Mardi Gras

Why are we celebrating Fat Tuesday?  What exactly is Mardi Gras?  These were the questions my hubby asked as he sat down to my dinner last night.

1.  Why are we celebrating Fat Tuesday?  Silly man, like I need an excuse to throw a party.  But in truth, I adore New Orleans.  I went for a weekend back in my 20s with a friend who was from NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana).  The antique shopping, the food, the music, the architecture, the homes - oh.my.word!!!!  It was divine - and not for the debauchery, which has made the city famous.  I also have ordered a King Cake from Gambino's Bakery in New Orleans every year since I worked in the U.S. Senate.  The Senators from Louisiana would send all the offices a King Cake and I was a goner after one bite.

2.  What exactly is Mardi Gras?  Well, it is a carnival that starts on Epiphany and runs through Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday), which is the day preceding Ash Wednesday.   A day to store up for 40 days of fasting and reflection (Lent) that brings us to a glorious Easter morning.  

Last year, Harrison came home from his TK class with some Mardi Gras beads and was asking questions about the holiday.  I was excited to share with him the history (he's gonna be a history buff like his Daddy) and decided we would celebrate the day going forward.  I left out the explanation of how one earns beads.......little man is going to have to learn that one on his own.........many, many, MANY years from now.

Sadly, my family doesn't share my love for King Cake.  So we started the day off with a variation of King Cake, cinnamon rolls with green decorative sugar crystals - they were out of yellow and purple at the store....I figured the wee ones wouldn't mind.

School was closed due to a little bit of snow covered with a lot of ice so hot chocolate was in order.  They accompanied our Girl Scout Cookies fabulously - yummo!

We enjoyed a cajun shrimp casserole for dinner.  The recipe came from Southern Living and was wonderful though I think I will add some sausage to the leftovers.  You can view the recipe here.

After dinner, we had our own parade.  I put on a little Harry Connick, Jr (Jambalaya) and we danced around and drove the puppy nuts.  Even the hubby joined in the fun.

Let The Good Times Roll!

xoxo,
TSS