Eccentric Flower talk:201002/Thoughts On a King Cake

Soccerjude:

Like I said over e-mail, I'm DEFINITELY making the mini-rings. And the kids will <3 the colors, so I'll do those if I can.

I'll let you know how they turn out, incl. pictures if I can ever get my lazy ass to download from the camera.

-- 16:56, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Nonelvis:

You do realize I use canned diced tomatoes in my jambalaya, don't you? I also used them in that chicken tortilla soup the other night. They're handier and tastier than you think.

-- 17:16, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Columbina:

I guess they're okay in things where they're going to fall apart anyway, but if I want intact chunks of tomato they don't work for me. And according to Cook's Illustrated, you have a choice: You either get calcium chloride as an additive, or you get mushy tomatoes. I think chopping up whole canned tomatoes gives you firmer pieces. But maybe I'm insane.

-- 17:22, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Mrissa:

Oh, gumbo. If Timprov is not engaged in a major flooring project next week, perhaps I can convince him to make a gumbo.

As for SuperBowl food, I will be making deviled eggs. I feel no more need to watch the SuperBowl with my SuperBowl deviled eggs than a second-generation agnostic feels the need to go to church to eat their Christmas cookies.

-- 17:59, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Peebles:

Hm. I don't think I had access to the photos last time I asked you for a gumbo recipe, and I'm pretty sure I didn't let the roux get dark enough. I think I'll try again this Sunday.

For some reason, I hear you speaking in a Louisiana accent when you talk about gumbo.

-- 20:26, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Joy:

Mmm gumbo. I'd never had it until a couple of years ago. guppy made some special for me just before Tess was born, and I had some for my last meal before having to stop eating in preparation for the c-section.

I wouldn't like shrimp in it, though, I don't think. I don't really like warm shrimp.

-- 20:37, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Ursula:

"Wettish rice casserole" has got to taste better than it sounds...

-- 20:52, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Andy:

My experience with finding something to take the other half of the brain during the Super Bowl was a friend's Super Bowl poker party. This worked less well for me than for everyone else, though. I was bored because people played incredibly slowly, because they were ignoring the poker to focus on the game. Then the commercials would come on, and they would play fast, to get as many hands as possible in before the game came back on, and they were frustrated at me for playing slowly because I was watching the TV, now that the interesting part of the show was on.

-- 23:00, 5 February 2010 (GMT)

Mel:

I'm not sure if it's because we're relatively close to New Orleans, or because we're close to Galveston, which also celebrates Mardi Gras, but all the grocery-store bakeries around here have king cake. (I haven't seen Saints colors yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that, either. Most people around here are rooting heavily for them. Not least because the Colts are mightily hated in Houston.)

-- 03:17, 6 February 2010 (GMT)

Jette:

Whole Foods has the best king cake in Austin, unless Quacks is still making them -- they just took their excellent coffee cake and put some colored sugars on top. But I haven't seen that at Quacks in years. I hate white icing and long for one of the old dry and plain but tasty McKenzie's king cakes from my childhood.

That may be the best way to make king cake. Make/buy your favorite coffee cake, sprinkle purple/green/gold sugar on top, stick a plastic baby in the cake. Or some cinnamon rolls.

I am in New Orleans this weekend and wish I could get a king cake home on the plane, but I think that's damn near impossible these days. Probably going to Haydel's anyway as I am collecting their ceramic favors that they have instead of babies in their cakes.

-- 04:31, 7 February 2010 (GMT)