Mardi Gras

Today is the official start to Mardi Gras, which is this Tuesday. And tonight is the annual Mardi Gras party over at our friend’s house which is always memorable, well, mostly, as it depends on how many Hurricanes one downs!

Ah, Fat Tuesday. The last day of gluttonous debauchery before Lean Lent begins the following day. Who started the tradition of celebrating big and partying hard before taking a six week hiatus before Easter? Actually, while here in the U.S. we tend to celebrate Mardi Gras Day (or the 4-day event as in New Orleans) the Mardi Gras Season is actually the time between Epiphany until Ash Wednesday. The Carnival as it is sometimes referred to is filled with parades and masquerades and fatty, sugary, meaty foods. Leave it to the Catholics to invent a period of revelry as an excuse to stuff-face before having to give it all up for a few weeks!

Anyway, today, after going to a friend’s 90th birthday party, we are heading over to another friend’s annual Mardi Gras party, filled with crawfish, jambalaya, gumbo and King Cake. I’m making my version of the King Cake, made with a cream cheese pound cake base and loaded with rum both in the cake and on the glaze. This year, instead of making a million masks, I just bought gold chocolate coins and babies. I also decided that the past couple years have been harsh, so put the babies and coins on top of instead of baked inside the cupcakes… it’s a make-your-own-luck kind of King Cake!

However, I still have cupcakes to decorate since I ran out of oomph last night. I better get on top of that… right after I make biscuits and gravy.