshape if needed. Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, turning pan after 10 minutes.

Let cool while making colored sugar and icing. For colored sugar, place one-third cup white sugar in each of three bowls. To one bowl, add three drops or more food coloring to achieve desired color; mix well. Repeat for green and purple sugar. For icing, bring to boil evaporated milk with two tablespoons brown sugar; stir often. Remove from heat. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; mix until smooth and add vanilla extract. Working on a small section at a time, spread icing over part of cake and decorate that part with colored sugars. If using, hide baby or bean in bottom of cake.

Louisiana Shrimp Patties

1 pound raw shrimp, chopped
1/2 cup onions, minced
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tablespoon bell pepper
1/4 cup instant potatoes
1/4 cup water
1 raw egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of garlic salt

Mix shrimp, celery, bell pepper and onions. Add egg, instant potatoes, salt and pepper. Shape into patties. Put oil in skillet. Fry until golden brown. Drain oil and place patties back in pan with cup of water. Cover, let simmer 20 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Serves 6.

Louisiana Hot Beans

2 cans pork and beans
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 pound Louisiana hot sausage (or hot Jimmy Dean)

Cook sausage and drain beans. Mix beans, sausage and barbecue sauce in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 300 degrees to 350 degrees F for 30 to 60 minutes, the longer the better.

New Orleans Calas

Vendors used to sell Calas on the streets in the French Quarter of New Orleans, crying "Belles Calas! Calas tout chaud!"

1/2 cup uncooked rice
3 cups boiling water
1 package active dry yeast
3 eggs, well beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
Fat (for deep-fat frying)
Confectioners’ sugar

Cook rice in boiling water until very tender and mushy. Drain and set aside to cool. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water. Mix with cold rice and let stand in a warm spot overnight or at least 4 hours.

Beat in eggs, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg, adding more flour, if necessary, to make a thick batter. Heat fat to 370 degrees F on deep-fat thermometer or until a 1-inch cube of bread browns in 60 seconds. Drop batter from tablespoons into hot fat and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve hot.

Omelette au Rhum

Posted by FootsieBear at recipegoldmine.com April 2001

Source: Recipes & Reminiscences of New Orleans, contributed by Antoine’s

4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup rum

Make a regular omelet cooked in butter. Keep it soft and add a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Turn omelet onto a hot plate and sprinkle the top with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Pass under broiler to caramelize sugar.

Hat the rum, pour it over omelet and ignite. Spoon burning rum over omelet and when fire goes out, serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Louisiana Fried Catfish

2 pounds catfish filets
1/2 cup yellow mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
2 cups peanut oil

Wash fish and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine mustard, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss fish in mustard mixture.

Combine cornmeal and flour. Dredge coated filets in cornmeal and flour mixture.

Heat peanut oil until very hot. Fry catfish filets, a few at a time, until golden brown and crisp. Serve hot.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

East Indian Lamb Curry

2 pounds lean lamb, cubed
1/4 cup flour 
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup chopped instant onions
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon MSG
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tart apple, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons grated or flaked coconut
2 tablespoons seedless raisins or dried currants
Dash of nutmeg

Dredge meat in flour and brown on all sides in hot shortening. Add onions to skillet; sauté a few minutes but do not brown. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. For a mild curry, decrease amount of curry powder used. For hot curry, increase the amount of curry powder used. Cover. Simmer 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Serve with rice and an assortment of condiments.

Serves 4.

Basque Barbecue Leg of Lamb

1 (6 to 7 pound) leg of lamb or 1 whole lamb

Marinade
3 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large lemons, juiced

The day before serving, mix all marinade ingredients. Place in a pint jar and shake well.

Remove excess fat from lamb without breaking the parchment-like fell, leaving a little fat in order to enhance flavor. Using a small brush, spread surface of meat well with marinade. Place lamb in a large pan, cover, refrigerate overnight or for 24 hours. Baste occasionally with marinade.

The following day, remove meat from refrigerator at least 40 minutes before cooking time, in order to bring to room temperature. Heat coals. Either lay leg of lamb on grill or place on a spit. Turn meat over every 15 minutes. Cook to desired doneness. Transfer meat to a pan and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. (Resting meat makes it firm and easier to carve.) Total cooking time: approximately 2 1/2 hours.

Serves 8 to 10.

Serve with Chenin Blanc wine.

African Lamb Curry

This is an unusual, flavorful buffet dish — very elegant with a rice ring. Serve with chutney, chopped hardboiled eggs and coconut.

2 pounds lean lamb, cubed
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 5 ounces dried apples, chopped
2 to 3 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon freshly-grated lemon rind
Salt, to taste
Freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup seedless raisins, plumped
    in Madeira wine to cover
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Brown meat in butter in a skillet; sprinkle with flour, thyme, ginger and curry. Stir well and add onion, garlic and apples. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Gradually add 2 cups of the stock; cook and stir until slightly thickened and smooth. Add lemon rind, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, adding more stock if needed, until meat is tender.

Stir in walnuts, raisins, soaking liquid and coconut. Simmer for 30 minutes to heat thoroughly.