Sick of Godfather Jokes

But I’m not sick of my nephew/godson. Here’s a picture to tide you over.

The Stolen Generations

Thanks for my Aussie gal pal's facebook status entry, I have learned of this news story about the Australian National Apology to the Aboriginal people.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23202616-2,00.html.

Don’t Call It Blasphemous

Days like yesterday are when I was nostalgic about my time at Wharton. When it was good; it was fantastic. Leslie would order a King Cake from New Orleans, and the rest of the floor would jovially wear beads. We had more of a concept of why Mardi Gras was so big. It was the end of Carnival season (from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday); it was the end of eating for winter and the start of preparing for Christendom’s holiest dogmatic day.

I miss the King Cake and the joy that it brings to those who know of the tradition and to those who are learning of it for the first time.

I looked online for recipes since I enjoy cooking, but found out that a King Cake is labor intensive since it’s a sweetbread. I’m not very good with yeast. So I dug deeper and found a solution for a quick, tasty King Cake for those without a ton of time.

Don’t Call It Blasphemous King Cake:

Miss New Orleans? Forgot to order a King Cake? Impatient with yeast? I have a fix for your King Cake needs. It’s not as steeped in tradition as King Cake from New Orleans, but it’s good when you wanna laissez les bons temps rouler!

King Cake:
½ a lemon’s zest
½ Tbsp ground nutmeg
½ Tbsp sugar
1 eight-roll package of cinnamon rolls with icing
1 plastic baby Jesus, bean, coin, gumdrop, etc. optional

Mardi Gras colored sugars:
6 Tbsp sugar
Food coloring to make yellow, green and purple sugars

Follow the instructions on the package of cinnamon rolls to pre-heat the oven. Zest half of lemon rind. Mix with nutmeg and sugar. Open package of cinnamon rolls and separate the rolls. Top each roll with lemon zest and nutmeg mixture. Knead the zest and nutmeg into the roll by folding the roll in on itself a few times. (Note: if you would like to add a plastic baby Jesus, bean, coin, gumdrop, etc. in your King Cake, now is the time to embed it in one of the rolls before baking.) Place the rolls in a ring on the baking sheet on in the baking pan. Bake according to the package’s directions.

Split the sugar for the Mardi Gras colored sugar equally into three small bowl. Add one to two drops of color (a little goes a long way) and mix until the sugar is brightly colored.

After baking, spread the icing over your cake and let the heat of the rolls make it more pliable. After covering the cake with the icing, sprinkle the colored sugars over the cake in discernable strips of yellow, green and purple. Let the cake cool.

Share with family and friends.