Celebrate Fat Tuesday with Our Best Mardi Gras Food and Drink Recipes
From po' boy sandwiches to gumbo and red beans and rice, we're sharing our favorite recipes for Mardi Gras. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
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If you're not in New Orleans, Mobile, or Rio for Carnival this year and you want to celebrate at home instead, these Fat Tuesday recipes will bring the party to your kitchen. Just what should you serve for Mardi Gras food? We think these New Orleans-style favorites fit the bill.
Of course, there should be shrimp, but how you make it is entirely up to you. It can be elegant, like the Shrimp Maque Choux that's pictured here, which is made with cream, white wine, corn, and spicy peppers. If you want something a bit more casual, go with fried shrimp in the form a Po'Boy sandwich or shrimp and rice cooked with spicy sausage like andouille, similar to how they do in Cajun country. No matter how you prep it, everyone's favorite shellfish is a sure pick for Mardi Gras food. If you want to stay in the seafood vein, consider making a pot of gumbo packed with shrimp and crab. It's a good one-and-done, make-ahead dish; the rich flavors develop if you cook it the day before, then reheat and serve with rice for your Mardi Gras party.
On the meaty side of things, a Muffaletta, which is basically a giant round sandwich layered with different meats and cheeses, is literally a party on a platter. Red beans and rice might sound like a side dish but is actually a hearty main packed with beans and pork for deep flavor—and is perhaps a perfect dish to fuel hours of partying on the last night before Lent.
And the drinks? Anything festive and fun fits the bill. If you were on Bourbon Street in New Orleans you'd probably be sipping on a Hurricane, but that's not the best of New Orleans cocktails in our humble opinion, so we've included recipes for classic drinks like the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz. Of course, there will be dessert, but will it be Bananas Foster or might you make your own King Cake from scratch? Ultimately, you can't go wrong with either.
One last word of advice: Don't forget to stock up on Mardi Gras beads, then let the good times roll.
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Jambalaya
This favorite dish starts with the holy trinity of Louisiana cooking: onions, celery, and bell peppers. Our version features chicken thighs and andouille sausage plus plenty of thyme and cayenne pepper.
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Sazerac
The cocktail of the Big Easy, this cousin of the Old Fashioned balances whisky or bourbon with sugar, orange bitters, and an anise-flavored liqueur.
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Fish Po' Boys
Made with the New Orleans version of French bread that's crusty outside and fluffy within, po' boys are generously sized sandwiches often with fried fish, like this version, or with fried oysters, shrimp, or even roast beef and gravy. In our easy-to-make-at-home po' boy, we use cornmeal-crusted flounder fillets and we "dress" the sandwiches with lettuce and tomato.
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Seafood Gumbo
Perhaps the most famous dish from Louisiana, there are as many versions of gumbo as there are cooks. Our streamlined take uses shrimp, crabmeat, and okra. Cooking the roux until it's chestnut brown is key to developing deep flavor.
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Bananas Foster
A flaming dessert makes the party and this just might be the most classic. The renowned Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans is credited with creating this dish. Bananas are cooked in buttery brown sugar syrup then flambéed with rum and served with ice cream.
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Muffaletta
The specialty of the famed Central Grocery in New Orleans French Quarter, this mega sandwich includes numerous Italian cured meats such as coppa, salami, and mortadella, plus olive salad, cheese, and piquant pickled peppers. It needs to be made ahead and refrigerated so the flavors have time to meld. Because it's prepped ahead and easy to share, we think it's a perfect party food.
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Red Beans and Rice
Hearty and comforting, this slow-cooked dish of red beans (make them Camellia Red Beans!) and pork (your choice of ham hocks or spicy sausage) served with plenty of white rice.
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Gumbo Z'Herbes
Not as well known as seafood gumbo but well worth making, that's gumbo z'herbes. It's packed with greens, use up to seven kinds like collards, spinach, turnip or mustard greens, you get the idea. Oh, and there's the meat from ham hocks, too.
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Cajun Shrimp and Rice
A quick dish that takes jambalaya as its inspiration, this shrimp and rice dish starts with the traditional trio of onion, celery, and bell pepper, adds andouille sausage for spicy flavor, and is ready to eat in just over an hour.
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Grasshopper
Usually enjoyed after-dinner, this three-ingredient drink gets its color from its main ingredient, crème-de-menthe. Its other main ingredient is heavy cream and there's a touch of cream de cacao, so we like to think of it as dessert in a glass.
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Dirty Rice
Here's another simple dish made with what the cook already has on hand: Dirty rice is said to have started as a way to use up chicken hearts and gizzards and flavor rice. This recipe uses chicken livers and a little ground beef for a hearty dish.
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Ramos Gin Fizz
Here's another classic New Orleans cocktail. As its name suggests, this one starts with gin. The fizz comes from a liberal shaking of the ingredients, including cream and egg white, and finishing with a splash of seltzer.
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Crawfish Etouffée
Like gumbo, this rich shellfish stew begins with a roux and a mix of onion, celery, and bell pepper. It's a cajun classic! Be sure to serve it with plenty of fluffy white rice.
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King Cake
The centerpiece of any Mardi Gras party is this yellow, green, and purple glazed cake. It's a yeasted bread shaped in a ring with a plastic baby hidden inside; the tradition is that whoever gets the baby in their slice provides the king cake for the party next year.