Fat Tuesday!

Stella insisted on buying masks this year for Fat Tuesday. I was a little surprised because she doesn't really like masks and is actually quite frightened by them. She picked out the perfect, plain white little mask that fit her just right. We brought it home where she decorated it and wore it for the rest of the evening!

All of the kids liked their masks. We followed one of the Fat Tuesday traditions of having no rules while wearing the masks. What a mess.







King cake - what a debacle. We always get our king cake from Whole Foods. They do a great job there and the cakes are wonderful. For some odd reason, they decided to order 600 fewer cakes this year which meant that we missed out. After figuring out that we couldn't bake one in time (I'm determined to bake my own next year), I called every bakery in town looking for one. I finally gave up and decided to go for Paczkis instead. I found a highly rated Polish bakery in Raleigh, but the woman on the other end of the phone furiously told me how the baker messed up the Paczkis on the biggest day of the year! I was just about to give up completely when Fresh Market came to mind. I gave them a call and surprisingly, they had some in the oven almost ready to be packaged. Grandma O., Stella and I rushed over and waited patiently for our fresh, hot king cake!

Grandma O. found the baby in her piece of king cake! Guess she'll be buying the cake next year ;)



Tried a new recipe this year and absolutely loved it. Most of the traditional Mardi Gras fare consists of peppers and sausage and quite honestly, the combination of those two things never thrills me. Eating Well had a recipe for healthy Shrimp Po Boys and they turned out wonderfully!

Shrimp Po' Boys
Eating Well Magazine

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage
* 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
* 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
* 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp, (51-60 per pound; see Shopping Tip)
* 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 4 whole-wheat hot dog buns, or small sub rolls, split
* 4 tomato slices, halved
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

PREPARATION

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.

2. Combine cabbage, relish, mayonnaise and yogurt in a medium bowl.

3. Toss shrimp with 2 teaspoons oil, chili powder, paprika and pepper in a medium bowl. Place the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a small bowl. Dip a pastry brush in water, then in the oil and lightly brush the inside of each bun (or roll).

4. Place a grill basket (see Kitchen Tip) on the grill. Add the shrimp and spread in a single layer. Grill, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Open the buns and grill, turning once, until toasted on both sides, about 1 minute total.

5. To assemble the sandwiches, divide tomato and onion among the buns. Spread about 1/3 cup cabbage mixture down the middle of each and top with about 1/2 cup grilled shrimp.