Just in case you haven’t noticed, Mardi Gras is March 8 and that means a very long Carnival season, which officially begins on Twelfth Night, January 6.

While most people are looking forward to a little rest and relaxation following the Christmas holidays, those of us who live in the South, especially in south Louisiana, are digging in for the Carnival season.

You need to order your King cakes NOW. There are so many flavors to choose from these days---chocolate, blueberry, Bavarian crème, apple, cinnamon---it’s difficult to select just one, so I end up ordering several. They are great to serve for breakfast with café au lait and they are certainly ideal for a snack, but you need to have several on hand for all those King cake parties during the Carnival season. (When I was younger, there was only one flavor---buttery brioche and that was fine with me.)

Should you want to make your own just for fun you may want to try this recipe. Kids love trying their hand at baking and this king cake is fairly simple.

FLEISCHMANN'S YEAST KING CAKE

• 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 packages Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup melted butter
• Powdered sugar glaze (recipe follows)
• Colored sugars (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, salt and undissolved yeast. Heat the milk, water and butter until very warm, about 120 to 130 degrees. Add to the dry ingredients and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add the eggs and ½ cup of the flour. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour (2 ¾ cups) to make a stiff batter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Punch the dough down. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each to 28x4 inches. Brush with the melted butter then sprinkle evenly with the remaining ¾ cup sugar and the cinnamon. Beginning at the long end, roll each up tightly as for jellyroll. Pinch the seams to form long ropes. Braid, then form into an oval. Pinch the ends together to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Bake at 375 degrees or until lightly golden. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire race. Brush with the powdered sugar glaze and sprinkle with the colored sugars.

POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• ½ cup sugar with 8 drops of blue and 16 drops of red food coloring

Whisk until smooth.

COLORED SUGARS

• ½ cup sugar with 8 drops of green food coloring in a sealed jar or plastic bag
• ½ cup sugar with 8 drops of yellow food coloring

MIX FOOD COLORING BEFORE ADDING THE SUGAR.

If you’re hosting a parade-watching party, I suggest that you put your order in now to get your boudin, and while you’re at it, order a turducken to use to make a gumbo. I did this during the holidays when I had some turducken leftover and my guests went wild! Oh, and don’t forget to order French bread!

Well, you also should stock up also on some of our stuffed breads filled with crab meat, crawfish or shrimp! They are great to offer for appetizers, lunch or dinner anytime!

And I’ll tell you what else you MUST serve at your Carnival party (or for any party), are the crab burgers, crab cakes or crawfish cakes we have in stock. Dab them with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce – WOW!