A Really Fat Tuesday

When I worked for A&W and Long John Silver's Fat Tuesday was cause for major office celebrations (people eat a lot of seafood during Lent). Always looking for a reason to enjoy a good meal, this year we carried on the tradition at home.

For our Mardi Gras dinner we feasted on Shrimp and Chicken Etouffee, Toasted Brown Rice, and a fantastic King Cake. The etoufee was my first attempt at making a roux - why do I experiment with this kind of thing with no back up plan??

And, wow, King Cake is really easy & tasty. I wanted to hide Diego inside, but settled for a more manageablely sized baby. We used food coloring (my new favorite baking tool) to create the purple, green and yellow icing. A totally yummy dessert for any occasion - minus the rainbow icing. Step by step instructions are here.

Wyatt was lucky enough to find the baby inside - he gets to host next year! If Mommy had been thinking ahead, I would have hidden two babies so that Caroline could find one too.

Interested in finding out more about Mardi Gras? We were too - and found a picture of our friends Howard & Jena (yes, that's them in the crazy get-ups). Hope they are having fun in the Big Easy.