If you’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, you might find things a bit confusing. Since moving to New Orleans, I know, I have found myself explaining to friends all over the country about Mardi Gras and Carnival and Krewes and parades and well, the whole mystical, magical, crazy, fun season.

The Carnival season begins on January 6th which is known as Twelfth Night or The Epiphany. You can read more about Twelfth Night here and here. This is traditionally when the Christmas season ends. Carnival is celebrated by many with parties and balls. In New Orleans, it is often “Krewes” that lead the celebrations. While the celebrations are ongoing throughout the Carnival season, they all culminate on Mardi Gras day Read More→

As promised, here are more pics from the Nyx Myx Masquerade Ball. First, let’s talk food.

Here is the menu from the dinner portion of the ball. – YUM!

The dessert was a work of art. See the little Nyx candy in the whipped cream in the middle. Beautiful and edible! Everything was deeee-licious.

Did you notice the hot pepper jelly vinaigrette mentioned for the salad. It was incredible, so I had to find a recipe for it. I found this recipe online and it was very good. I made it with Tabasco Hot Pepper Jelly and put it over butter lettuce with blue cheese and toasted pecans. Easy and yummy – I highly recommend this.

Okay, back to the ball. Read More→

Music is the essence of Mardi Gras – you can’t have a parade, a carnival ball, or even a party without it.  Our carnival music reflects our joie de vivre spirit, our desire to let the good times roll.  The classic hits range from funk to R&B to brass band, but they have one thing in common – they make you want to dance.  To get you in the mood, I’m going to let you listen to some of them.

Perhaps the epitome of Mardi Gras songs is Professor Longhair’s “Go to the Mardi Gras”.  Can you hear the parade coming down the street?

Next, try Al Johnson’s “Carnival Time”.  His one hit was big enough to propel him into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Here’s “Mardi Gras Mambo”, by the Hawkettes.  This little known group would evolve into the Meters, the standard bearer for New Orleans music.  The lyrics are great.

Finally, there is “Second Line” by Stop, Inc.  If you’re actually part of a parade, you’re the first line; if you’re just dancing behind it, you’re in the second line.

There are many other classics, such as the Meters “Hey Pocky A-Way”, “Iko Iko”  (originally by Sugar Boy Crawford but popularized by the Dixie Cups), and, “Big Chief, Pt. 2“, also by Professor Longhair.

Are you dancing?

Carnival Season in New Orleans is a wonderful time. Then entire season assaults your senses with colors and sound. One of the most sensational events, for me, is the Nyx Myx Masquarade Ball. It is invitation only and formal tux and floor length gowns and masks are required.

I have lots and lots of pictures to share, but in this post, I’m going to concentrate on the tables and atmosphere of the room.

The colors, the lights (notice the stars on the ceiling and the colored uplights on the walls) everything sparkled and glittered, including the people.

This ball was held at the Hilton Riverside in their grand ballroom and, grand it was. Read More→

Some people have asked about the centerpieces that I used at the recent Epiphany brunch.

These were very easy to put together and you can use the same idea with materials that you have available for whatever holiday you are celebrating.

Here is what I used:

Greenery from my yard (you can use whatever is available in your area), a pile of Mardi Gras beads, a large glass hurricane (I have a set of 6 of these that I’ve had for years and use all the time), a brass charger, a vase that is more narrow than the hurricane and some leftover ornaments that are in Mardi Gras colors. Read More→

As we get closer to Mardi Gras, Krewes are busy attending their Mardi Gras balls, gathering throws and making plans for their parades and parties. I am a member of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx. We parade at night on the Wednesday before Mardi Gras. We recently had a membership meeting/party to hear the latest about our parade.

We were invited to wear our favorite Mardi Gras costumes and we found got to see our Krewe costume for 2013 and also found out our parade theme. This theme is kept secret until we roll. What I can tell you is that it is a great theme and it will be a fabulous and fun parade!

When we arrived at the meeting, it was a challenge to find other members who were riding on the same float. Our float lieutenant, Kim, said, “I’m the one in the pink wig.”

Hmmmm, looks like she was everywhere! LOL!

We had delicious king cake and lots of fun and I can’t wait for the parade! Here are some more pics from the party. In the next week, I’ll show you some pictures from our fabulous Nyx Myx Masquerade Ball.

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Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Last Sunday, January 6th, we had an Epiphany brunch here with people from our church and friends. Church members provided food and it was great fun. My contribution was a king cake and a sausage and hash brown egg casserole (see the recipe in today’s lagniappe).

Here is the table:

The King Cake sets the mood for the celebration.

The tradition of the king cake is that it is shaped as a crown (to represent the crowns on the wise men who visited the baby, Jesus). A small plastic baby is inside one of the pieces of cake. If you get the piece with the baby, you are supposed to bring a king cake to the next gathering. Read More→