Serves 8. The smaller amounts allow it to fit in a slightly smaller crockpot.

2-1/2 – 3 lbs boneless pork, cut in bite-size pieces
1 T Cajun seasoning
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 T minced garlic
2 C rice (converted or other)
28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1-1/2 t oregano
1-1/2 t basil
1/2 t thyme
4 C beef broth
14-16 oz cooked smoked sausage, sliced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Hot sauce to taste

Season pork with Cajun seasoning. Heat oil over high heat, add pork and onion and cook about a minute until browned.

Place pork and onion in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Top with red bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Then put in the rice, tomatoes, oregano, basil, and thyme. Pour the beef broth over it and top with sausage. There’s no need to stir this.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 7 hours. Then add the shrimp and cook for one hour longer. Serve with hot sauce.

Version 2:
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t basil
1/4 t white pepper
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t sage
1/4 C butter
Use to blacken 1 lb fish.

Version 3 (because we never buy onion or garlic powder):
3 T paprika
3 T chili powder
1 T cayenne
1 T oregano
1 T basil
1 t thyme
1/2 t cinnamon
2 t black pepper
2 t white pepper
To get garlic flavor, rub garlic paste on the meat before rolling it in spice.

Combine all ingredients except for the olive oil. Marinate for several hours, or overnight.

To prepare: Heat the oil in a large skillet with a lid. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides. Dump the marinade into the pan. Cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil, parchment, or wax paper. Then cover the pan with a tight lid. Simmer for about an hour, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken to a platter and bring the pan juices to a boil. Reduce until thick. Spoon the sauce over the chicken pieces.

Dump chicken version: Prepare the marinade and put it and the chicken into a gallon zip-lock bag. Press out the air and freeze. You can make many batches of this to store in the freezer.

To use, thaw overnight. Dump the chicken and marinade into a casserole and bake at 350 for an hour. This version is easier than cooking it on the stove top, but not as moist.

1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and well-drained
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
1/2 C flour
1 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne
1-1/2 C seasoned dry bread crumbs
3 T fine cornmeal
Oil for frying
4 French baguettes (about 6 inches long)
Mayonnaise
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Sliced red onion or dill pickle chips (optional)

Beat the eggs and combine with the milk in a medium bowl. Combine the flour, onion powder, and cayenne in another bowl. Combine the bread crumbs and cornmeal in a third bowl.
Cut the artichoke hearts in half. Dip each one in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then the crumb mixture. Deep fry or fry in a skillet with a couple inches of oil. Drain on paper towels.

Split the bread lengthwise and spread with real mayonnaise. Fill each bun with the artichokes, finely shredded lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and onion or pickles.

I could eat the whole thing (except the plastic baby).

When I went down to New Orleans in 2003, I thought I knew a thing or two about food in that region. I’d eaten jambalaya and gumbo. I knew a po’ boy wasn’t a person and a beignet didn’t go on your head. I knew how to pronounce muffaletta (that’s muffle-ahtta, not etta) and étoufée. What took me by surprise was the king cake mania.

The grocery store next to our West Marine store advertised them in letters 3-feet high. There was an entire king cake industry in New Orleans, with some bakeries making nothing but the round cakes. To order one from the best bakery, you had to put your name on a waiting list. According to the cake mix box, “In New Orleans, a pot of steaming coffee and a king cake constitutes a party.” (I might add that daiquiris are also not optional.)

A king cake isn’t cake, as we think of it, but a sweet yeast bread. The shape is a circle or oval, and the filling can be chocolate, praline, cheese, or jam. The colorful topping always has the three Mardi Gras colors: Purple signifying justice, yellow signifying power, and green signifying faith. My husband was taken aback when I told him this. “I thought it signified nudity, alcohol, and money!” he said.

The tradition is to serve the first king cake on Epiphany, and the person who gets the piece with the baby has to host the next party (or, in the case of an office party, bring the next cake). Since there will be another baby in the next cake, this guarantees a whole string of parties throughout the Carnival season. After Fat Tuesday comes Lent, when you’re supposed to deprive yourself of goodies like king cake and parties. So the season ends, and there are no more king cakes until the next year.

Mardi Gras falls on February 28th this year. You now have about seven weeks to make yourself a king cake!

Try one of the recipes on these websites (and remember, you don’t bake the plastic baby inside — after the cake has cooled, you have to poke it in or just hide it underneath):

This site has both manual and bread machine versions, and lots of helpful photos:
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/dessert/cakes/kingcake.html

Chef Emeril’s cheese-filled king cake:
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/dessert/king-cake.html

Here’s a cheater’s version with 3 ingredients:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002470/recipe.htm

Or you can order the same mix we used, Mam Papaul’s King Cake Mix with Praline Filling:
http://www.shop.com/op/~Mam_Papaul’s_King_Cake_Mix_with_Praline_Filling-prod-15963234

And for more thoughts on Mardi Gras and the Carnival season, see The OTHER Holiday Season on mepsnbarry.com’s Adventures page.

Throw everything into a 5.5-qt. crockpot (after the beans have been soaked for at least three hours and the water changed) and cook on high setting overnight. Feeds about 15 hungry friends.

Barry did a pressure cooker version of the recipe too.
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In January of 2005, I sent the following letter with this recipe to food columnist Judyrae Kruse of the Everett (Washington) Herald, and the recipe was published. Following is the letter with the story of Dave’s Red Beans and Rice:

Hello!
My husband and I recently lived in New Orleans for five months. While there, we were delighted to meet Dave Cash, who serves up red beans and rice to his friends every Monday. Dave tells us that Monday beans is a tradition in New Orleans; in the old days, women who worked on plantations did laundry that day. The beans would simmer on the fire all day and be served up with minimal fuss in the evening, when the laundry-workers were tired. This works for Dave, too, who works all day while his beans simmer in the crockpot.

Since Dave is vegan, his recipe is as well. We are not vegetarians ourselves, but we like the recipe so much we usually cook it as is. Other times we have added some spicy sausage to the beans with great success.

Now that we’re back home, we still fix Dave’s recipe every Monday. In keeping with his generous tradition, we’ve invited all our friends to join us for a hot, steaming bowl served over rice.

Margaret Schulte