New Orleans Pralines

     New Orleans pralines are one of my favorite confections which you can find in any French Quarter shop. I gotta, tell you the best pralines are made by my wife. She got her recipe from Mrs. Lee Estes at Destrehan Plantation. There are many stories how pralines came about in New Orleans. Here’s one such story.

     It was believed that pralines were brought over from France by the Ursuline nuns, who came to New Orleans around 1727.  The nuns were in charge of the casket girls, young women sent over from France to marry New Orleans’ colonists.  They were called Casket Girls (les Filles a la Casette) because each came to the city furnished with a casket-box filled with all their worldly possessions.

     The nuns instructed the girls to be upstanding women in society and in the course of their studies and domestic education, the girls were taught the art of praline making

Katie’s Pralines

1 box light brown sugar

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 small can evaporated milk

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon White Karo Syrup

1 ½ lbs Pecans

Wax paper –several sheets

In a sauce pan combine brown and white sugar, Karo syrup, evaporated milk, salt and butter.

Bring to a boil. About 8 minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Add pecans and vanilla. Let cool slightly & beat with a spoon till it starts to lose its gloss

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Note: If mixture starts to cool and harden too quickly reheat on stove top for a minute, then resume making pralines

Once cooled, remove from wax paper and wrap individually in wax paper.

My First Blog

Hello, I’m Al Spicuzza. I was born and raised in New Orleans where food is not looked upon as nourishment but a wonderful way of life. Being half Cajun and Italian has given me a unique blend of cooking styles that excite the pallet. My goal of this blog is to bring you my family recipes and dishes from the neighborhoods around New Orleans and throughout Louisiana.

One of the most favorite times for me living in New Orleans is Mardi Gras and that means its time for 'King Cake'.

Alvin's third birthday during the Mardi Gras season and I wanted a King Cake not a cake.

The traditional King Cake

The King Cake tradition came to New Orleans with the French settlers around 1870.

This cake is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany during the Christmas season in a number of European countries, and in other places with Mardi Gras and Carnival. It is popular during the Christmas season in France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, and Portugal.

In New Orleans’ revelry and religious tradition are the ties that bind during Mardi Gras. Thus it’s not surprising that the origin of the modern King Cake can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when popular devotion during Christmas turned to the Three Wise Men, of Kings, who had followed a star and paid homage to baby Jesus.

The carnival season which dates back to 1837 begins January 6^th (12 days after Christmas) which came to be known as “Twelfth Night” with the first of nearly 100 private masked balls. On Mardi Gras Day, the day before Ash Wednesday, the largest and longest parades are held.  Rex, King of Carnival, is a prominent businessman, chosen by secret committee. His Queen is always a debutante of the current season,

The traditional King Cake is an oval-shaped braided coffee cake which is decorated with cinnamon sugar in the official Mardi Gras colors – gold (for power), green (faith), and purple (justice), sugared pastry that contains a plastic doll or bean hidden inside; the person who gets the slice of cake with the baby must buy the next cake or host the next party; at some parties they are crowned king or queen.  Hundreds of thousands of king cakes are consumed in New Orleans and through out Louisiana at parties and in office lunch rooms during the Carnival season.

King Cake

CAKE:

8oz. sour cream, scalded                                  2 eggs, beaten

2 pkg. Yeast                                                     ½ cup sugar

½ cup warm water                                            4 cups of flour

½ cup butter, melted                                         1 tsp. salt

FILLING:

2 (8oz.) pkg. Cream cheese                              1 egg, beaten

¾ cup sugar                                                      1/8 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

GLAZE:

2 cups sifted powered sugar                              2 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup milk                                                       Purple, green & gold sprinkles

¼ cup butter                                                     or colored sugar

Cake: Mix cream, sugar, butter and salt. Cool to lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in creamed mixture and then the beaten eggs. Gradually, add flour to make soft dough. Cover tightly and chill overnight.

Filling: When ready to make cake, mix all filling ingredients together; set aside.

Divide the chilled dough into equal portions. Turn each portion onto a heavily floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Roll 1 portion into a 12x24-inch rectangle. Spread ½ of the filling over the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch margin. Roll up lengthwise, pinching the seams to seal. Form into a circle on a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Repeat the process for the other portion of the dough. Make X-shaped cuts on the top of each circle. Cover, and let rise 1 hour. Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes. Mix the glaze while the cakes are baking. Cool the baked cakes and glaze. Sprinkle with the colored sugar in alternating band.