Epiphany Brunch
Last Sunday, January 6th, we had an Epiphany brunch here with people from our church and friends. Church members provided food and it was great fun. My contribution was a king cake and a sausage and hash brown egg casserole (see the recipe in today’s lagniappe).
Here is the table:
The King Cake sets the mood for the celebration.
The tradition of the king cake is that it is shaped as a crown (to represent the crowns on the wise men who visited the baby, Jesus). A small plastic baby is inside one of the pieces of cake. If you get the piece with the baby, you are supposed to bring a king cake to the next gathering.
You can see there is plenty of purple, green and gold which are the official Mardi Gras colors. Rex (the King of Carnival) selected the official Mardi Gras colors in 1872, honoring the visiting Russian Grand Duke Alexis Alexis Alexandrovich Romanoff, who suggested the colors. The 1892 Rex Parade theme “Symbolism of Colors” suggested the colors’ meaning.
Purple Represents Justice. Green Represents Faith. Gold Represents Power.
There is so much history and tradition surrounding Mardi Gras and the Carnival season that includes festive parades and sparkling Mardi Gras balls. What a wonderful time to live in New Orleans!
Lagniappe: Sausage and Hash Brown Egg Casserole
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen hash browns
1/4 cup melted butter
1 lb sausage (I used Jimmy Dean’s hot sausage – it’s what I like )
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
6 large eggs
12 ounces grated cheddar cheese
8 ounces small curd cottage cheese
8 ounces sour cream
Brown sausage and drain. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with non-stick spray (don’t forget this step – trust me) . Mix together the melted butter and hash browns and press into the bottom of the pan.
In another bowl, mix together the sausage, eggs, onion, cheddar, cottage cheese and sour cream.
Pour mixture over the hash browns.
Bake for an hour at 375 degrees for 45 – 55 minutes.
with Between Naps on the Porch
January 9th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Table beautiful; food looks wonderful!
January 9th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Thanks Lois – Wish you could be here!
January 9th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Looks delicious! Happy Carnival!
January 10th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
table looks beautiful and the food delicious, would’nt expect anything less Mama
January 10th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
I love the punch bowl! Everything looks delicious! My daughter was just telling me yesterday that we need to get a king cake!
January 10th, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Oh, this looks so good! I am saving your recipe because I am always on the hunt for good brunch recipes. We just got home from a vacation out west, and passing through Louisiana, I saw billboards advertising bakeries which advised us to go ahead and order our king cakes! You should see the sad things in the grocery stores here they call king cakes — atrocious.
January 14th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
[…] Some people have asked about the centerpieces that I used at the recent Epiphany brunch. […]