Mardi Gras Dinner ideas to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Why are Fat Tuesdays called that? It’s called Fat Tuesday because it’s the last day that many people eat meats or fatty foods before Lent begins. Mardi Gras season in New Orleans is considered a time of celebration and festivity.
Explorer Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville founded Louisiana on Mardi Gras Day 1699, and the party hasn’t stopped since. Mardi Gras Day, also known as Fat Tuesday, marks the final day of the Carnival Season. It is always the day before Ash Wednesday and is the biggest day of celebration during Mardi Gras.
Below are several ideas to get your Fat Tuesday kicked off for your Mardi Gras dinner celebration! This year Fat Tuesday takes place on February 21st,2023! Let the good times roll! With these simple yet flavorful favorite recipes of our family and blog readers!
Cajun Crab Spread combines decadent crab meat, cream cheese, mayonnaise, Colby-Jack cheese, celery, red bell peppers, spring onions, hot sauce, Slap Ya Mama Cajun spices, and a pinch of thyme for that perfect Cajun-inspired appetizer to serve to family and friends to start your Mardi Gras Dinner. See the recipe ->
Ingredient List
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Twelve ounces of cream cheese softened
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Four ounces of Colby-Jack cheese shredded
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Twelve ounces of crab meat
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1/3 of a cup of mayonnaise
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One tablespoon of Crystal hot sauce or to taste
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One teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
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Juice of 1 lemon
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One tablespoon of Cajun seasoning or to taste
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1/2 of a teaspoon of dried thyme
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1/2 of a cup of minced celery
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1/4 of a cup of minced red bell peppers
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Three spring onions chopped.
Many in Louisiana don’t think twice about making a Crawfish Boil. The process can be intimidating for some folks when it’s their first time making Crawfish. The most amateur cook can conquer this crawfish recipe with the correct instructions and proper planning. Once you know what you’re doing, boiling Crawfish is easy peasy. See the recipe->
Ingredients List:
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Crawfish Boil Seasoning
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Bay Leaves
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Thyme
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Lemon
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Unsalted butter
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Hot Sauce
Cajun Fried Gator Tail is one of those recipes for tender, flavorful Golden-fried nuggets of Cajun seasoned alligator tail. There’s no limit to what you can do with alligator meat. The lean white meat has plenty of delicious flavors, plus it can be a lot of fun to chow down on an animal that could just as quickly munch on us. See the recipe->
Ingredients List:
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Gator tail *tenderloin of the tail only*
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Cajun seasoning
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Garlic powder
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Onion powder
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Buttermilk- full Fat only
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Spicy mustard
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Hot Sauce
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Large eggs
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Flour
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Corn starch
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Three Cups oil
Cajun Chicken Wings are finger-licking good without all the saucy mess you’d expect. Spicy Breaded Cajun Chicken Wings are soaked in rich buttermilk and hot sauce overnight, deliciously seasoned with spicy Cajun seasoning, and made with a crispy, crunchy Cajun-style Batter for the perfect outcome. See the recipe ->
Ingredients List
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6-7 pounds of whole chicken wing pin feathers removed
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One quart of buttermilk or 4 cups
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Four tablespoons of Hot Sauce
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Two packages of-9-ounce- Louisiana Seasoned Crispy Chicken Fry Batter
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One cup of ice-cold water
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One tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning
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One teaspoon of garlic powder
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One teaspoon of dried thyme
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A pinch of ground red cayenne pepper
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Cooking spray
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Two tablespoons of melted unsalted butter, optional
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+ More Louisiana Hot Sauce to serve
This amazingly flavorful Authentic Creole Shrimp Gumbo recipe uses the masterpiece of all sausages spicy andouille sausage with shrimp, chicken, and traditional rice. The method is straightforward; you will wonder why you have waited so long to make it.
Ingredient List
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One pound of chicken thighs, bone, and skin on cooked
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Four cups of cooked white rice
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1/2 cup oil + 2 tablespoons
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1/2 cup all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon if needed
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One large yellow onion, chopped
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Six cloves garlic, minced
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One cup of chopped celery
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One large green bell pepper, chopped
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Two cups okra, sliced, may use frozen organic
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Two large Creole tomatoes, chopped, may use heirloom or canned organic tomatoes
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Seven cups of seafood or chicken stock +more
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One pound of andouille sausage, sliced, may use smoked sausage
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Two bay leaves
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One tablespoon of dried thyme
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Two tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning, salt-free only
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Kosher salt, to own taste
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Ground white pepper, to own taste
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One to two pounds of raw jumbo Gulf shrimp
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One bunch of green onions, sliced, optional
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Hot sauce, optional
Classic Sausage Chicken and Okra Gumbo is a spin-off of a popular recipe from Paul Prudhomme, the famous New Orleans chef who put Louisiana on the American culinary map. It is a hearty, flavorful, delicious Gumbo with fresh organic okra to bring it up a notch. See the recipe ->
Ingredients List:
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One whole chicken
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Kosher Salt
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Ground black pepper
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Finely ground white pepper
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Powdered mustard
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Cayenne pepper
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Paprika
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Fresh garlic
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File powder or 2 cups fresh organic okra, not both
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All-purpose flour
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Corn, peanut, or vegetable oil
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Yellow onion
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Celery
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Green pepper
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Low-sodium Chicken broth
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Smoked sausages such as andouille or kielbasa
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Bay leaves
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Fresh garlic
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Cooked rice
A Louisiana Crawfish Boil is a fine art to many Louisiana folk. Family, friends, and next-door neighbors will gather outdoors around newspaper-covered picnic tables, sipping on a cold beer, peeling, and eating those tasty Crawfish until they are almost insane from filling their bellies full of spicy Cajun Crawfish Boil. See the recipe->
Ingredients List:
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Four Bay leaves
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Five pounds of Small red potatoes
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Three pounds of Andouille sausage or smoked sausage
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Twelve ears of Sweet Yellow Corn split in 3’s
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Eight small Yellow Onions
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Six heads of Fresh garlic halved to expose pods
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Five large Lemons
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35 pounds Fresh Live crawfish do not purge in saltwater
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Six Lemons to serve
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One bottle of Louisiana hot sauce to serve with Crawfish
Have a Happy Mardi Gras Dinner 2023! -H.L.McCallum
