Mardi Gras Recipes: Cajun Style Meals, Snacks, Drinks and More

There's no better time than during Carnival, the two-month long celebration of Mardi Gras, to whip up traditional Cajun and Creole dishes (there is a difference between the two styles, though subtle). The following foods are requisites in New Orleans year-round, but make festive menus for anyone who wants to stage their own Big Party recreation during the Mardi Gras season anywhere in the world. Have fun trying these traditional versions or trying spin-offs of your own.

Mardi Gras Must-Haves

Red Beans & Rice

Easy

There are times to slave over a stove, and times to just make the easy version of a tried-and-true favorite. If you are short on time or on cooking skills, try this recipe submitted by Sandy 1015 to About.com.

1 lb. red beans

½ lb. sausage, or more to your taste

1 onion (chopped)

2 sections garlic (finely chopped)

2 tablespoons celery

1 tablespoon parsley

1 lg. bay leaf

salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper , or to taste

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 teaspoons cumin

Put beans in pot of water and rinse. Remove bad beans that float to top. Drain water off and put beans in deep pot with 8-9 cups water. Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let set for 2 hours. Put back on heat at moderate to slow boil.

Meanwhile, sauté in extra-light virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, parsley, and celery. Add sausage to sauté. Then add entire sautéed mixture to beans. Add bay leaf and spices to entire mixture. Boil gently (simmer), stirring occasionally, for 2-3 hours, until tender and squishy. If mixture becomes too thick, add microwave-hot water to thin.

Cook white rice according to directions on box.

Serve hot bean mixture over rice. (I like it all mixed together, but try it both ways).

(http://southernfood.about.com/od/beansandblackeyedpeas/r/blbb491.htm)

Authentic

Native New Orleanian Chuck Taggert perfected this recipe - it was even featured in Frommer's Guide. The following is an exact copy of his recipe, including his vegetarian version for the meat-averse.

Red beans and rice is the quintessential New Orleans dish, traditionally served on Monday. It's going to take a little practice before you get it right. You'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it and arrive at the exact combinations of seasonings you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far.

1 pound dried red kidney beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

5 ribs celery, chopped

As much minced garlic as you like (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)

1 large smoked ham hock, 1 big chunk of Creole-style pickled meat (pickled pork), or ¾ pound smoked ham, diced

1 to 1 ½ pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced

½ to 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed

1 or 2 bay leaves

Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco, to taste

A few dashes Worcestershire sauce

Creole seasoning blend or red pepper, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, grilled or pan-fried, 1 link or patty per person, for serving (optional)

Pickled onions (optional)

White long-grain rice, for servingSoak the beans overnight if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and harden. Boil the beans for 45 to 60 minutes until they are tender but not falling apart. Drain.

While the beans are boiling, sauté the trinity (onions, celery, and bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans and then add the meat, the seasonings, and just enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook at least 2 to 3 hours until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Keep tasting it. Stir occasionally, making sure it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old - say, more than 6 to 12 months - they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If they're still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)

If you can, stick the beans in the fridge overnight. Reheat with a little water to get the right consistency and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a lot better.

Serve generous ladles of beans over hot white long-grain rice with good French bread and good beer. I also love to serve grilled or pan-fried fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice on the side. (And pickled onions.)

Serves eight regular people or six hungry ones.

Vegetarian Red Beans & Rice

Sacrilege, you say? Maybe. But a lot of folks who don't eat pork, or meat of any kind, can still enjoy this dish. It's not the same, of course, but it's still pretty damned good. Follow the same above, except:

Omit the meat

Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil along with the seasonings

Add 1 teaspoon (or to taste) liquid-smoke seasoning(http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/0020023600.html)

Jambalaya

This dish is a staple in every Creole and Cajun kitchen. One of the best attributes of jambalaya is its versatility - it can be made in a "red" style, which has tomatoes (the most common version in New Orleans) or a "brown" style. Jambalaya is delicious with the traditional meats, or with seafood, and has become popular served with pasta instead of the usual rice. However you make it, it's sure to please.

The following is a jambalaya recipe by Chef John Folse, preceded by a short commentary by him on the origins of this classic dish.

Jambalaya has become the best-known rice dish in America. The origin of this dish cannot be disputed. When the early Spanish settlers came to New Orleans, in the early 1700's, they brought with them the recipe for their famous paella. Since the ingredients for paella were not to be found in South Louisiana, their recipe was quickly adapted to the products at hand. Oysters and crawfish replaced clams and mussels in the recipe. Andouille took the place of ham and the new dish emerged from the paella pans of the Spanish. Since the main ingredient in the dish was rice, the dish was named "Jambon a la yaya." Yaya is the African word for rice and there is no argument that the "black hand in the pot" had a tremendous influence on our jambalaya. Today, the dish is made with many variations and with whatever is available. The most popular combination, however, is pork, chicken and andouille.

3 pounds cubed chicken

2 pounds sliced smoked sausage

1/4 cup Crisco or bacon drippings

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped bell pepper

½ cup diced garlic

8 cups beef or chicken stock

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced green onions

½ cup chopped parsley

salt and cayenne pepper

Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce

5 cups Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice, uncooked In a seven-quart cast iron Dutch oven, heat Crisco or bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Sauté cubed chicken until dark brown on all sides and some pieces are sticking to the bottom of the pot, approximately thirty minutes. This is very important as the brown color of jambalaya is derived from the color of the meat. Add smoked sausage and stir fry an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Tilt the pot to one side and ladle out all oil, except for one large cooking spoon. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Continue cooking until all vegetables are well caramelized; however, be very careful, as vegetables will tend to scorch since the pot is so hot. Add stock, bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook all ingredients in stock approximately fifteen minutes for flavors to develop. Add mushrooms, green onions and parsley. Season to taste using salt, pepper and Louisiana Gold. I suggest that you slightly over-season since the rice tends to require a little extra seasoning. Add rice, reduce heat to very low, cover and cook thirty to forty-five minutes, stirring at 15-minute intervals. Do not uncover except to stir. (http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/poultry/chicken18.htm)

Gumbo

Gumbo derives its name from the West African word for okra, although many recipes for this delicious soup use filé or roux to thicken it instead. This regional favorite even stars in its own festival held on the outskirts of New Orleans every October. As with most Creole and Cajun recipes, gumbo can be made in many variations, but most are prepared with seafood. Feel free to try several recipes until you find your personal favorite, but you can't go wrong starting with this traditional version from Chef Rick McDaniel's take on the famous New Orleans Lamplighter restaurant's version.

The Lamplighter was a legendary New Orleans restaurant that closed in the 1980s, but a few of their recipes still live on. This is my version of their Seafood Gumbo.

4 red bell peppers, finely chopped

2 bunches spring onions, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 good handful parsley, chopped

1 stick butter

2 pounds andouille or other hot smoked sausage, sliced thin

2 cups vegetable oil

1 can peeled tomatoes

4 bay leaves

1 ½ pound cut okra

1 ¾ cups plain flour

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 ½ teaspoons white pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon thyme

5 quarts chicken stock

1 pound crabmeat (NOT fake crab!)

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and cleaned

1 ½ pounds crawfish tailsCombine 1 ½ cups oil and 1 ¾ cups flour in a heavy-bottomed pan over low heat and stir constantly until the flour thickens and turns light brown. Add more flour if needed to absorb the oil and make a smooth paste. It may take 20 minutes or more, but be patient and careful - if the flour burns you'll ruin the gumbo. The best way to time a light roux is it should cook for the time it takes you to drink a cold beer. The darker the roux, the darker the gumbo. Set aside.

Sauté peppers, onions, garlic and parsley in butter. In another pan, sauté sausage in ½ cup oil, then add to the skillet with the peppers, onions, garlic and parsley along with tomatoes and bay leaves. Let simmer. In the sausage pan, sauté okra in ½ cup oil. Now, add everything except the shrimp and crawfish to the main pot. Simmer for about an hour.

When the vegetables and chicken are done, reduce heat, add the roux and simmer slowly to thicken to desired consistency. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and add the shrimp and crawfish. Turn off the heat and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes to cook the shrimp and crawfish.

Serve over rice garnished with green onions.

(http://www.chefrick.com/html/lamplightergumbo.html)

King Cake

If you're going to provide a King Cake this Mardi Gras, you need to know how to do more than follow a recipe. The presentation of King Cakes is steeped in tradition, and it's considered gauche to fail to follow suit. These cakes were transfers of French tradition to New Orleans, and were served at the ball of the Twelfth Night Revelers to determine the ball's queen and her court by whomever found gold or silver beans in their cake slice. (Originally, the beans determined which king would be sacrificed in a ritual, but, thankfully, that tradition ceases to exist.)

The bean eventually evolved into a figurine of a baby as the King Cake became popular to all Carnival revelers. Now the person who receives the baby in his or her slice is expected to provide the King Cake the following Mardi Gras. King Cakes are shaped into twisted circles, and are usually sprinkled with green, purple and gold colored sugar to represent the colors of Carnival. Though the rules have relaxed considerably, King Cakes should never be presented before Twelfth Night (Epiphany) or after Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday).

Famed chef Emeril Lagasse provides the following recipe for a traditional King Cake:

2 envelopes active dry yeast

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 cup warm milk (about 110ºF)

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted

5 large egg yolks, at room temperature

5 cups bleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 plastic king cake baby or a pecan half

5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sugar sprinkles Combine the yeast, granulated sugar and warm milk in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat at low speed with the whisk attachment for 30 seconds, then turn mixer off and allow the mixture to sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the melted butter and the egg yolks to the milk and whip quickly to incorporate. Replace the whisk attachment with the dough hook. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest to the mixer and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and starts to climb up the dough hook.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a medium bowl with the vegetable oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

Line a large (12- by 17-inch) baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, pat it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Spread the filling evenly along one of the long sides of the dough. Fold the other long edge over so that the long edges meet. Seal the dough on all edges by pinching the dough together. Finally, bring the two ends (of what should now be a long, filled cylinder of dough) together, and pinch the ends together to form a ring. Place the filled dough onto the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Brush the top of the risen dough with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the lemon juice, and the remaining 3 cups confectioners' sugar in medium mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake (or drizzle, as desired.) Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors around the cake.

The cake is traditionally cut into 2-inch-thick slices and served to all guests in attendance. The person whose piece contains the hidden plastic baby is crowned "king for a day" and is considered responsible for holding the next King Cake party.

Yield: 20 to 22 servings

(http://www.emerils.com/recipes/by_name/emeril%27s_king_cake.html)

This is just a sampling of all of the tasty cuisine New Orleans has to offer, and should be treated as a primer for your foray into Creole and Cajun cooking. Anyone looking to try their hand at mastering bayou menus would be amiss not to test out other classic recipes, such as those for Crawfish Étouffée, Shrimp Creole, Dirty Rice, Boudin, Muffulettas and Po-Boys, the best of which are featured in a companion article to this one. You also can't forget dessert, and New Orleans has a few to call its own, like Bread Pudding and Bananas Foster, that make the perfect finishing touch to your meal or Mardi Gras celebration. Enjoy!