In celebration of Mardis Gras I made a Cajun feast for Fat Tuesday last night, using authentic Cajun and Creole spices I brought back from New Orleans. Traditional New Orleans food includes gumbo and jambalaya, my all-time favorite crawfish etouffee, Po-boy sandwiches, red beans and rice - it's a culinary celebration of seafood and spice. Classic sweets are the famed beignets, bananas foster, and of course the famed King Cake. Cajun cuisine, the style of cooking created by the French-speaking immigrants of Louisiana, stems from French cooking combined with Native American and African influences, taking on a bold flavor. Likewise, Creole cooking exemplifies the cultural melting pot of the New Orleans food world; the distinction between Cajun and Creole is that Cajun stems from rustic provencal cooking whereas Lousiana Creoles use a more classical European cooking style adapted with local ingredients. The result is an incredible culinary style that has come to define the city.
A taste of my New Orleans culinary experiences:
Beignets and coffee at the famed Cafe du Monde in the historic French Market
King Cake, adorned in the Mardis Gras classic colors purple, green and gold
The baby I discovered in my piece - it signifies good luck for a year!
Of course perhaps the most iconic New Orleans treat of all ... the hurricane.
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