Tag Archives: Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras!

Wow! Did you guys realize that February 9th was Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), Pancake day, chocolate day, pizza pie day and national bagel day?! How does a girl decide what event to observe?!

How about you? Did you do anything special on the 9th? Oh, wait… and we cannot forget sweet Cupid knocking on the door to this weekend too, huh? Whew!

While I’ve never officially experienced Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I like to think of myself as slightly indoctrinated into the festival and of course the feast! Yes, my dear friend Mary, born and raised in New Orleans, and her family would celebrate and make a big shebang and invite us on over to partake. When I say shebang…. I’m talking full-scale! The glitz, glitter, beads, masks, Mardi Gras decor, and of course good ol’ N’awlins food!

AH! Each year I looked forward to it! I could practically taste the King cake as the month of February approached each year. You know, looking back and reminiscing, I’m pretty sure she always made sure that I got the baby in my piece of cake too. Mmmmm such sweet memories to savor for a lifetime.

Unfortunately my friend Mary and her family moved onto another country and I feel like it’s my duty to uphold the our little tradition, even if we cannot enjoy it together. Sooooo… deciding what we’d celebrate on February 9th wasn’t a big deal after all. Bring on that good ol’ N’awlins colorful feast!

All of the recipes I used were passed onto me by Mary herself.

^Creamy Cajun Deviled Eggs

^Black-Eyed Peas Salsa served with multi-grain tortilla chips

^Shrimp Creole served with steamed rice

You could practically hear the New Orleans jazz and brass bands in the background couldn’t you? Haha! I feel like we represented well and made her proud this year flying solo? Perhaps next year I’ll snag her King Cake recipe and give it a go and snag some beads for an even more festive feel.

Here are some inspirational Mardi Gras recipes to tickle your fancy. Enjoy!

Backpackbees

Taste Of the Big Easy

Fat Tuesday is almost here! If you can’t make it to Mardi Gras, why not let Mardi Gras come to you? We Bee’s were treated to a taste of the big easy this weekend. With our friends, we broke out the brightly colored beads and masks and had ourselves a Mardi Gras feast truly fit for a King!

Our friends are originally from New Orleans, they literally created their own little French quarter here in their South Korean kitchen. It was fun to learn more about the Mardi Gras traditions like wearing masks and costumes, and the dancing and throwing plastic beads and doubloon coins from parade floats, and what the baby means inside of the king cake.

What would a Mardi Gras celebration be without authentic New Orleans food? I can assure you this was truly the real deal, shipped straight out of Louisiana. We started off with sipping on Café du Monde coffee with chicory, munched on Louisiana deviled eggs, black-eyed pea’s and beans salsa, enjoyed a delicious Mardi Gras salad, then moved onto the main course that consisted of perfectly fried and Creole breaded shrimp and catfish, cheese grits, and mixed veggies featuring the superstar, okra. Staying true to the cause, we topped the meal off with the infamous king cake and sinful pralines! (It may or may not have been planned, I ended up with the tiny plastic baby in my piece of cake!) So it’s our turn to host the next party! No nudging necessary, we love any opportunity to entertain with friends.

G. family, Thank you again for sharing your family traditions with us! A Bee could truly get used to the big easy way of life!

Backpackbees