Less than an Hour

As I write this, it is slowly becoming Mardi Gras!!! I love the whole idea of Mardi Gras, even though I've never actually been to NOLA during carnival season. But, it is an excuse to have a party, and I've never really been known to pass up an opportunity to cook too much.

This year, I decided that I should make lunch for the Spider Monkey Lunch Forum. I decided this so long ago, I actually had time to order an electric skillet for the office with an old gift card.

Here's the menu: Spinach Salad with Hot Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette, Shrimp Creole with Rice, and King Cake. ESK is making the salad and going to pick up rice from a local chinese place. The vinaigrette is a recipe I learned at a cooking school in NOLA . . . it's spicy and sweet and utterly addictive. Here's a picture of the Creole Sauce:

It is mildly spicy, rich with tomatoes and the trinity. Tomorrow, after reheating it, I'll lovingly nestle 4 pounds of chilled shrimps into it.

I might have made too much. Maybe. It is a monkey army we're feeding, so maybe not.

And, for dessert, a King Cake:

I don't really follow a recipe. I make the same dough I use for hot cross buns at Easter, only I leave out the fruit. Then, I stretch the dough, and fill it. This year, it's an orange cream cheese filling (cream cheese, zest from one orange, and powdered sugar). Then, I roll the dough up and form the ring. I let it rise about an hour before popping it in the oven. It only took 25-30 minutes to bake, and I had minimal oozing from the filling. After cooling, I juiced the orange from the filling and mixed the juice with about 3 cups powdered sugar. The colored sugar is traditional. The purple represents justice, the green represents faith, and the gold represents power.

Also traditional is to insert a small baby (representing the savior) inside the cake. The person who finds the baby in their slice is responsible for bringing the king cake the next year. In honor of my Spider Monkeys, I have inserted a wee baby monkey. And, since I know where it is, I could insure the appropriate monkey get it. (i.e. . . . the monkey most likely to actually bring the king cake next year.)

And, of course, there will be appropriate party favors. ooooh, shiny.