History of the King Cake

The tradition of the King Cake is part of a celebration of the New Orleans' Christian faith and believed to have started somewhere around 1870.  It revolves around when the wise men brought gifts to Baby Jesus after his birth.   It was a time of celebration with lots of food and gifts and was known as the "Twelfth Night Celebration" or the "The Feast of the Epiphany".

This celebration begins about 12 days after Christmas (January 6th), which is about 47 days prior to Easter Sunday and is known as Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday closes the Mardi Gras celebration as it is always celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday (Lent).  

During the Mardi Gras season, a special cake is baked in honor of the three wise kings. . .which is how the King Cake gets its name.  Inside each cake is a small baby, usually made of plastic, and is suppose to represent the Baby Jesus.  Historically, the baby was sometimes made of porcelain or gold.  

The cake is typically a ring of dough in an oval shape that is decorated with green, purple and gold icing and decoration.  That would be your basic King Cake.  Many bakeries these days make much more elaborate cakes that are filled with anything from praline, cream cheese and/or fruit.  Once the cinnamon dough has been braided and baked, the plastic baby is inserted prior to the decorative icing and sugar sprinkles being applied.

Ever wonder what the Mardi Gras colors represent?  Purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power.  

Each person who attends a King Cake "Party" gets a slice of the cake.  The person who receives the piece with the baby in it is suppose to be blessed with luck during the coming year and is asked to host the next year's King Cake Party and to supply the King Cake.

Don't live in the Louisiana area and still want a king cake?  No worries!  Most bakeries will ship them for you.  You can even get a King Cake themed UPS box for the shipment!  This one was iced prior to shipping, so the icing doesn't look great, but it still tastes good.  I understand they will now ship them without the icing already on it and you can apply it once you receive your package.

This is my friend, Lindsey.  She is from the New Orleans area.  Her mom, Leslie, shipped this to her while she was away at college so she could still participate in her home town tradition.  Isn't that sweet?  She even received a boa, Mardi Gras beads and mask to go with her King Cake!

Chicken & Andouille Gumbo Recipe

Today I bring you "Cooking with a Coon-Ass. . ."

Sorry, but its a Cajun expression.  And today that's exactly what I did!  My friend, Phillip was making gumbo so I went to watch him cook and partake a few hours later when it was finished.  It was extremely tasty, but the company of Phillip and his girlfriend, Amy, was even better!

Phillip agreed to be my guest chef today.  Phillip was born in Northern Louisiana and is a true Cajun boy.  He happens to be a fine cook too!  Here is his recipe and some photos of the gumbo makin' process.  It was mighty good.  Y'all missed out, you hear dat?

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups flour
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 bag frozen okra
3 lbs andouille sausage cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 whole chicken, cooked and shredded
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning (our pick is Slap Ya Mama)
1 tsp. salt
12 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp. filé plus extra for each bowl
French Bread
cooked rice

Directions:

Prep:

1.  According to Phillip, the first step is to open a beer of your choice

and have a drink.

2.  In a small skillet, add a drizzle of oil and the frozen okra.  This step is necessary as okra has a tendency to have a "slimy" texture if this step is skipped.  Heat over

medium heat until okra has been thawed and heated through

(about 5 - 7 minutes).

3.  Make sure to chop/mince/shred/slice all vegetables and meat in advance. 
It is extremely helpful if you can find someone to assist you as your
sous chef while you start on the next section. 

*note:  If you are time restricted or just want a shortcut, you can always buy a rotisserie chicken if you don't want to take the time to cook your own, and you can buy the vegetables from the produce department or salad bar of your local market already chopped for you. 

The Roux:

4.  In a pre-warmed, large (at least 5 quart) dutch oven
(preferably cast iron), add the oil. 

5.  Once the oil has heated up, add the flour.

6.  Using a whisk, mix constantly over medium-low to medium temperature. 

7.  Once the roux has reach a dark color (slightly darker than milk chocolate, but not
quite as dark as dark chocolate) proceed to the next set of directions. 
Be patient as this takes some time.

This is how your roux will look when you first begin

.

After a short time your roux will begin to darken.

   

Once your roux gets to this color you are ready to continue.

*Extremely important: It is key not to walk away during this process. You must tend to this and stir constantly while making the roux as it will scorch or burn very easily.

Cooking the Gumbo:

8.  Add the prepped vegetables and spices to the roux.

9.  Add chicken stock to dutch oven.

10.  Cook over medium high heat until it starts to simmer then reduce to
medium-low to medium heat.

11.  Add meat and additional seasoning (if desired).  It may be necessary to transfer mixture to a larger stock pot at this point as this makes a fairly large recipe.

12.  Cook over medium low heat for a minimum of 1 hour.  Best if left to simmer closer to 2 hours.  The vegetables will soften and cook down during this time.

13.  Skim off any oil that has risen to the top of the gumbo and discard.

14.  Add approximately 1/4 tsp of filé and mix well.

  

15.  Serve over rice with a sprinkle of filé on top and a thick chunk of French bread on the side.  We used brown rice and it was quite delicious!  My recommendation, 5 minute rice just doesn't cut it.  Take the time and cook the traditional long cook rice.  You will be glad you did!

FYI - Filé came to us from the American Indians.  It is made from the leaves of the sassafras tree and is used to thicken and add a delicate flavor to gumbo and other Cajun dishes.

 It will help get you in the mood for gumbo if you happen to have a Saints hat and wear it while preparing this dish.  See how it helped put Phillip in the mood for Gumbo?

A special thanks to Chef Phillip and Amy for having me as a guest today and
for Phillip sharing his recipe with us!

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