Hosting a Mardi Gras Themed Party
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Fat Tuesday marks the day to have fun and celebrate! Even if you don’t live in New Orleans’s, why not bring Bourbon Street to you?!
Here are some fun ideas to having a fun Mardi Gras party!
Remember to keep all colors bright and bold!
- Get a gold, shiny tablecloth from the party store to set the mood for your table.
- Buy multi-colored balloons to have laying around in the living room.
- Buy fun and colorful masquerade face masks and place them on each plate at the table for your guest to enjoy.
- Streamers are a quick and cheap way to add fun and color to any room.
- You can’t have a Mardi Gras themed party without beads, make sure every time someone’s at the door you greet them with beads!
- You should also place beads around your centerpiece.
- Create New Orleans street signs that you can hang around your walls.
- Buy chocolate gold coins to spread out on your table.
Be sure to make a King Cake at your party! A traditional cake served during Mardi Gras that is frosted in gold, green and purple icing. The maker of each King Cake hides a token or figurine inside the cake. When the cake is cut and shared, the finder of the hidden treasure is said to enjoy good luck for the coming year!
King Cake recipe:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup melted butter
Frosting:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon water
Directions:
1. Heat Milk in pot and remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter.
2. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar.
4. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
5. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture.
6. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg.
7. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time.
8. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.
10. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
11. When dough has risen up, punch down and divide dough in half.
12. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
To Make Filling:
1. Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins.
2. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
3. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10×16 inches or so).
4. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side.
5. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet.
6. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals.
7. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
9. Push the doll or figurine into the bottom of the cake.
10. Frost while warm with the confectioners’ sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
Looking for some delicious Cajun Food recipes? Visit the How to Boil Water Blog!