Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Festival Fun Preview + Cajun Pineapple Rum Cake

Almost time for the biggest and best festival of the year, the 24th annual Festival International de Louisiane! On April 21-25, downtown Lafayette will be transformed into a 6 stage, multi-cultural, global music playground, with bands from 15 countries, including class acts from France, Brazil, Mali, New Brunswick, Zimbabwe, and many others. As well as some of the best bands that Louisiana and Cajun country have to offer, including the Sonny Landreth Band, The Bluerunners, Feufollet, and Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, just to name a few of my faves, out of 500 artists, at the festival!


And of course , tons of scrumptious, world famous, Cajun cuisine, and decadent drinks, as well, with 26 wonderful food booths to choose from, at the Pavillon de Cuisine. And do not forget to check out the incredible International and Southern, arts and crafts market, at Marche des Arts, with over 80 vendors selling unique, handcrafted items and beautiful art and apparel. I can't wait to shop here!



The kick off to this year's festival will begin with a fais do-do, (Cajun street dance) on Wednesday evening with the High Performance Band, taking the stage at Scene Bacardi, at 6:30pm, followed by Keith Frank & the Soileau Family Zydeco Band. Get your dancing shoes on, and get ready to do some nitty- gritty dancing, with these two fantastic groups. And don't forget the AFTER PARTY at the Blue Moon Saloon, with the legendary, Lil' Band of Gold , entertaining the crowd! See ya'll there! Woo hoo! I'm so excited and cannot wait!




Life doesn't get any better than this, so come on down and get into the festival spirit, for five straight days, of fabulous Cajun and International music, cuisine, and fun! This unique festival celebrates all music and all cultures and the Acadiana cultural connection with the francophone world and is a fabulous, fun experience that you will always remember! For a complete schedule, click here.

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Lil Buck!
(This guy plays a mean blues guitar!)

Here is a little clip, from last year's festival , of one of my all time favorite bands, Lafayette's own, Lil' Buck Sinegal and Friends. And check out this keyboard player! HOT! Enjoy! Lassiez les bon temps rouler, cher!


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Cajun Pineapple Rum Cake

This heavenly cake is so simple to make and the flavor is so fabulous that you will have a hard time resisting a second piece, cher! Worth the calories, cher!! Cest bon! Bon appetit!

1/2 cup pineapple rum
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Spray a bundt pan with "Baker's Joy" baking spray. In large bowl, combine first six ingredients. beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool and remove to cake plate. Make glaze and drizzle over cake.

Glaze

Melt 1/4 cup butter, in saucepan. Add 2 tbs. pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook and stir, until sugar is melted. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/4 cup pineapple rum, until blended. Prick top of cake with a fork and drizzle glaze over warm cake. Divine!

Wishing all of you a happy, fun, Springtime week!
Merci beaucoup for stopping by!

14 comments:

John said...

I guess in the second shot "42 below" is latitude not temperature.

Boozy Tooth said...

Marguerite, baking is torture for me. I am so so bad at it. And yet, this recipe makes me want to try.

What on earth could be better than pineapple cake with rum in it.

Nothing. Pure and simple. Dare I try?

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Mags, i will be making this soon

rum in the glaze, topped with coconut for a Caribbean feel, but the rest yours

Kora Bruce [Dixie Lust] said...

Im soo excited for festival international!! I will keep an eye out for you this weekend!

K. said...

Does anyone have time to work in Lafayette? :)

Eddie Bluelights said...

Pineapple Rum Cake - sounds wonderful as indeed your week of fun is - enjoy yourself, ma cheri ~ Eddie

Eddie Bluelights said...

PS Laughing at K's question!
I think it deserves an answer! LOL

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Oh...looks so delicious!!!!! And as for work? Who cares? If you can eat and play like that, what else do you need? :-) Love you! Janine XO

Marguerite said...

John- So observant of you to notice that! I think that you're right! The drinks at this booth are wonderful!

Alix- Oh do try it, cher! It is so easy to make and with a mix, you can't go wrong! And I know that you will love it!

Dave- Glad you like it! I will look forward to seeing your version, cher! I'm sure it will be fab!

Kora- So nice to see you, cher! I know, I can't wait, either! Just look for me on the dance floor!

K.- lol, We work very hard, in between festivals, that is! That is the Cajun motto, "work hard, play harder"! Cheers!

Maggie May said...

There seem to be so many festivals in Cajun country!
Every one seems to put their heart and soul into them It would be lovely is we had a five day festival like that. maybe its the lovely weather that gets everyone into the mood.

I dare say that pineapple cake could be made with other fruits too. I love the addition of rum.

Nuts in May

aslan said...

You are again great dear Marguerite.
Festival + Cajun Cake =
"It's the wonderful life."
Thanks for sharing..Love and Respects

Marguerite said...

Eddie- Merci cher, for your sweet comment! This cake is divine! Rummy-yummy, but I ate way too much of it! But, since I will be dancing a lot this week, it will evaporate! lol

Janine- Thanks, mon amie, I hope you try it! It is sinfully delicious! You know what they say," All work and no play, makes (Jack/Jane), a dull (boy/girl!)lol Cheers, cher!

Maggie- Thanks so much for your lovely comment! We do have a lot of festivals, but they are so much fun, that hundreds of volunteers
work all year, to make them happen. Glad you liked the cake!

aslan- Merci beaucoup, cher, for your sweet comment! So glad that you understand the Cajun life!! How I wish that you could be here to enjoy it all! Cheers, mon ami!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Mags... I made your rum cake today and posted the results... FABULOUS!

Won't be as much fun as your Festival, but the St Thomas Carnival starts today... heading to their food fair all afternoon. Will try to make you jealous

Bobbie said...

I love this cake so much! I've made it a few times. I made it in a cast iron skillet and a casserole dish before. Both turned our great. I also used crushed pineapple (it was what I had in the cupboard) and Dark Rum when I didn't have any Pineapple Rum left. So good, a must try!