picayune: small and of little importance

pictures: any visible image, however produced

Doesn’t that sound prettier than a “photo dump”?

Y’all, this banana cream filled beignet was a little piece of deep fried holiday magic.  I’m not sure how something so naughty could be gluten-free, but it was.  It’s too bad deep fryers weren’t allowed at the AVL Mardi Gras Annual Cajun Cook-Off competition and this entry couldn’t compete.  It’s also too bad that the winning dish was made in an overlooked illegal deep fryer, but I digress. BEIGNETS.  The real deal.

“Menu” printed from a picture of the wallpaper in Mr. Smith’s bathroom.  I’ve been wanting to put that crawfish to good use since the first time I sat on the throne in his bathroom.  (Other images on the old time-y looking wallpaper include old newspaper clippings and fly fishing advice).  The cakes on the left are Mini Fig Cakes with Vanilla Hard Sauce.  The pieces on the left are Banana Cream cake with Cajun Cream Evangeline.  My mom made them both and we served them up at the cookoff last weekend.  We didn’t win the competition but we did get quite a few votes.  Making taste buds dance is winning enough.

Here is a real life legit King Cake made by The VooDoo Krewe.  Purple icing is my favorite flavor.

This little girl was helping her dad serve up the dish that ended up winning the vegetarian category of the comp.  Check out her little pink chef’s coat!  I gave her the wisp of a pink hair clip in her hair–because OF COURSE I had multicolored hair clips in my purse.  Note the little toy cat to the left of the sauce bottle.  Because of course the little girl in the little pink chef’s coat had her Littlest Pet Shop cat with her.  Very rad kid, indeed.

And for 2 other rando pics…

This stunning sky last Wednesday, right at quittin’ time.

The beginnings of my first roux.  I got bogged down in the recipe and didn’t get any more pictures.  The dish turned out so well that I’m going to make it again soon and I’ll be sure to document better this time.  Teaser: homemade cheese sauce for a fake-out of Velveeta Shells and Cheese.  With a first roux like this, there ain’t no denying my Cajun blood. ❤

Stay tuned and tell me about your Mardi Gras plans, if you’ve ever made a roux before, and if you’ve had any pink and purple skies lately!