Learn How To Make A Traditional New Orleans King Cake For Mardi Gras

If you won't be able to make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, you don't have to miss out on all the amazing culinary treats available. One of the favorites is the King Cake, which is in a way really like a large cinnamon roll or pastry. 

It's usually topped with icing in the bright Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Also many people also include a small plastic doll in the image of baby Jesus. That's in celebration of the three Wise Men that visited Jesus on the the Twelth Night after Christmas.

In the video below you can check out how to make your own King Cake from scratch.

   

Or if you want to have one of the Traditional King Cakes by Nonna Randazzos - Shipped in Protective Box like the one pictured above, click here to shop now!

Thanks for visiting! Stayed tuned for more Mardi Gras fun!

Video credit: The Sweet Spot with Kirk Blouin

Sondra Carpenter

The Mardi Gras Girl

Celebrate The King Cake Festival On January 31

Well, you've probably figured out by now that residents of New Orleans will come up with almost any reason at all to start a celebration.

If you missed it last year, you'll have another chance to participate in the second annual King Cake Festival this month, January 31. Revel in many the versions of this traditional Mardi Gras baked treat. 

This is a family friendly event so you can bring the children, they even have a kid's zone. If you get a wristband for $10 it includes beverages, prizes and more. It's actually a benefit for babies and children at Oschner Hospital.

The festival is free and runs from 11AM to 5PM and will be held on LaSalle Street in Champion Square. You can also get unlimited snacks and open bar for $60 as a VIP Club Member. OF COURSE there will be live music, after all this is New Orleans!

If you don't know anything about the King Cake click here to check out my previous post.

Thanks for visiting!

Sondra Carpenter
The Mardi Gras Girl
Sondra Carpenter
The Mardi Gras Girl

A Delicious New Orleans Tradition, Jambalaya

One of the things I love about New Orleans, whether it's Mardi Gras or any other time of year is the incredible cuisine. Jambalaya is one of my favorite dishes. I've had it in other places besides The Big Easy, but I'm telling you...it just ain't the same!!! ;0) Jambalaya is a native Creole and Cajun dish. The name is thought to have derived from the French word for ham "jambon", along with the word "ya" which in many West African languages refers to rice.

For the uninitiated jambalaya is a one pot dish with a variety of tasty ingredients. You start out with crawfish, which are fresh water bayou shellfish, they look a lot like a small lobster; rice, tomatoes, andouille sausage (which is nice and spicy), chicken, onions, shrimp and more.

 

Check out this video on how to make jambalaya...yeeaaah! Mmmmmmm!



Thanks for visiting. Feel free to comment below.


Sondra Carpenter
The Mardi Gras Girl

King Cake, The Traditional Mardi Gras Dessert

Mardi Gras day is the last day of the Carnival Season. It begins on January 6, twelve nights after Christmas, which is referred to as the Catholic's King Day, Three Kings Day or Feast of the Epiphany. 

This is believed to be the day the Three Kings visited Jesus and brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh. In celebration bakeries begin making and selling King Cakes during this time. 

It's like a big cinnamon roll with the Mardi Gras colors, purple, green and gold, sprinkled in sugar on top and an assortment of fillings. A small baby doll is baked inside the cake which represents the baby Jesus.

 People have King Cake Parties, they also share them at work and school. The tradition is that the person who gets the baby in their piece of the King cake has to buy one for the next party.

It'a a popular dessert and thousands of King Cakes are eaten during the holiday season. The King Cake goes back to the 18th century when the French and Spanish brought the tradition to the United States.

Check out the video for a demonstration on how King Cakes are made. Click here to view it now.


Hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave comments.


Sondra Carpenter
The Mardi Gras Girl

Mardi Gras May Not Be What You Think



Most people who hear about Mardi Gras in New Orleans think it's mainly an out of control "Girls Gone Wild" celebration in the streets of the French Quarter. Although Mardi Gras (which is French for Fat Tuesday) does embrace the ultimate in wildness and over the top partying, that's not the whole story.

 

There are lots of parades, and beads and coins (called throws) tossed to the anxious crowds that line the sidewalks. The most extreme celebrations tend to be concentrated on Bourbon Street. So if that's what you're looking for, that's the place to be.

The rest of the French Quarter, Canal Street and throughout the Central Business and Warehouse Districts host parades with krewe members in costumes riding along floats. Lots of local schools have bands and dancers performing as well. Most of the entertainment and activities are a lot more tame than they're usually described, but lots of fun!

I've been to 2 Mardi Gras celebrations so far and have had a great time. New Orleans to me is such an amazing city...the jazz and zydeco music blasting from clubs as you walk along the streets in the Quarter, wonderful achitecture, delicious food like jambalaya and the best fried catfish I ever had, and of course the people. I always feel at home there, New Orleanians tend to be straight forward, down to earth people who want you to enjoy their city.

Speaking of amazing fried catfish I just HAVE to give a shout out to Two Sisters Kitchen, 223 N. Derbigny St., NOLA. 504-524-0056. Great food, great prices! OK, enough about about food for now! :0)

If you plan to attend the festivities try to come  within the last 3-4 weeks of Fat Tuesday. The Mardi Gras celebrations start January 6 which is The Feast of the Epiphany and the last day is Mardi Gras Day which is always the day before Ash Wednesday.

If you show up on Mardi Gras Day that's the last day of the celebration until next year!


Have you been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras or thinking about it? Feel free to share by posting a comment below.



Thanks for visiting!

Sondra Carpenter

The Mardi Gras Girl

Ate An Alligator In New Orleans

February of last year my cousin and I returned to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We hung out in the French Quarter quite a bit, this is one of her pics of the area featured here, and decided to have dinner at the Riverfront Restaurant on Decatur Street. It took awhile to choose from the many dining options but one thing I noticed on their menu posted in the window that I hadn't tried yet! Alligator!

 

I ordered Alligator Bites as an appetizer. They come either fried or blackened, I chose to have them blackened. Pretty tasty, a savory and very slight gamey taste. I'd heard from people that it tasted like chicken, I think it has it's own distinct flavor. The texture was tender but a little chewier than chicken. Also I had what they call Taste of New Orleans - A trio of the city’s very best dishes — chicken and sausage gumbo, crawfish étouffée and jambalaya. All the best, all on one plate! (From their menu description!) Enjoyed my dinner along with the traditional drink of New Orleans, a Hurricane.

 

If you ever find yourself wandering around on Decatur Street, check it out.

 

 

Sondra Carpenter

The Mardi Gras Girl