"mardi gras, new orleans" news and stories

If you’re not familiar with New Orleans food terms, Mardi Gras can be a confusing time because their cuisine is in the spotlight. We’ve covered King Cake and Jambalaya, but there are so many others. NewOrleansRestaurants.com has put together a list of the local lingo, complete with definitions of anything you might encounter when dining down in the Big Easy. The pronunciation guide is especially helpful to anyone who will be traveling through the area. Examples include:

• Beignet (ben yay') - Lighter than a doughnut, and square (no holes), sprinkled with powdered sugar
• Crawfish (craw' fish) - Fresh water shellfish, also known as "mudbugs" from the bayous!
• Muffuletta (Muf' a lotta) - And a lotta it is! Super-large, round, fat sandwich filled with salami-type meats, mozzarella cheese, pickles, and olive salad.
• Praline (Praw leen') Brown sugar, pecan-filled, candy patty.

And if you’re looking for non-food terms that might help you out on your travels, ExperienceNewOrleans.com has plenty, and you’ll soon know your bayous from your Boogalees.

Source

Since Mardi Gras is coming up on Tuesday, we've been making all kinds of Creole, Cajun, and purely-for-Fat Tuesday dishes in the Slashfood kitchens this past weekend.

Jambalaya is a rice-based dish that is popular in the American South, and is most often associated with New Orleans. If you've been paying attention to out study of Cajun vs. Creole cuisines, you know that jambalaya is common to both.

It's not clear where the name "jambalaya" comes from. Some say it is derived from French word "jambon" for ham, "a la," and an African word, "yaya," for rice. Personally, I think it just means a "jumble" of rice, vegetables, and whatever chicken, pork, and crustaceans you have lying around, because that's what it looks like in the pot and on the plate.

At the heart of jambalaya is rice, spice, and the "Holy Trinity," chopped onions, bell peppers, and celery. From there, every recipe for jambalaya takes on the personality of its cook. It can be made on the stove top or in the oven, it can be soupy or stew-y, it can have chicken or ham or sausage or crustaceans or all of the above. It's all up to you.  

We've already looked at Cajun cuisine, so now we want to find out how Creole cooking is different.

The word "Creole" is derived from the Spanish word "Criollo," a term used in the 1700s by the Spanish governing the New Orleans. Criollos were people of European descent living in the area. "Creole" came to imply refinement and elegance. 

While Cajun cooking is a fusion of primarily rustic, provincial French and American Southern cooking, Creole cuisine additionally draws influences from the Caribbean, Africa, and Spain, using more classical European methods and techniques with locally available ingredients. Like the original implication of the word, Creole is a slightly more sophisticated style of food than Cajun.

Like Cajun cooking, Creole chefs use filé powder as well as the "Holy trinity" of bell peppers, celery, and onions. Creole recipes also use butter, cream and tomatoes. Famous Creole recipes that are shared with Cajun cooking are jambalaya and gumbo. However, unique to Creoles are oysters Rockefeller, bananas Foster, shrimp rémoulade, and bread pudding.

Related Links:

• LA Times does Creole Cooking
• On Oysters
• Bread Pudding base

[photo: LA Times]

Though the parades and festivities have been scaled back a bit this year in New Orleans, Slashfood will be fully indulging in all kinds of food, drink, and traditions in honor of Mardi Gras next Tuesday.

We know Mardi Gras as a time of excessive celebration, and like many "holidays," through the commercialization, we might have forgotten why it's there. As a refresher "Mardi Gras" translates from French to "Fat Tuesday." The celebration has its roots in Catholicism - the Church established the period from January 6th (12th Night) until Mardi Gras as "Carnival," a time of celebration and enjoyment. Mardi Gras is the last day of Carnival, and is the last chance for us to enjoy ourselves, before we go into the 40 days of Lent, a period of prayer and penance.

Mardi Gras is also known as both Shrove Tuesday and as Pancake Day because pancakes are eaten to use up milk and eggs, which are not eaten during Lent.

Related links:

• LA Times Goes Creole
• King Arthur Flour's King Cake Kit
• Make Some Pancakes