"mardi gras, new orleans" news and stories

If you're lucky, you've tried it and found the baby.

Carnival means it's king cake season in New Orleans. Rings of the gold, purple and green sugary delights have cropped up all over the Crescent City, but they've likely come to your neighborhood too, as Louisiana natives -- many of whom relocated after Hurricane Katrina -- celebrate Mardi Gras (on Feb. 24 in 2009) with the king cake and its hidden plastic baby.

"It's a very interesting time for the king cake," says Chef John Folse, an expert on Cajun and Creole cuisine. His Gonzales, La., company is part of a growing number of bakeries that sell king cakes nationwide.

Mardi Gras could become a national holiday, if a Louisiana jambalaya maker has its way.

Zatarain's launched an online petition on Jan. 30 to ask Congress to make the observation of Fat Tuesday a federal law.

"Mardi Gras is a huge celebration in New Orleans, but what we've seen is people across the country -- almost 50 percent according to a national survey -- actually celebrate the holiday," Ken Beals, a Zatarain's spokesman, told Slashfood.

The New Orleans food company hopes to collect 100,000 signatures on MotionforMardiGras.com by Feb. 24 -- Mardi Gras 2009 -- and present those signatures to Congress. Zatarain's is also approaching local Louisiana officials to make the case for a national Mardi Gras.

I'm assuming that you didn't take the day off from work to run half-naked through the streets of your neighborhood in celebration of Mardi Gras, which probably means you didn't start your day with Hurricanes and Brandy Milk Punches at 7 AM.

Starting the day with cafe au lait -- French for "coffee with milk" -- is a better option. It's not a latte. Cafe au lait is drip coffee with hot milk. After years and years of drinking coffee black -- no sugar, no cream, no love, baby -- I conceded to trying coffee with milk because I "had to" when I was at Cafe du Monde last month. I have to say, I have been drinking it this way at home for the last month since I've been back.

Oh, okay, so I'm using soy instead of regular milk.

The Super Bowl is Sunday, but not two days later, we jump right into Mardi Gras festivities. Since Mardi Gras is on a Tuesday and we know you're utterly responsible on "school nights," why not celebrate it a little early by serving classic New Orleans fare at your Super Bowl Party? Gumbo, jamablaya, and of course, the muffuletta.

The muffuletta is something new to me. I've heard about, read about, and seen this giant Sicilian stuffed sandwich, but only tried it for the very first time a few weeks ago when I was in New Orleans for the BCS Bowl. Though I am not normally a huge fan of sandwiches in general, I fell in love with the powerfully garlicky olive salad, one of the specific ingredients that makes the muffuletta a muffuletta.

The muffuletta's size makes it the perfect party sandwich, since you can make a few, then cut them into single-size servings for your guests. The basic ingredients are a round, somewhat flat seeded loaf of firm bread (for which the sandwich is named), salumi, cheese, and olive salad.

If you can't get your hands on muffuletta bread specifically, something like a focaccia is a good substitute. Slice the bread horizontally, rub the cut sides of the bread with oil from the olive salad, then pile on any of assorted salumi, provolone cheese, and of course, the olive salad, which you can either buy or make yourself. Press the sandwich together and you're good to go.

Of course, if you live in New Orleans, you can just pick some up from the place that invented the sandwich, Central Grocery (where I got and ate mine)!

Gumbo is a very thick soup, almost a stew, that can be attributed to the Creole kitchen (it has also been called "Cajun" but I'll let them experts fight that one out).

Gumbo likely began when French settlers in Louisiana made their native bouillabaisse, substituting ingredients that were available to them locally. As settlers from different countries arrived in Louisiana and added their influences, bouillabaisse gradually evolved into gumbo. The name "gumbo" is derived from the African word "quingombo," which refers to okra, one of the primary ingredients in a proper gumbo.

The base for gumbo is a dark roux made from a 1:1 ratio of flour and oil. The roux acts as a thickener. Okra is also added, and is what thickens the gumbo. However, when okra is not in season, cooks use only the dark roux. File powder or gumbo file, made from sassafras, was used at one time as a thickener as well, but is not as common today. If there is okra in the gumbo, however, it is absolute sacrilege to add file powder.

Once the roux has darkened, cooks add the Holy Trinity (chopped bell pepper, celery, and onion) and stock made from whatever ingredients will be in the final gumbo - chicken, sausage, or shellfish. The meats are added and the gumbo is simmered on the stove top until the meats are cooked through.

Though gumbo is sometimes considered a thick soup, some gumbo purists argue that it must be ladled over plain white rice.

I had my fill of gumbo at restaurants over the weekend, so I'll leave the home-cooking up to you:

• Gumbo z'Herbes (Gumbo made from all green vegetables)
• Gumbo File with Crab from Gourmet
• New Orleans Chef Leah Chase's Creole Gumbo
• Gumbo Ya Ya from Emeril Lagasse