What better way to say/eat Mardi Gras than with a home-baked king cake, that delicate pastry with the purple, gold and green sprinkled icing. Some folks fill it with a sweet cream cheese or fruit or boudin, but this one’s the traditional king cake from New Orleans’ favorite chef (well, mine) John Besh.
If you want the praline-topped, banana-stuffed, gold-flecked king cake from Besh Chef Lisa White, here’s that recipe. Warning – it’s not for king cake wimps.
Hope you survived Mardi Gras. You probably have a house full of glitter and beads now. We sure do. Before you throw away your loot, consider your other options, such as DIY projects and recycling.
Looks for these purple and gold bead recycling bins around the metro area. Arc of New Orleans will recycle your Mardi Gras beads and throws. (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
Mardi Gras beads are a good way to add some flair to your house. One of our favorite DIY bead projects – medallion magnets. See that idea plus 23 other creative things to do with Mardi Gras beads here.
Just want all your Mardi Gras stuff gone fast? Consider donating it to Arc of New Orleans. This nonprofit uses your beads to help employ people intellectual disabilities and delays in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.
Look for the purple and gold Arc bins at these locations:
Happy Carnival season! One of the biggest misconceptions we’ve run into with new residents about this time of year is that Mardi Gras is a single day. Technically, it’s true – “Mardi Gras” is Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. However, Carnival season – which ends with Mardi Gras – is several weeks. That means multiple days of parades, king cakes and Mardi Gras festivities. This year, we are getting a good three weeks of parades.
Things kicked off last week with the very lewd (and creative) Krewe du Vieux in the French Quarter. Check out our Instagram page for photos or swing on over to LA to NOLA for more pix from that night. Here’s a relatively tamed snippet from it:
Happy Mardi Gras! We’ve been out and about the past two weeks enjoying the festivities. Hope you have been too. Check out our parade pictures on Instagram and Twitter.
Will post more pictures soon. Be safe and hope you stay warm and safe today.
And if you are celebrating at home, check out these cocktail recipes:
– a few classics from Emeril and his restaurants.
– ideas for cocktails using king cake vodka.
– classic New Orleans cocktails.
Check us out on Instagram – @newinNOLA
Hugh Laurie, the actor best known for his work in the TV show “House,” was the 2014 king of Bacchus. The Mardi Gras parade starts in Uptown New Orleans on Napoleon Avenue and makes its way down St. Charles.
Hugh Laurie was the 2014 king of Bacchus, a Mardi Gras krewe in New Orleans (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
The parade rolled tonight at 5:15.
Hugh Laurie was a gracious king. He arrived early, greeted the crowd, threw doubloons and signed autographs. He also blew kisses. Hail, Hugh Laurie, king of Bacchus!
Our photos from Laurie’s arrival:
The metro New Orleans area has about 60 parades this year and we’ve found the best schedule for you. There’s a parade for every taste and all you need to do is find one that fits your schedule.
Want R-rated debauchery and satire? That’s Krewe du Vieux, which parades through the French Quarter and the Marigny.
Want kid-friendly fun? You actually have many more options than most people think. Day parade are always a good bet. Night parades tend to get a little crazier, but they can still be kid-friendly (depending on your kid). The Uptown parades are fun for pretty much all ages.
We heart the 610 Stompers. This is a dancing troupe of guys with the motto: Ordinary Men with Extraordinary Moves.
photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/NewinNOLA.com
These guys crack us up when we see them dancing in parades and at events. We see them out and about at least once a month. Are we that lucky or are they everywhere?
This weekend, the group has tryouts, starting at 11 a.m. today and tomorrow. The first 60 men dance for the judges. NOTE: As of 10 a.m., tryouts are full for today.
And for $10, you can watch the hilarity ensue. Tryouts are at The Maison (map) on Frenchman Street.
More about the Stompers:
We have massive amounts of Mardi Gras beads in our house.
Our apartment is overflowing with Mardi Gras beads. (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
Beads, plush toys, cups, tridents, doubloons, chips, Muses shoe, Nyx purse. You name it, we got it (except for a coconut). But what do we do with the beads now?
We’ve asked our New Orleans friends and searched Pinterest for ideas. Voila – 24 things to do with Mardi Gras beads.
Taaka’s king cake vodka continues to tempt us. It’s a sweet, flavored vodka found at nearly every grocery store this time of year.
image via @newinNOLA on Instagram
Last month, we offered up two cocktail recipes from Rouses (see them).
If you don’t have access to king cake-flavored vodka but you still want a king cake cocktail, try this one from GoNOLA.com.
And today, we heard about a new recipe: king cake vodka Jello shots.
Recipe from the good folks at BlackenedOut.com:
New in NOLA 