Jan-Feb-2016_Final-1-4-16-attempt2

GULF COAST

not cake. Sometimes it’s a pastry, sometimes it’s a bread. But it’s actually more like a tortell from Catalonia or a gâteau de rois from Provence than anything you’ll likely find in Athens, Greece, where — remember? — this whole thing started. • • •   Then there’s that other New Orleans sweet treat, and another Rouses specialty, doberge? Doberge cake is as New Orleans as second lines, Jazz Fest and pot holes. Or is it? Beulah Levy Ledner is credited with introducing the multi-layered cake-and-butter cream pudding delight (real pudding this time!) at her New Orleans bakery in 1933. But this iconic New Orleans dessert is actually Dobos cake, an Austrian/Hungarian tort with roots in Alsace-Lorraine, by a (barely) different name. It’s mind-boggling the way food is created, interpreted, influenced and exported across the globe. And the best thing is: It’s real, not digital,

• • •   Greenville, Mississippi, calls itself the Hot Tamale Capitol of the World. The city even registered the title with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Which might seem a little strange since most of us consider the tamale to be a Mexican dish, right? Wrong.The best in the world are at Doe’s Eat Place. Check it. • • •   Mardi Gras is coming up, so let’s take a look at that iconographic Carnival treat known as King Cake. First of all, it’s not really cake, but you probably knew I was going to say that. It’s actually a Danish, which, as you probably know, comes from — that’s right — Greece. Yes,even the name of the dish isGreek:“King”cake is named after the three wise men who arrived at the birth of Christ on the Epiphany,

12 days after Christmas, on the Twelfth Night — the official start of Carnival season across the Gulf Coast. That’s a Greek word,“epiphany,” which I think is translated into English as the day that you start playing Professor Longhair music on the radio every day.

not virtual, not on your computer screen— but on the real, physical plate in front of you. And you don’t need a plane ticket to have it all. Ok, you might need a full tank of gas, but it’s all right here on the Coast somewhere!

“International visitors to the region should feel right at home when they wander the Rouses grocery aisles or peruse our region’s restaurants’ menus.”

HUNGARY FOR MORE? Our Gulf Coast specialty, the doberge cake, was inspired by one of Hungary’s most famous desserts, the Dobos torta or Dobos torte, which itself was inspired by a Middle Eastern favorite, baklava. Place flour in one wide shallow bowl, breadcrumbs in another. In separate bowl, whisk together raw eggs. Working one egg at a time, dip each egg into flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs to coat. Pour oil into a deep fryer or large cast iron pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat to a temperature of 350 degrees. Fry eggs, turning occasionally, until outsides are golden brown and crisp, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with mustard or mustard-mayonnaise mixture. Scotch Eggs makes 4 WHAT YOU WILL NEED 7 ounces (¾ cup) Rouses fresh pork sausage, casings removed 4 large eggs boiled eggs 1 cup All Purpose flour 1 cup bread crumbs 2 raw eggs Rouses vegetable oil (for frying) Rouses salt and ground pepper, to taste HOW TO PREP Divide sausage into 4 equal portions. On a sheet of waxed paper, shape each portion into a thin patty. Lightly wet your hands. Gently shape patties around eggs, sealing to close.

Our beloved Rouses Markets make some 350,000 King Cakes every Carnival season and we ship them coast to coast, bringing the downhome tradition — if not across the world — at least across the United States.Those little King Cake babies baked inside the treats are nothing less than ambassadors of love and culture. But here’s the thing about King Cake (you knew there was going to be a “thing” about King Cake, didn’t you?). First, as noted, it’s

Rouses Doberge Cake — photo by Romney Caruso

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