Why not host a Mardi Gras party? Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday in French – is the pre-Lent festival when people feast before the Lent fasting and the serious business of Easter.
Perhaps the most famous Mardi Gras celebrations are those held in New Orleans in the United States. From Twelfth Night on 6 January until Ash Wednesday New Orleans is a serious party town.
Famous for its Jazz music, Cajun cooking and French culture, New Orleans’ streets come alive with carnival parades and crowds. Revellers throw strings of inexpensive plastic beads and doubloons to the throngs of people lining the main thoroughfares like Bourbon Street or Canal Street. The whole thing culminates in Mardi Gras day celebrations.
It’s all very American, but like the Super Bowl it’s catching on over this side of ‘The Pond’.
If you fancy it, the Allison Homes' team has tracked down some Mardi Gras tips for you.
Decorate your home in the traditional colours of Mardi Gras – green for faith, gold for power and purple for justice.
Make sure you have a choice of Trad Jazz; New Orleans brass music and Louisiana Zydeco music playing and bedeck your guests in Mardi Gras beads as they arrive.
Make yourself a King Cake - King Cakes are made of a cinnamon filled dough in the shape of a hollow circle. The cake is topped with a delicious glazed topping and then sprinkled with coloured sugar. Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are eaten in New Orleans during the Carnival season.
Get some masks. Masks have been worn in New Orleans during masked balls for centuries. Masking originated with secretive organizations (carnival crews) and the secret upper class. No one knew who they were. The concept of wearing masks moved to the street where everyone would wear a mask and have a big celebration on the street. What better way to break the ice at your party? Everyone will not know who everyone else is and it is so much fun to discover who is behind the costume. It is also fun to see people get creative with their costumes and masks.
Serve up some hot and spicy Cajun food. The main meal at your Mardi Gras party could be a traditional seafood gumbo – here is a handy recipe. The other signature dish, apart from anything with Crawfish in it, is Jambalaya.
Mardi Gras drinks are strong and tall. Cocktails include the Hurricane, Mint Julep and Mojito. You could even serve the very British Pimm’s, which is popular in New Orleans in the sizzling summer months.
The Spanish anise liqueur called Ojen is also a traditional Mardi Gras drink
Serve canapes that are based on seafood, especially crab and shrimp, with your drinks.
Have fun!
