If you don't have cooked rice on hand, use boil-in-a-bag rice (such as Success Rice) and follow the microwave directions. Cool the rice slightly before adding egg. Total time: 45 minutes.
Turns out Monday has long been laundry day in Louisiana, and the family cook, who often as not had a ham bone left from Sunday dinner, would add it to a pot of beans and let it simmer unattended while she worked on the wash. By the time the clothes were ready, so was supper. And a delicious, smoky-spicy meal it was.
he King Cake tradition came to New Orleans with the first French settlers and has stayed ever since. Like the rest of Mardi Gras during those early days, the king cake was a part of the family's celebration, and really didn't take on a public role until after the Civil War. In 1870, the Twelfth Night Revelers held their ball, with a large king cake as the main attraction. Instead of choosing a sacred king to be sacrificed, the TNR used the bean in the cake to choose the queen of the ball. This tradition has carried on to this day, although the TNR now use a wooden replica of a large king cake. The ladies of the court pull open little drawers in the cake's lower layer which contain the silver and gold beans. Silver means you're on the court; gold is for the queen.