You don’t need to go to New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday. While Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is typically celebrated on the last day before the start of the ritual fasting season, you could save your celebration until a little later in the week, if it’s more convenient. Having any excuse to celebrate in the dog days of winter is what’s really important here, and that’s what Mardi Gras has come to represent.  

I always enjoy the special foods that go with any special celebration and Fat Tuesday has a particular appeal. Here are two of my favourites:

Creole Ham, Sausage, and Shrimp Jambalaya

Gonzales, a small Cajun town between NewOrleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, proclaims itself “The Jambalaya Capital of the World” and sponsors a major festival and cooking competition every June.

Smoked ham, spicy sausage and fresh shrimp are the stars in this classic Mardi Gras dish. With easy to find ingredients and minimal preparation you can share the stage in your own Mardi Gras celebration. Follow this link for the recipe, courtesy of Fine Cooking.

Classic Bananas Foster

 This one has Mardi Gras written all over it and is the perfect ending after a spicy, savoury dish like Jambalaya. Created at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans in 1951, this classic dessert was named after loyal customer Richard Foster. Firm, ripe bananas are sautéed in a rum-infused caramel sauce, then flambéed in front of diners and spooned over vanilla ice cream. For extra pyrotechnics, throw a pinch of cinnamon onto the sauce as it flames. Once again, special thanks to the folks at Fine Cooking for supplying this recipe – click here