Mardi Gras Mood

As we get deeper and deeper into Mardi Gras after January 6, and we  spend more time at parties, at balls and at parades, we sometimes need a bit of help keeping up with the celebrations. Party fatigue is real. And I consider Mardi Gras the signature holiday of Louisiana and the ideal example of a social holiday. What other state owns a holiday period? It is the kind of holiday that you can celebrate a little bit or a lot. You can alternate based on your mood. You can even build it up to a planned frenzy.

I like to start simple — overnight oats with three-colored sugar. Begin your day thinking of Mardi Gras. My mother used to cut a piece of king cake and using a biscuit cutter she’d remove a circle of it. Then, she’d put it into a buttered pan, crack an egg into the hole and cook it. That was Mardi Gras breakfast. Toad in hole with attitude. That led me to Mardi Gras breakfast pudding for Mardi Gras breakfast or after parades.

Last year, I ate a boudin sandwich made with a generous piece of king cake. I found it outlandish, even for Mardi Gras, but it made me think more broadly about Mardi Gras eating. I tried to get creative making stuffed peppers — yellow, green, and purple ones — stuffed with a shrimp-studded dressing. If you have trouble finding purple peppers, serve the yellow and green ones on a bed of shredded red cabbage.

It’s hard to be imaginative every day during the Mardi Gras season, and when my children were little, I made a deal with them. There would be Mardi Gras-themed lunch in their lunch box once a week. It was a time that my boys would eat anything that was purple, green and gold. A plastic sandwich bag with golden cherry tomatoes cut in half, with green pepper strips, wrapped in red cabbage, to dunk into another bag with a dressing made of yogurt and mayonnaise with cheese sticks on the side. It was simple, but fun. And that was the spirit of Mardi Gras that we kept stoking all through the season.

For parties, you can find many dishes to serve on the right color paper plates to make the feeling festive. Enlist everyone in the spirit and offer imagination, generosity and fun.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

3 purple sweet potatoes, scrubbed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 4- or 5-ounce package goat cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons softened butter
Zest of 1 large orange

1.Preheat the oven to 350F. With a pastry brush, paint the skin of each sweet potato all over with oil then wrap in aluminum foil. Cook in oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size. If a sharp knife pierces the potato easily, it is done, otherwise continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes and unwrap them. Allow to cool.

2. While the potatoes are cooling, mix cheese and butter together thoroughly.

3. Cut the potatoes in 2 from one end to the other. Slit the the flesh from one end to the other without piercing the skin. Open the slit and stuff each of the potato halves with 1/6 of the mixture. About 5 minutes before serving return the potatoes to the oven for 5 minutes to warm and soften the filling.

4. Remove the potatoes from the oven and grate the orange peel over the potatoes right before serving. Serves 6

Orange Tart

Crust

2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup chopped crystallized ginger
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) cold butter, cubed (use salted butter instead of adding more salt)
11/2 tablespoons cold water taken from a cup of ice water

Filling

11/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
2 tablespoons heavy cream
11/2 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
Colored sugar for garnish

1. For the crust Preheat oven to 350F. Spray tart pan with cooking spray. Place all of the ingredients except the water into the a food processor. As the processor is blending add the water. Pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Be sure that there are no large chunks of unincorporated butter.

2. Press the dough into the tart pan so that it covers the pan evenly on the bottom and the sides. Place into the refrigerator until ready to fill.

3. For the Filling Beat all of the ingredients together with a whisk or immersion blender until the mixture is thick and uniform.

4. Place the tart pan on a sheet pan. Pour the filling into the tart pan and place into preheated oven. Cook for 25 minutes. Check to see that it is well-set. If it seems jiggly, cook another 5 minutes or so. After it is done, remove it from the oven and allow to cool.

5. Place a cut-out of a crown on the tart and sprinkle with colored sugar. Carefully remove the paper and leave the sugar crown to make people smile. Makes a 10- or 11-inch tart pan, 10 to 12 slices

Mardi Gras Stuffed Peppers

2 tablespoons of olive oil, and more for drizzling
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped, divided in half
2¾ cups stale breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided in half
1 pound of shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning without salt
Hot sauce to taste
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup shrimp stock or chicken stock
3 bell peppers of yellow, green and purple

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Place the oil in a skillet and allow to heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the celery and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

2. Add half of the parsley, the breadcrumbs, half of the cheese, the shrimp, Creole seasoning, hot sauce (if using), salt and pepper to the mixture. Mix the ingredients  thoroughly. If it seems dry, add about a quarter cup of the stock. Mix again. Keep adding stock until the dressing sticks together.

3. Cut the peppers into halves from the stem to the bottom. Clean out the seeds and stuff the peppers with the dressing. Use your hands to press as much as you can into the curves of the peppers. Place each stuffed half into an ovenproof pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over all of the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it into the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and cook for 5 to 10 minutes to brown the cheese. Serve warm. Serves 6 half peppers.