Mardi Gras season promises plenty of great eats
a small plastic baby be buried in each cake; the person who finds it either has to give the next party or buy the next King Cake, depending on your social group. Freed’s will make them with a baby, without or with a separate baby.
King Cake has been available at Lola’s: A Louisiana Kitchen since Jan. 5, which is the beginning of the Mardi Gras season. On Tuesday, the restaurants at 241 W. Charleston Blvd. and 1220 N. Town Center Drive also will have crawfish, drink specials and drawings and, promises owner Lola Pokorny, lots of beads.
Beads also will be on the menu Tuesday at Zydeco PoBoys at 616 E. Carson Ave., along with shrimp etouffee.
Freedom Beat at the Downtown Grand will celebrate New Orleans as part of its “Culinary Road Trip” series March 1 with Antoine’s Oysters Rockefeller, sausage gumbo, a crawfish boil, shrimp and grits and bananas Foster. It’s $35; for tickets, go to eventbrite.com. 1 16-ounce container sour cream 1/3 cup sugar ¼ cup butter 1 teaspoon salt 2 (¼-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees) 1 tablespoon sugar 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 6 to 6½ cups bread flour (or allpurpose flour) 1/3 cup butter, softened ½ cup sugar 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon Glaze (recipe follows) Purple-, green- and gold-tinted sugar or sparkling sugar
Cook first four ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Set aside and cool mixture to 100 to 110 degrees.
Stir together yeast, cup warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 1-cup glass measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes.
Beat sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, eggs and 2 cups flour at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until smooth. Reduce speed to low and gradually add enough remaining flour (4 to 4 cups) until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.
And The Oyster Bar at Sunset Station has some extra Big Easy flavor, this week through Tuesday. They’re serving crawfish pies, blackened red snapper meuniere with crawfish tails, crabmeat and shrimp, and King Cakes.
“And I’m sure we’ll be handing out some Mardi Gras beads with the King
Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each portion into a 22-by-12-inch rectangle. Spread 1/3 cup softened butter evenly on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border. Stir together cup sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over butter on each rectangle.
Roll up each dough rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one long side. Place one dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends of roll together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal. Repeat with second dough roll.
Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 20 to 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Bake at 375 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden. Slightly cool cakes on pans on wire racks (about 10 minutes). Drizzle glaze evenly over warm cakes; sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors and forming bands. Let cool completely.
Creamy glaze: Stir together 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir in 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until spreading consistency. Makes 2 cakes, 18 servings each. — Southern Living Cakes,” said Britt Beeland, room chef.
Beeland points out that both he and his sous chef, Joshua Williams, are NOLA natives.
“So you have two New Orleans guys running the oyster bar,” Beeland said. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@ reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com, and follow @ HKRinella onTwitter.