7 Days of Mardi Gras: BONUS!

While my 7 Days of Mardi Gras series is complete, I came across this recipe on Facebook today. I think I might have all the ingredients at home so I'm going to give it a try tonight. Stay tuned...

7 Days of Mardi Gras Summary

As with all my holiday challenges so far, I had a lot of fun doing my 7 Days of Mardi Gras. I think I had a good variety of drinks, decorations and food throughout the seven days. It was a bit of a quick turnover from Valentine's Day but I was able to make it through.

7 Days of Mardi Gras
Day 1: Mardi Gras Wreath
Day 2: Hurricane Centerpiece
Day 3: Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix
Day 4: Beaded Votive
Day 5: SoCo & Lime Hurricane
Day 6: Smoked Sausage Jambalaya 
Day 7: King Cake

Up next: 7 Days of Shamrocks in honor of St. Patrick's Day! Stay tuned...

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 7: Happy Fat Tuesday!

Along with hurricane drinks, beads and masks, a kings cake is a classic symbol of Mardi Gras. Because of this, a classic kings cake was the obvious choice for the final day seven of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras. I've never attempted to make my own before and king's cakes sound a little complicated so I was delighted to find a king cake mix online. Mam Papaul's is straight from LA so I know it's legit.

 Before getting started, here is a little history straight from the box:

Nancy Wilson has created this easy to prepare Mardi Gras King Cake using her grandmother's brioch recipe. Six years in the making, Nancy has applied her skill and knowledge as a home economist and teacher to simplify this recipe so that virtually anyone can be successful despite a lack of culinary skills. Enjoy the experience of baking your own "homemade" Mardi Gras King Cake and being able to say "I made it myself." The tradition of sharing cake with family and friends on the Epiphany or "Little Christmas" (January 6) began in the Middle Ages. Today, this date signifies the opening of the Mardi Gras season with parties and parades prior to Lenten Season. In New Orleans a pot of steaming coffee and a King Cake constitute a party. The baby in (under) the cake must host the next party, thereby, continuing social gatherings throughout the season. The colors of Mardi Gras signify the following:

PURPLE signifies justice
YELLOW signifies power
GREEN signifies faith

 The box of mix contains:
1 pk. dough mix and reclosable mix knead bag
1 pk. yeast - small packet
1 pk. brown sugar praline filling mix
1 pk. white glaze mix
3 pks. Mardi Gras sugar crystals
1 pk. Mardi Gras baby (the baby in my box was missing a hand!)

 Additional ingredients needed:
1 cup hot water
1 egg
1 stick butter or margarine

The following instructions and steps are laid out on the back of the box.


Mix and knead in bag

1 Place cake mix in (large bag) and yeast in reclosable bag. Lock bag and shake well. Add 1 cup hot water, and 1/2 cup butter to contents of large bag. Press air from bag and lock. With fingers outside bag, mix by squeezing and pulling dough until butter can no longer be seen.

2 Add 1 egg to contents of bag. Press air from bag and lock. With fingers on outside of bag, mix and knead ingredients by squeezing and pulling dough for approximately 15 minutes. (Be careful not to puncture bag)- I found that I didn't need the whole 15 minutes, more like 5-10.

3 Unlock bag. Set bag of dough in a bowl in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (about 30 minutes). Warm Place: Turn oven to lowest setting for 2 minutes then turn oven off.

Shape and Rise

1 Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Flour rolling pin and roll dough into 5" x 30" rectangle. (I found that to be longer than I  could manage, I didn't have a rolling pin either so I used an empty wine bottle.) Mix 2 tablespoons melted butter with brown sugar praline mix. Add nuts, if desired (I didn't.) Spread evenly over dough. From 30" side, roll dough jelly roll fashion. Pinch edges to seal. (Again I had a little trouble with this step, I did the best I could)

2 Place on large cookie sheet. Shape into oval. Let rise in a warm place approximately 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Bake and Decorate

1 Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool.

2 Mix 1 tablespoon water with white glaze mix. (I discovered I needed a little more than a tablespoon of water, probably closer to 3) Spread on top of cooled cake. Decorate with colored sugar crystals.

Finally you're supposed to hide the baby in or under cake somewhere. I also added some beads and coins for flare.

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 6

For day six of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, I decided that we needed some food to go with those hurricanes. Thanks to a coupon and a sale, I had some Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage that I needed to find something to do with it. I decided to cook it up in a skillet with some fresh veggies that I had in my fridge. I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on top and paired it with some rice to make my own version of a jambalaya. I was totally experimenting so I wasn't sure how it would taste but Gary and I both thought it was quite good.

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Ingredients: 
1 package of Hillshire Farm smoked sausage
2 cups of multi-grain rice
A sprinkle of cayenne pepper
A variety of chopped veggies: I used celery, carrots, tomatoes and bell peppers 

Step 1: Start cooking the rice according to the instructions on the box. Rice usually takes about 30 minutes so you should start with that first.

Step 2: While the rice cooks, slice the sausage and put in a skillet sprayed with Pam or other cooking spray.

Step 3: Slice up your veggies and add them to the pan as you cook the sausage. Sprinkle cayenne pepper over the entire skillet.

Step 4: Once your rice is cooked and your sausage and veggies are browned, mix it all together on your plate! Serves 2.

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 5

For day five of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, I decided to try a different hurricane recipe. Hurricanes are one of the biggest parts of Mardi Gras and with so many different recipes out there, I couldn't just stick to one for my challenge. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a Soco & Lime Hurricane that I thought looked interesting. The picture showed a bright green color but the drink ended up looking more of a teal color when I made it.

 Ingredients: 
3 oz. Southern Comfort
1.5 oz. sweet and sour mix
1/2 oz. blue curacao
1/2 oz. sweetened lime juice

Fill a hurricane glass with ice. Add all ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge and cherry.

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 4

For day four of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, I experimented with making a Mardi Gras colored beaded votive. I saw something on Pinterest with one strand of each color bead wrapped around a rounded votive. I wanted to do something similar but make it my own. I had a plain square votive I have been wanting to do something with. I found some beads at the dollar store that were all three colors tangled into one strand. I simple wrapped it around the square votive three times. It almost didn't fit bu I finally got it. It doesn't look amazing but it's simple and cute. Multiple ones of these would look great around the room at a Mardi Gras bash.

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 3

For day three of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, I wanted to go with a classic New Orleans cocktail: the famous hurricane. There are so many hurricane recipes out there that it is a little overwhelming. I happened to have a pouch of Pat O'Brien's famous mix so I decided to just go with that.

Here is a little history I got offline about Pat O'Brien's:

Pat O'Brien's Bar and its legendary fruity rum drink are both an integral part of New Orleans culture and cocktail history. Pat O's created the original cocktail during World War II when liquors like whiskey were hard to come by but rum was plentiful. The recipe quickly evolved and the tasty treat was served in a special glass shaped like a hurricane lamp, hence the name. Today the drink is as popular as ever! In fact, the Pat O'Brien's Hurricane glass is one of the most sought-after souvenirs in New Orleans. We can't all make it to NOLA every time we crave one, so the kind folks at Pat O's decided to sell their delicious mix sealed in a moisture proof foil pouch. Sip on a bit of history, no matter where you are.

How to make an authentic Pat O'Brien's Hurricane:

In a 26 oz. Hurricane glass, mix * 4 oz. of good Dark Rum * 4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix * Fill with crushed ice * Garnish with an orange and cherry.

The recipe calls for "good" dark rum so I went with my favorite, Kraken. 

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 2

For day two of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, it was time to update my go to hurricane centerpiece. I started with fall leaves, then snowflakes for winter, then candy hearts for Valentine's Day. See either the fall or winter blog for instructions.

My initial idea for Mardi Gras was to simply add beads. Since I already made the bead wreath, I ended up wanting to mix it up a little more. I got a pack of green, gold and purple coins and filled it with those first. I then added one strand of each color beads on top. For a fun addition, the gold beads I used were Southern Comfort beads so they had the logo on them, I think it turned out great!

7 Days of Mardi Gras: Day 1

For day one of my 7 Days of Mardi Gras, I experimented with making a bead wreath. It was honestly a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I used purple, gold and green beads that I already had and purchased a small plain wreath. I glued the end of one necklace to the wreath and wrapped it around until I was able to glue the other end on. I alternated green, purple and gold until the wreath was covered. I thought just beads was a little plain so I also glued some inexpensive purple, green and gold masks. It's not perfect but it'll work as a door decoration for seven days.

Next Up: 7 Days of Mardi Gras

There is no rest for the crafty when it comes February. For being the shortest month of the year, it sure is packed with a lot of fun themes and holidays. Now that we're past the Super Bowl and at the end of Valentine's Day, next up is Mardi Gras. This year the famous Fat Tuesday falls on February 21 which leaves exactly 7 days to countdown to it after the red, pink and hearts are packed away. Mardi Gras is full of purple, green and gold, masks, beads, kings cakes, and hurricanes. If you can't be in New Orleans for the actual celebration, there are a lot of fun ways to celebrate on your own. Stay tuned....