A Taste of Home: Mardi Gras Food Edition

 A taste of Mardi Gras food is bringing home facts, food, and fun.

King-Cake-2022 (1)

One never knows when the need for a conversation starter or trivia answer round the water cooler, dinner table or game board will present itself.

sweet-home-Louisiana

Louisianians love their Mardi Gras food, and one of our absolute most delicious regional dishes came in as the state favorite.

Curious to see what sweet treat sensation is deliciously associated with what state?  Click on the image below and the magic of link love will take you right on over to “The United Sweets of America”, a fun read by Slate associate editor L.V. Anderson.

By the way, the dessert ranked number one in Louisiana is, drum roll please… Bananas Foster.

mardi gras foodSlate

Speaking of which regional sweet treat your state is known for, when the calendar points to Mardi Gras season Mardi Gras food is the topic of Carnival culinary conversation.

Legions of Louisiana Loyal are finding themselves with a hankering for a taste of sweet home Louisiana.

Phone calls, text messages and email requests for Mardi Gras food recipes come fast and furious during Mardi Gras season.

Texas Yeehaw son.

Our Missouri snow shoveling nephew.

Floridian flamingos and Don’t Mess with Texas cousins.

see-Ruby-Falls

East Tennessean hills friends.

Chicago suburbs aunts and uncles.

What they say is true- you can take the boy or the girl out of Louisiana but you can’t take Louisiana out of the boy or the girl.

Seems the proof is in the bread pudding!

vanilla bread pudding with vanilla sauce

white chocolate bread pudding recipe

Wondering what Mardi Gras food recipes inspire the masses to phone home?

Here’s a look at the Mardi Gras food and recipe requests thus far:

Bananas Foster

This legendary Louisiana dessert is the stuff flamboyant flambé tableside preparation and presentation culinary dreams are made of.

Bananas, melted butter and brown sugar dance the dance of caramelization awaiting generous pours of banana liqueur and dark rum.

Not to be overlooked is the grand finale of flame and circumstance which showcases of the art of tableside exhibition- the lagniappe of New Orleans tradition.

Taking the top slot on our Mardi Gras food desserts menus is the recipe for my version of Bananas Foster.

Mardi-Gras-bananas-foster

King Cake

King Cake is a sweet traditional cinnamon filled coffee cake style pastry glazed with topping and sprinkled with sugar in the Royal colors of purple, green, and gold.

King Cake parties rule the Carnival season.

cinnamon-king-cake

Tradition dictates Mardi Gras revelers love the tradition of eating this Carnival confection during Mardi Gras season.

Time honored customs reign at Carnival season, and the custom of the plastic baby baked into the cake is steeped in culinary Carnival tradition, and if you are the lucky reveler who gets the piece of King Cake with the baby you are named “King for a Day”.

Mardi-Gras-food

With great King Cake power comes great King Cake responsibility.

Tradition dictates the “King for a Day” is obligated to host the next King Cake party.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo 

gumbo-bowlClick on the link to view the recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo 

This is the  email I received from the Canadian snowbird that kicked off this post:

Re: Mardi Gras Mambo Gumbo

Mom,

Thanks for the King Cake recipe!

Could you send me your chicken and sausage gumbo and Creole~Cajun Seasoning recipes by chance?

Creole-seasoning

Creole-Cajun Seasoning

1/3  cup paprika

3 tablespoons dried oregano

3 tablespoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon granulated onion

4 teaspoons dried thyme

4 teaspoons granulated garlic

In a medium bowl combine paprika, dried oregano, dried thyme, ground black pepper, dried basil, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, granulated onion, dried thyme and granulated garlic.  Stir to combine.  Can be stored in an airtight container for up to three months.

Mardi Gras food is the taste of home.

cest-si-bon-graphic

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