Celebrate Mardi Gras With These Treats

Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate before Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season. Whether you’re in New Orleans for the festivities or planning a party at home you’ll want to try some of these delicious Mardi Gras favorites. You’ll want to use the traditional Mardi Gras colors for garnishes and beads for decorations. Gold represents power. Green represents faith. Purple represents justice.

Mardi Gras King Cupcakes

A favorite Mardi Gras dessert that came from France in the late 1800s is the King Cake. In many countries, this dessert is associated with Epiphany. A small figure that represents the Christ child is often hidden in the cake. The cakes are often decorated with purple, green, and gold beads, or sprinkles in traditional Mardi Gras colors. This is a new twist on the traditional favorite. These cupcakes are made with Hawaiian bread crescent rolls with cream cheese, sugar, and cinnamon filling. The recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients:

• 1 container of Pillsbury Hawaiian Bread Crescent Rolls
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• Purple, yellow, green sprinkles

Spray 4 cups in a muffin tin. Mix cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tbsp cinnamon in a separate bowl. Mix the ingredients well.

Spread out crescent roll dough on waxed paper. Sel the perforations and separate them into four rectangles. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Place a small amount of the cream cheese mixture on each rectangle. Roll up the rectangles on the long side. Fold the left end of each to the center and right end over the left side.

Place the cakes in the muffin tin and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees 12 minutes, remove foil. Bake an extra 12 minutes. Make the glaze while the cupcakes are baking. Allow cakes to cool before frosting them. Sprinkle the tops with colored Mardi Gras sprinkles.

Mardi Gras Snack Mix

• 2 1/2 cups of Bugles
• 2 1/2 cups of Cheezits
• 2 1/2 cups of small pretzels
• 1 cup of peanuts or nuts of your choice
• 2 cups of assorted candies
• Vegetable oil
• Dry Ranch Salad Dressing Mix

Combine Bugles, Cheezu=its, pretzels, and nuts in a gallon-size plastic bag. Drizzle the ingredients with a small amount of vegetable oil Close the bag and shake well to coat. Add the dry dressing mix and shake again to coat the ingredients. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and top with the assorted candies. You may use yellow, green, and purple jelly beans, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, and any candy of your choice.
This is a fun and festive snack for a Mardi Gras party. The thing that makes this snack mix unique is that you combine some ingredients that are traditional Mardi Gras colors

Festive Mardi Gras Salad

• 6 ounces of Romaine lettuce rinsed, dried, and shredded
• 6 ounces of spinach leaves rinsed, dried, and shredded. Remove the stems
• 5 slices of bacon fried until crisp. Drain and crumble the bacon. You can substitute bacon bits
• 1/2 Bermuda (purple) onion very thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup canned Mandarin Orange sections that are drained
• 4 ounces fresh, sliced mushrooms

Place the lettuce and spinach in a large salad bowl. Add the crumbled bacon, onion, Mandarin orange sections, and the mushrooms. Thoroughly mix and toss the ingredients. Add a small amount of salad dressing to coat the spinach and lettuce leaves. Toss the salad and serve. with the salad. The recipe makes four servings.

Salad Dressing

• 1 teaspoon chopped onion
• 1/4 cup malt vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard. Coleman’s mustard is excellent
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the onion, vinegar, sugar, mustard, and salt in the blender. While blending at a low speed, gradually add the olive oil. The dressing be made ahead of time and chilled while you’re preparing the salad. This recipe makes 1/2 cup. You may double it if you prefer.

Louisiana Style Deviled Eggs

• 12 large eggs
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 6 tablespoons Olive Salad. The olive salad may be homemade or purchased
• 3 ounces very thinly sliced salami

Place the eggs in a stainless steel saucepan. (Do not use nonstick.) Add water to cover three inches. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover and remove from heat. Cool for 15 minutes. Peel eggs under cold running water and slice in half lengthwise. Spoon out yolks and mash well. Stir in mayonnaise and fold in the Olive Salad. Spoon into the egg white halves. Cook the salami in a skillet until light brown. Drain on paper towels and top eggs with the meat. The eggs can be chilled for up to 24 hours.

Festive Crab Appetizers

• 8 slices sourdough bread
• 24 ounces drained crabmeat
• 1 cup mayo
• 2 tbsps cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsps basil, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 roma tomatoes, cut into slices
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the broiler with the rack 6 inches from heat. Place bread on a wire rack on a baking sheet and broil until golden brown, two to three minutes. Remove pan. Combine

• Crabmeat
• Mayonnaise
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Lime zest
• Salt
• Chili powder
• Cayenne

Spread the crab mixture on the bread slices. Top evenly with the cheese and tomato slices. Broil until the cheese melts and starts browning, for about three minutes. Cool for five minutes and serve. Top with the basil.

Traditional Mardi Gras Cocktails

Rum Cocktail

This rum cocktail recipe makes four servings but may be increased. Use the dark rum of your choice. Combine these ingredients:

• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 cups pineapple juice
• 1/2 orange, cut into slices
• 4 ounces of dark rum
• 4 maraschino cherries with 1/2 cup juice

Stir juices together in a tall pitcher. Fill tall glasses with ice. Pour juice mixture into glasses. Add one ounce of rum for each serving. Stir. Garnish with cherries.

Roffignac

This unusual cocktail gets its name from a New Orleans mayor from the 1800s.

• 2 ounces cognac
• 1 ounce raspberry liqueur
• Crushed ice
• Club soda to top off
• Lemon twist for garnish

In a highball glass, add crushed ice, cognac, and raspberry liqueur. Top off with the club soda and garnish with a lemon twist.

Moon Pie Cocktail

Mobile, Alabama has its own Mardi Gras tradition. Parade participants throw Moon Pies.

• 2 ounces chocolate liqueur, chilled
• 4 ounces milk or half and half, chilled
• 2 ounces crème de banane, chilled
• Ice
• Chocolate shavings for garnish

Instructions

Chill a martini glass or coupe. Add the ice liqueur, crème de banane, and half and half. Shake well to mix the ingredients. Stain the mixture into a chilled glass. Garnish each drink with chocolate shavings.

Hurricane

The Hurricane cocktail, invented in the French Quarter in the 1940s, is a time-honored New Orleans tradition, especially for Mardi Gras.

• 2 ounces light rum
• 2 ounces dark rum
• 2 ounces passion fruit juice
• 1-ounce orange juice
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 1 tablespoon simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon grenadine
• Ice
• Orange slice for garnish

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker, add ice, rums, passion fruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and grenadine. Shake to chill. Strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice and garnish with an orange slice.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

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