Howcast

How to Understand the Meaning of Mardi Gras

Howcast — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:45:37 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Visit Rome Take a trip to Rome. The ancient Romans celebrated a raucous festival known as Lupercalia each year in mid-February. The festival was marked by cakes and the sacrifices of goats and a dog.
Step 2: Visit a medieval cathedral Visit a medieval cathedral while you are in Italy. Just as the early Church found new interpretations for Pagan rituals honoring the winter solstice and spring equinox, it transformed the Lupercalia into Mardi Gras.
TIP: Mardi Gras is tied to Easter, which falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox.
Step 3: Enjoy a feast Enjoy a feast the day before Lent. In medieval Europe, Mardi Gras was a day of feasting. It was marked by the slaughter of a bull or ox, and became known as Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras in French.
Step 4: Visit New Orleans Hop a flight to New Orleans. French settlers brought Mardi Gras to Louisiana in the late 17th century, and the holiday was deeply rooted in New Orleans culture by the 1830s. A secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus staged the first large-scale Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans in 1857.
Step 5: Have some cake Enjoy a Mardi Gras King cake. These cakes are decorated in traditional Mardi Gras colors — purple, green, and gold. Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power. Now you can have your cake and make sense out of one of the best parties in the U.S.
FACT: Kern Studios was established in 1947 to create floats for Mardi Gras, and is now one of the largest float builders in the world.

You Will Need

Trip to Rome
Medieval cathedral
Feast
Trip to New Orleans
King cake

How to Prepare Traditional Mardi Gras Food

Howcast — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:15:47 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Make traditional Jambalaya Make traditional Jambalaya. Mix the sausage, chicken, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, celery, and 1 cup broth in a crock pot.
Step 2: Season and cook Season with oregano, Cajun seasoning, thyme, parsley, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 7 to 8 hours with the cover on.
Step 3: Add shrimp Add the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Serve over rice.
Step 4: Make collard greens Make New Orleans-style collard greens. Put the ham hocks and collard greens in a large pot. Mix in the water, vinegar, and chicken broth.
TIP: Low-sodium chicken broth can be used as an alternative.
Step 5: Bring to boil Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Enjoy End the meal with a big piece of King Cake, a Mardi Gras must. Now enjoy your Mardi Gras celebration!
FACT: Traditionally, a plastic, gold, or porcelain baby is placed in the center of the King Cake before baking. The guest who finds the baby in their slice of cake is supposed to host next year’s King Cake party.

You Will Need

1 lb. andouille sausage
sliced
1 lb. cubed skinless
boneless chicken
1 large onion
chopped
1 large green pepper
chopped
3 1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes
1 c. celery
chopped
4 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried tyme
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 lb. frozen cooked shrimp without tails
4 c. cooked rice
2 smoked ham hocks
1 bunch collard greens
2 1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. distilled vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
King cake
Equipment:
Crock pot with lid
Low-sodium chicken broth (optional)

How to Throw a Mardi Gras Party

Howcast — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:31:16 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Send invitations Send festive invitations to your guests, three to four weeks in advance. Tell your guests that costumes, masks, and traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold are a must.
TIP: Make sure your costume stands out, since you are the King or Queen of the party.
Step 2: Decorate your house Decorate your house New Orleans style. Different colored beads, colorful masks, decorative doubloons, and balloons make great decorations.
Step 3: Keep your guests moving Keep your guests moving by playing upbeat New Orleans jazz throughout the night.
TIP: Don’t forget to play “The Mardi Gras Mambo” and “Carnival Time.”
Step 4: Jazz up the evening Jazz up the evening by serving your guests gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish boil, and dirty rice.
Step 5: Toast your guests Toast your guests with classic Hurricane cocktails served in bright, festive hurricane glasses.
TIP: Sazerac, Sangria, and Ramos Gin Fizz are also classic Mardi Gras cocktails.
Step 6: Serve the King cake Serve the famous King Cake for dessert. The person who gets the slice of cake with the baby inside hosts next year’s party. Have fun!
FACT: The first official Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans on February 24, 1857.

You Will Need

Invitations
Costumes
Decorations
Music
Food
Drinks
King Cake
Recordings of “The Mardi Gras Mambo” and “Carnival Time” (optional)
Sazeracs (optional)
Sangria (optional)
Ramos Gin Fizzes (optional)

How to Make Mardi Gras Drinks

Howcast — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:16:18 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Make a hurricane Celebrate Fat Tuesday by making the classic Mardi Gras Hurricane. Mix an ounce each of light and dark rums, passion fruit syrup, lime juice, and sugar in a cocktail shaker.
Step 2: Add ice cubes Add three to four ice cubes, shake well, and then strain the cocktail into a hurricane glass. Add a long straw and enjoy.
Step 3: Make a Pernod cocktail Enjoy a Pernod cocktail. Add the Pernod, a 1/2 ounce of water, a dash of Angostura bitters, a dash of simple syrup, and three to four ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass.
Step 4: Make a Ramos Gin Fizz Make a Ramos Gin Fizz. Add the gin, half-and-half, a tablespoon simple syrup, egg white, orange flower water, and vanilla extract in a blender for 30 seconds.
TIP: If you don’t have a blender you can stir it up with a bar spoon.
Step 5: Pour in glass Pour the drink over three to four ice cubes in a highball glass. Top with soda and garnish with an orange wedge and an umbrella.
Step 6: Make Southern Comfort Champagne Celebrate by making a Southern Comfort Champagne Cocktail. Pour an ounce of Southern Comfort into a champagne glass, add the champagne, and top with a dash of bitters. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Step 7: Get to drinkin’ Pass out colorful beads and one of these drinks, and celebrate Mardi Gras like they do in the Big Easy.
FACT: Mardi Gras was declared a legal holiday in Louisiana in 1875.

You Will Need

Various liquors
1 tbsp. passion fruit syrup
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp. superfine sugar
Ice cubes
2 oz. Pernod
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Simple syrup
2 oz. half-and-half
1 egg white
1/2 oz. orange flower water
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 oz. lemon-lime soda
Orange wedge
for garnish
Twist
Equipment:
Cocktail shaker
Hurricane glass
Long straw
Blender
Colorful beads
Bar spoon (optional)