Mardi Gras

MARDI GRAS PARTY! Come on In...

The front door welcoming in our friends

On February 25 Wyatt and I had many friends over to help us celebrate the Mardi Gras season. This was after a 1 year hiatus from giving the party because we went to NOLA last year for Mardi Gras and stayed with Holly and Paul in Uptown. The menu for the party consisted of the following yummy NOLA items and traditions:

1. 30lbs Spicy Boiled Crawfish. These were flown in on Saturday morning from Live Crawfish.com based out of Slidell, LA. They were fat and very tasty.
2. King Cake. This was shipped via DHL from Randazzo's. It was supposed to arrive on Friday but for some reason it was shipped to arrive on Saturday. As a result I made a kingcake at 11pm on Friday night.
3. Chicken, Andouille and Okra Gumbo. This was joint effort among Monty, Wyatt and I. Monty made a good light caramel roux for the gumbo. Most likely the best I've ever seen so far. The Andouille was incredibly good and brought lots of nice flavor to the gumbo.
4. Red Beans and Rice. This was the first time making it from scratch vs. using Zatarains out of the box. We used a slow cooker to keep it simmering all day and warm during the party.
5. Hoppin Jon. The traditional blackeyed peas with some serano pepper thrown in for good measure.
6. Hurricane's. The real thing, not the Pat O'Briens version that includes some very harsh Hawaiian Punch and such. These were Fruit punch, orange juice, and limeade with lots of dark and light rum...LOTS of Dark and Light Rum.
7. Pralines. We made these the first year and each year they keep getting better. They still don't look perfect like Aunt Sally's brand but they taste just as good. The key to pralines is to be patient.
8. Cheese board. This isn't traditional NOLA but it is one of our favorite foods so we visited Cheesetique in Del Ray, Alexandria for a good selection to complement all the spicy food. We ended up with a Midnight Moon, D'Affinois, and Womanchego.
9. Abita Beer. Four types all good, all enjoyed by everyone. In particular it was nice to have Restoration Ale which was brewed specifically as a fund raiser for Hurricane relief. We sadly missed Blackened Voodoo which is brewed by Dixie Brewery. That particular brewer has not recovered from the Hurricane and may not recover at all!

Several new and old friends came by for a party that lasted late into the night with good music, conversation, laughs, and plenty of fun. Kindra and Neil were nice enough to bring information on how our guest could donate or help the Hurricane recovery efforts for NOLA. Wyatt hooked up the computer to the television so in the basement there was semi-constant viewing of the Bourbon Street Cam. Most of the music played during the party was by NOLA or Cajun artists who either donated proceeds from an album or song to the relief efforts. The photos of the party in action are courtesy of Neil and Kindra Singer. The pre party photos are by Wyatt and myself. If you weren't at the party we sadly missed you. If you were send photos!!!! Laissez le bon temp roule!