|
Mardi Gras Recipes
The foundation of Mardi Gras was started long before the French. Some historians see a relationship to the ancient fertility rituals performed to welcome the coming of spring, a time of rebirth. One possible early version of the Mardi Gras festival was the Lupercalia. This was a celebration around mid-February in Rome. The early Church leaders diverted the pagan practices toward a more Christian focus.
In Christian communities around the world, the 40 days preceding Easter comprise Lent, the season of prayer and fasting observed by the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian denominations during the forty days and seven Sundays before Easter Sunday. It begins with Ash Wednesday, the day many Catholics go to church to receive the sign of the cross marked in ash on their foreheads, its purpose being to remind them of their own mortality.
For much of the country, the day before Lent is just another Tuesday, but in New Orleans this particular Tuesday represents the last gasp of revelry before a period of austerity. In practical terms, it presented an opportunity to use up all of the grease and fat in the kitchen before Lent.
Easter can be on any Sunday from March 23 to April 25, since the exact day is set to coincide with the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras occur on any Tuesday from February 3 through March 9. The Gregorian calendar, setup by the Catholic Church, determines the exact day for Mardi Gras.
The celebration started in New Orleans around the seventeenth century, when Jean Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, and Pierre LeMoyne, Sieur de Iberville founded the city. In 1699, the group set up camp 60 miles south of the present location of New Orleans on the river's West Bank.
They named the site Point du Mardi Gras in recognition of the major French holiday happening on that day, March 3. The late 1700's, saw pre-Lenten balls and fetes in the infant New Orleans. The name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French.
The masked balls continued until the Spanish government took over and banned the events. The ban even continued after New Orleans became an American city in 1803. Eventually, the predominant Creole population revitalized the balls by 1823. Within the next four years, street masking was legalized.
The early Mardi Gras consisted of citizens wearing masks on foot, in carriages, and on horseback. The first documented parade in 1837 was made of a costumed reveler. The Carnival season eventually became so wild that the authorities banned street masking by the late 1830's. This was an attempt to control the civil disorder arising from this annual celebration.
This ban didn't stop the hard-core celebrators. By the 1840's, a strong desire to ban all public celebrations was growing. Luckily, six young men from Mobile saved Mardi Gras. These men had been members of the Cowbellians, a group that performed New Years Eve parades in Mobile since 1831.
The six men established the Mystick Krewe of Comus, which put together the first New Orleans Carnival parade on the evening of Mardi Gras in 1857. The parade consisted of two mule-driven floats. This promoted others to join in on this new addition to Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, the Civil War caused the celebration to loose some of its magic and public observance. The magic returned along with several other new krewes after the war. |
|
|
Brunch Recipes
It is true that the word brunch only came into existence in the late 1800's. (There's also some thought that the Denver sandwich - the quintessential cowboy snack - came about when a Chinese cook tried to adapt Eggs Foo Yung to suit western tastes). In the west, dim sum came about as a natural result of 19th Chinese immigrants - most of who were from the Canton region - settling on the East and West coasts. Some gourmands believe that dim sum inspired the whole idea of "brunch" - combining breakfast and lunch into one large midmorning meal.
There’s a long history of brunch eating on this spot—through the decades it’s been home to Elm’s Tea Room, Grove’s and the Commons Grill. Now it’s gleefully updated with cranberry juice and fair trade coffee. The biggest brunch seller is eggs benedict with smoked salmon on a sweet potato biscuit (the biscuit recipe is from Jane Wright’s best friend’s mother). Also very popular: ricotta pancakes with fresh banana and real maple syrup. It’s casually elegant. Wear whatever you want, but know that a reproduction of Lucas Cranach’s Renaissance-era Venus oversees the hubbub of folks smacking their lips in happiness.
Originally a Cantonese custom, dim sum is inextricably linked to the Chinese tradition of "yum cha" or drinking tea. Travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road needed a place to rest, so teahouses began springing up along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after long hours working in the fields, would also head to the local teahouse for an afternoon of tea and relaxing conversation. Still, it took several centuries for the culinary art of dim sum to develop. It was originally considered inappropriate to combine tea with food - in fact a famous 3rd century Imperial physician claimed this would lead to excessive weight gain. However, as tea's ability to aid in digestion and cleanse the palate became known, teahouse proprietors began adding a variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum was born.
Today, dim sum is served throughout China, particularly in Shanghai. In The Taste of China, Ken Hom shares his memories of enjoying regional variations in "small eats": jiaozi dumplings in Beijing, pearl balls and spicy wontons (known as huntuns) in the Szechuan province. But he agrees with the majority that the best dim sum can be found in Canton, with its wide assortment of sweet and savory dishes ranging from meatballs to sweet cakes. Still, it is probably true that the best dim sum chefs are found not in China but in Hong Kong, where restaurants begin serving dim sum as early as 6:30 in the morning and continue through mid-afternoon. |
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next > End >>
|
| Results 109 - 114 of 364 |
