Zingerman's Mardi Gras Dinner

Zingerman’s offered a dinner on Fat Tuesday called “Creole & Acadian Carnival: A Mardi Gras Dinner.” My husband and I went with expectations that were only met half-way.

Am I allowed to live in Ann Arbor and critique the Zingerman’s Empire? Since we are moving this summer, I suppose I’m safe. Here it goes…

The email advertisement described a conversation about the differences between the two New Orleans’ cuisines and wine pairing suggestions. Instead, there was a brief talk that described a few differences, but didn’t identify all of the foods on the extensive menu. The wine discussion included a talk about the vineyard, but not how to pair which wines with which dishes. There was no discussion of the holiday that we were there to celebrate.

My favorite dish was the gumbo. The base of the soup had a complex flavor with a hint of spice. It was hot and dense with rice and fish. The red beans and rice serving was a close second with the rich pork taste infused into the red beans.

The side room where the dinner was held was packed, but under-staffed. It was like a mediocre wedding: we weren’t all served at the same time and some of the food was cold. For Zingerman’s prices and reputation, it was disappointing.

Fried foods should always be served hot. The coush-coush, a corn meal fritter which is meant to prepare the taste-buds for the upcoming dishes, was cold and hard. I was surprised that the dessert calas (a rice donut) also wasn’t hot. The beignet, however, was, and the taste carried through the heat. The crepe itself was dry and denser than a fresh crepe should taste.

My husband and I both drank the Sazerac cocktail, which is a New Orleans drink made from Jim Beam straight rye, Absente, and Peychaud’s bitters with simple syrup and lemon oil. It was delicious!

Here is the complete menu with a few explanations:

The Start
Boudin Blanc (white sausage with rice)
River Shrimp Canapes
Snails Bourguignon

Breads
Coush-Coush (corn meal fritter; the name means “cushion”)
French Bread

Soup
Crab, Oyster, Shrimp & Andouille Gumbo (topped with fried okra)

The Dinner
Crayfish Boil
Chicken Rochambeau
Shrimp and Bacon Stuffed Artichoke
Sole in Brown Butter
Ham Stuffed Mirliton (squash)
Red Beans and Rice

The Finish
Orange Crepes
Beignets (made from wheat flour) & Calas (made from rice)

Polish Paczkis for Fat Tuesday

Fat Tuesday (also known as Marti Gras and Carnevale) is Paczki Day for Polish-Americans. That is to say, a day to eat holiday donuts called Paczkis! They are filled with custard or a variety of jellies. The bread is fluffy and sticky with sugar. I’d vote for more custard than we found in ours, but I’m greedy like that.

We bought our Paczkis from Copernicus European Deli (617 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48104; (734) 222-9633.) They specialize in Polish specialties, from pirogues to spices. I recommend stopping in for the great bread in the back.

I’d never heard of a Paczki before and read about them on Tuesday morning in the AnnArbor.com. Here’s what Edward Vielmetti wrote about them:

Paczki Day is an annual Polish-American celebration of Fat Tuesday, celebrated in other places as Mardi Gras. The last of your rich, sweet foods you have saved up is made into a sort of jelly doughnut, though they are distinguished from the typical domestic jelly doughnut by the richness of the dough, which generally has eggs and milk. You are thus prepared for the austerity of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday.

Viareggio Carnevale & Cenci Fritti by Guest Blogger Aurelio Barattini

Thank you to Italian chef Aurelio Barattini for today’s post and recipe on tomorrow's holiday: Carnevale!

Be sure to read his mouth-watering blog. Aurelio Barattini's restaurant, L'Antica Locanda di Sesto is in Lucca in Northern Tuscany in Italy.

***

The Viareggio Carnival was established in 1873 when some of the local "signori" decided to organize a Sunday a little different from the rest, by inventing a procession of decorated floats which travelled up and down the main street of the city. On that occasion a masked protest was also organized by a number of citizens, as they were forced to pay too many taxes and as a result the chief tax collector was certainly made fun of!!

The parade was liked alot not only by the patrons but also by the citizens and the idea of making floats that interpreted humour and disatisfaction of the people came about in that year. Since then Viareggio has become the home of the Italian Carnival, with its masked parades characterized by allegorical floats in papermache. These floats are true works of art to which the local float makers dedicate an entire year of workmanship. There is not one politician, entertainer, or intellectual that has not been a target (protagonist) of one of these floats which almost comes to life during the parade by the moving arms, opening and closing mouths and rolling eyes. On every float young people and children find a place from which to throw confetti and shooting stars to the crowd. During the entire period masked balls and parties in the various "rioni" (quarters, districts) are organized as well as numerous sports and cultural events i.e. "Torneo Internazionale giovanile di calcio.

The official Viareggio Carnival mask is the "Burlamacco", a clown which wears clothes taken from other Italian masks: checkered overalls, taken from the Harlequin's costume, a white ponpon stolen from Pierrot's big puffy blouse, a white gorget - "Captain Scary" style, a red headband and a black mantle. The name Burlamacco derives from Buffalmacco a Florentine painter and a character in the "Decamerone". However, it is also said to be linked to the Lucchese surname Burlamacchi.

The Recipe
The best-known Carnival pastries are Cenci (the word means rags), whose many aliases include Frappe, Chiacchere (gossips) and Nastrini (ribbons), while Ada Boni, who borrows Pellegrino Artusi’s recipe, uses the more poetic "Lover’s Knots." They are very pretty when carefully made, so she is probably right.

This recipe has been passed by to me from Nonna Lorena,a lady from Florence that loves to cook all the traditional tuscan recipes,and she's really amazing at it !

Ingredients:
250gr. of Flour

1 Egg

20gr. of Butter

40gr. of Sugar

half a glass of rhum or cognac

Instructions:
Mix the egg with the sugar,then while you keep stirring add the soft butter and the liqueur,finally add the flour and knead well then roll out the dough high about 2 mm.

Cut it into little rectangles (about 4cm x 8cm) then fry and in the end sprinkle with icing sugar.