Mardi Gras Foods!

Today is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras It's also known as Carmevale throughout Europe too..It's a time of good eating before fasting for Lent. The foods are as lush as the many parades and parties being held today. Each part of the world celebrates differently yet they do have one thing in common: deliciousness.

Shrove Tuesday is more of a British tradition.It was day for housewives to get rid of all the eggs butter and milk that their households possessed hence the pancakes. There are even pancake races where women (and now men  - remember Prince William and his then fiancee Kate Middleton participated in one last year?) run to a finish line flipping the cakes.Pancakes can be fun, especially when they're drenched with butter and syrup. Mardi Gras is a bit more wilder. Beignets , those fried puffs of dough are served as are King Cakes. These are cinnamon roll type cakes decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of gold , green and purple. There is also  the traditional stew called Jambalaya and Etouffee which is a seafood gumbo, made with either crawfish or shrimp.

Carmevale is huge in countries like Germany and Italy. The southern Germans such as the Bavarians and Swabians make a deep fried doughnut that's then dredged in powdered sugar. The recipe has a few variations and is even popular among the German American Pennsylvania Dutch as well as the Mennonites. The Italians make something similar with Marsala wine and it's kind of a cross between crostoli and the fastnacht doughnuts. This is from the heavily Austrian influenced Trento Aldige region. They also make rice fritters which is like fried rice pudding dipped in powdered sugar.

It is the time to enjoy sweets and treats throughout the world right now, Mardi Gras lets everyone has the "last hurrah" before Lent. Enjoy them whether they be a spicy jambalaya or sugary fastnacht doughnuts,buttery pancakes or crispy fritters.