The recipe below is based on what I was taught and how to make the famous dish from scratch. However, I must say that I have modified the recipe some, in the traditional recipe the chicken base and Parmesan cheese was not used, and instead of Cajun Spice Blend they used Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic spice blend, which is a very good blend.

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This recipe calls for both shrimp and pork for the Wonton filling as well as fresh ginger. The wonton’s are quite fun to fill and once the liquid portion of the soup is done and the wonton’s are filled and set up into triangles they only take about 5 to 10 minutes to cook in the chicken stock. This recipe serves 6 to 8 portions.

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The Carnival Season in New Orleans commences on January 6, or Twelfth Night, and concludes at Midnight of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), which is February 24th this year. The first seasonal King Cake is baked for Twelfth Night parties and the first parade rolls on the St. Charles Streetcar lines in Uptown New Orleans. Originally an uncooked dry bean, but more recently a small plastic baby figure is inserted into the bottom of the baked cake. The lucky person who finds the “baby” in their slice of cake is crowned “king or queen” for the day. The traditional Carnival colors of purple, green and gold (yellow) are depicted in tinted sugar on the top of cake.

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The New Orleans custom began in the late 1800’s and celebrates Epiphany with cakes that are baked to honor the three kings. To oval or round shape signifies their circular journey to confuse King Herod. The plastic baby represents Jesus. And the search for the bay is represented by the mystery of who will get the slice with the plastic baby in it. However, with legalities the way they are many do not place the baby in the cake, but will leave it out for the customer to place it, removing any liability from the shop for supposed folks who may swallow the plastic baby. For more history about Mardi Gras and King Cakes, check out the links at the end of this post.

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