"mardigras" news and stories

Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone.

The whole idea behind having pancakes on Fat Tuesday is to use up the butter, milk, eggs and other indulgent ingredients that you might having lying around the house so that you won't be tempted during Lent. But because everyone likes pancakes and not everyone observes lent, calling the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday "National Pancake Day" makes the tradition open to all - and I think that we can all agree that more pancakes are not a bad thing.

For my pancake day breakfast, I opted not to go with something decadent, but instead with something more wholesome so that I don't feel too bad about starting the day with a couple more pancakes (topped with maple syrup, of course), than I need.

If there was ever a time to try a Ramos Gin Fizz, Mardi Gras is it.

The fizzy, frothy, creamy drink was invented by Henry C. Ramos in the 1880s, in his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon at Meyer's Restaurant in New Orleans. The two ingredients that make the cocktail a Ramos Gin Fizz are orange flower water and egg whites. The "fizz" comes from shaking the drink. Supposedly, the drink has to be shaken for at least five minutes.

Rub the rim of a glass with a cut lemon, then dip in sugar. In a cocktail shaker, combine 2 oz. gin, ½ tsp. orange flower water, 1 egg white, 1 oz cream, 1 oz. lemon juice, and ½ oz. lime juice. Shake vigorously for five minutes, until frothy. Pour into sugar-rimmed glass with ice, and top off with soda water.

Related Posts:

• Why it's Fat Tuesday
• Mardi Gras Cocktails: Sazerac
• Mardi Gras Cocktails: Hurricane

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

Even though the may of Pancake Town USA doesn't seem to think that any time is a good time for pancakes, he certainly can't deny that Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is a natural day for them. The tradition of eating pancakes on the last day before the season of Lent was started to use up dairy and eggs that were often abstained from, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. But enough with religious roots: you don't need an excuse to eat pancakes, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Here are Slashfood's eight favorite pancake recipes:

It's not really a Mardi Gras party without indulging in a drink, or two, or a half dozen, so don't forget to add some cocktails to your Fat Tuesday Feast.

Sazerac might be the world's oldest known cocktail. Granted, not the oldest liquor (or wine), but cocktail which, by "definition," is a mixture. We're not exactly sure where the name comes from, but it could be from a French brand of cognac called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils, or it could be named after the cafe in which it was first reported to be made, the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans (thus, its association with New Orleans and Mardi Gras). It doesn't matter because a sazerac by any other name still tastes as sweet.

To make a Sazerac cocktail, crush one sugar cube with a drop of water in the bottom of a glass. (Some recipes call for 1 tsp. simple syrup instead.) Add a few drops of Peychaud's Bitters, 2 oz. rye whiskey, a few ice cubes, and stir. Pour this into another glass that has been swirled with a few drops of Pernod (or absinthe, you decide). Twist a lemon peel over the cocktail.

Purists will say that you cannot make a true Sazerac without the Peychaud's bitters, and that you don't add the lemon peel to the drink after you twist. As far as the rye whiskey, I am guessing a fine cognac would work just as well, if not better, but don't use Bourbon. Save that for a mint julep on Derby Day.