How Did You Celebrate Mardi Gras?

Spicy. Flavorful. Mouth-watering. Yum. These are just a few words to describe our palate experience that was March Dinner Club. Yup…it’s me again. The Pho Queen. This month DC (as we like to call ourselves) was all about Mardi Gras! It was fitting that we gathered the Monday before Fat Tuesday. We could’ve called it Fat Monday. It was a perfect mix of delicious food and friends. What was on the menu this month? Read on to discover.

For my contribution, I decided to make the classic – beignets. How can you go wrong with puffy, hot, fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar? Due to a last minute change in location, I was unable to use my friend’s fry daddy. I had to think of another ‘frying’ option. In came the electric skillet to save the day. If you don’t own a stainless steel electric skillet, I highly recommend getting one. I use it for so many things. But I digress. I ended up frying the beignets in my kitchen using the electric skillet. My 2 daughters were sitting at the bar eagerly awaiting their ‘taste test.’ Many times I had to warn them of the hot oil. Although not the safest option in the world…it did the trick. There is not much better than a hot beignet. The kids would agree.

When I checked the evite to be sure everyone was going to come, I noticed that we were going to be without red beans and rice! Our DC member had to cancel last minute. I kind of got excited (not that she wasn’t there…we missed her terribly), but because I actually had all the ingredients to red beans and rice without having to go to the grocery store. Score! I found a recipe, filed it in my OneNote recipe file, and proceeded to make it. I have to say….it was so good. Red beans and rice is such a simple dish, yet healthy and filling.

Some of the other dishes other DC members prepared were spicy jambalaya, collard greens (which were the best collard greens I had ever tasted), yam biscuits with maple butter, and the king of all cakes – King Cake. I loved loved LOVED the king cake. It takes a while to prepare, but it was ready as soon as we were finished with our meal. Imagine a hot, fresh, cinnamon bun drizzled with glaze and sprinkled sugar. I would’ve eaten half of it had I not consumed my weight in rice. Thankfully there was enough for us to bring home. And, in keeping with Mardi Gras tradition, a prize is hidden in the king cake (usually a little baby figurine, but we did not have one). We used part of a cookie. The person who gets the prize is supposed to have good luck for the next year. And guess who got the prize?

If you are interested in any of the recipes used for Mardi Gras Dinner Club, please contact the blog!