March...a Month of Transitions

'March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb', a saying I grew up with, but March is so many other things. It's a month of celebrations and a month of transitions and self examination. First comes Mardi Gras then Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent, St. Patrick's Day and lastly, the first day of spring. Many things packed into 31 days. On the table this week is New Orleans fare for Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras. Typically pancakes are eaten on Fat Tuesday (aka Shrove Tuesday) the last day before Ash Wednesday. The ones I will prepare I have had before so I know they are good. Not the traditional pancake with butter and syrup but a savory one.

Cheese, Corn and Bacon Pancakes

Cornmeal and water are mixed with boxed pancake mix. Grated cheddar, kernel corn, diced Canadian bacon and chopped green onions are mixed and 1/4 cup cakes are griddled. I like to serve mine with a jarred chutney. This year it's mango.

The table this weekend has only 2 items, but they both took a lot of time and preparation.

Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo with Rice
King Cake
Hurricanes

The gumbo was an all day preparation, but well worth the time. First a stock is made with the shells from the shrimp, chicken wings, and tomato paste. They are cooked until the chicken is browned when chicken stock and bay leaves are added. This is BTBRTS (bring to boil reduce to simmer) Love saying that, thank you Anne Burrell. The stock is simmered for almost 2 hours. Chicken thighs are added and simmered another 40 minutes. The mixture is strained into a large bowl and the chicken is set aside to cool. When cool, the skin and bones are discarded and the chicken shredded. In a clean pot the famous roux is made. Oil and flour are heated and stirred until the mixture is thickened and a dark caramel color. Garlic, scallions, celery, onions, green pepper and chopped andouille are added along with fresh thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and tomato paste. The strained stock is added and left to simmer about another hour. At this point trimmed cut op okra is to be added. I dislike okra so I left it out...my choice. The chicken is added and simmered for 10 or so more minutes. Taste for seasonings and add cut up raw shrimp for the last minute of cooking. File' powder is to be added at the end, however, the few times I have had file' I found it to make the dish very slimy. Icky. I left that out too. The gumbo is served over a scoop of cooked brown rice. Excellent! I'm happy it made a large pot so I can enjoy it again and again. This did not come out of the Weight Watchers cookbook, but they nutritional make up is available online and it comes out to 10 points per serving.

One of the traditions of Mardi Gras is the King Cake; a kind of coffee cake. The cake is filled with cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped pecans and raisins. Since I don't care for raisins I substituted dried cranberries. I found a recipe that used refrigerated crescent rolls instead of a yeast dough and it worked just fine. The triangles are positioned next together, points to the center. The filling is spread down the center. A small plastic baby is hidden in the filling and the wide ends of the dough are brought over the top of the filling. The pointed ends are brought over the covered filling and it is baked until lightly browned. As simple glaze of powder sugar and milk is spooned over the cooled cake and three stripes of colored sugar. Purple representing justice, Green for faith and yellow for power. The person who gets the slice with the baby in it must make the cake the next year or host the next party.

The Hurricane is the Mardi Gras drink. Not much of a rum fan, but I found a small bottle of premade hurricanes and will try that. The color looks right. We shall see.

March 9 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. 40 days when Christians reflect on the past year and traditionally 'give up' something as their sacrifice. Something to think about.

Next week will include the tradtional St. Patrick's Day feast. Come back to see how I kick it up.