Seasonal Sundays: The Best of N'awlins (Week 6)

Today's recipes are inspired by a couple of days in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Such exuberance! Such fun! If a little Mardi Gras fun sounds like, well, fun, I've got not just recipes but a mostly make-ahead menu for our own party next weekend. Laissez les bons temps rouler! Grab some beads and let the good times roll!

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

As ever, thank you for welcoming me into your InBox and RSS feed reader. It's your kitchens, your lives, I conjure while writing ...

Hello from New Orleans, where I write from ten floors up, looking down onto Canal Street. Friday was a perfect day, weather-wise for Mardi Gras parades and more. Today, Saturday, it's drippy and dreary and sadly, from what I hear, today's parades are not happenin'. The mood on the street? Hard to tell since not many people are out yet. I see one umbrella, the festive purple-green-gold colors of these days before Lent.

And ... our first two meals out, we started with cups of gumbo. Both were good, just not our favorite. (It's like our favorite seven-year old who said to her mom at breakfast recently, "Auntie Al's eggs aren't our eggs.")

And ... in an instant, we found ourselves plotting a Cajun feast, hoping it would turn into a small party, not knowing yet if the party would be this coming Saturday or Superbowl Sunday. (Anyone else kinda wish such fun occasions weren't all smooshed together in these next ten days?)

Maybe the prospect of a big pot of gumbo will inspire your own party mood? Just grab some beads ...

PS My apologies for the Monday delivery of Seasonal "Sundays". The Wifi at our hotel was abysmal, there was just no getting anything finished.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: This is the gathering of the Cork Krewe in front of the Court of Two Sisters on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. So much fun! The costumes were amazing, from elegant to sheer fun. Everybody was h-a-p-p-y and it was 11 in the morning so nobody was yet in their cups. (And honestly, we didn't see obviously drunk people until 11 at night and they appeared to be all tourists, not local revelers.) Funky jazz from clarinetist/vocalist "Doreen" kept people a-bounce, lots of bystanders, lots of phones in the air, capturing a slice of Mardi Gras N'awlins-style.

Ten Things to ♥ About February

• The days are noticeably! longer
• Late-winter sunsets can stop you in your tracks
• Plotting a mid-winter escape somewhere warm is its own therapy
• But there's still hope for a surprise snow day or two
• So many non-Hallmark celebration possibilities: the Superbowl, Mardi Gras, Pancake Tuesday, Galentines, the Lunar New Year, Presidents Day, and ... this year, Leap Day!
• Some theaters show the year's best movies back to back and if not, there's 31 Days of Oscars beginning February 9th on the classic movie channel
• Chocolate-peanut butter cups in heart shapes!
• Still two months to get your taxes done
• It's a short month, even in a Leap Year


• What do you love (or okay, despise) about February?

Democracy Matters

The country needs calm, thoughtful and assertive voices amid the chaos inflicted by a minority hellbent on taking/retaining generational power by strangling democratic principles and equal rights. None of us have to personally change the world. We just have to do our part.

SURPRISE EVEN YOURSELF? 30 Things Joe Biden Did as President You Might Have Missed This president makes a huge difference, let's share that story.

UNDERSTANDING THE 14TH AMENDMENT, BEGINNING WITH THE CIVIL WAR The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the State of Colorado's action to disqualify Trump from running for president. This is the best explanation of the use of the 14th Amendment I've seen, from the brilliant Dahlia Lithwick and her guest Manisha Sinha, a professor of the history of the Civil war and reconstruction period. It's 100% worth a listen. Or two. The Neglected Constitutional History That Disqualifies Trump

Useful Links This Month

Let me just presume that if you're reading this, well, you're both a cook and a recipe collector. Don't the two kinda go together? And that means you tuck aside interesting recipe ideas all over the place and then, dang, where is that chicken recipe that looked so good anyway? Here's an idea. Start a folder on your phone, call it "Kitchen Parade" or "Alanna" or whatever makes best sense to you. Then save the recipes you're most interested in right there in one place. Easy Peasy.

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Ahhhh, Warm Cornbread.
With Butter. Or Honey.
Because, Well, February.

~ Skillet Cornbread ~
~ Sweet Cornbread ~
~ Sweet Potato Cornbread ~
~ Savory Cornbread Muffins ~

more
~ corn bread recipes ~

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February: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPE Slow-Cooked or Slow Cooker Pot Roast Three easy tricks for tender, moist and flavorful pot roast. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos So handy to have on hand!

February: Lost Recipes

• THE RECIPE Cut-Out Spice Cookies My all-time year-round favorite cut-out cookie dough recipe. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE No-Chill Cutout Sugar Cookies Just mix and roll, no need to wait. (PIN This)

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THE SEASONAL SEVEN: The Best of N'awlins for Mardi Gras

For this week's recipes, I aimed for recipes with Cajun and Creole flavors and combinations that are ...

• ... easily made ahead of time, even mostly the day before
• ... a mix of meaty and vegetarian options
• ... easily matched with your own favorites
• ... party-friendly but not too over the top for a family meal
• ... Superbowl-friendly too!

• THE RECIPE Gumbo A classic Cajun gumbo, except that the roux is cooked in the oven. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Vegan Chickpea Gumbo

• THE RECIPE Hurricane Rice with Shrimp & Sausage A Cajun skillet, on the table in 30 minutes. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Black Beans & Rice Skillet Casserole with Smoked Chicken Simple comfort food with smoky flavors.

• THE RECIPE Red Beans & Rice Slow cooked Creole comfort food. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Cook Dried Beans Mexican-Style from Scratch (Slow Cooker or Oven Slow-Cooking) Easy, economical, delicious. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Big Cajun Chopped Salad Don't skip the olives! (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Summer Black-Eyed Pea Salad Looks like, tastes like, bites like – summer in a bowl! But make it any time of year.

• THE RECIPE Cajun Dirty Rice with Eggplant No gizzards, no livers, much-reduced calories and carbs.
• ANOTHER TAKE Slow Cooker Sweet Potato (or Pumpkin or Butternut Squash) Grits My healthy substitute for mac 'n' cheese. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Slow-Cooked Greens & Smoked Turkey So good, you'll want to eat the pot. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Greens & Grits Spinach cooked with tomato and mushrooms atop quick-cooked grits.

• THE RECIPE Bourbon Pralines The famous praline recipe from the New Orleans School of Cooking.
• THEN MAKE Mini Tiramisu Cups with Pralines Tiramisu made with eggs that are cooked, not raw.

• THE COLLECTION Mardi Gras Cajun and Creole straight from N'awlins.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

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Mardi Gras at Home with Friends 2024

(sparkly beads and sequined headgear recommended)

~ Pimento Cheese with Ritz Crackers ~
~ Smoked Shrimp ~
with Five-Minute Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
~ Mardi Gras Veggie Platter (purple, green, gold) ~

~ Gumbo ~
with White Rice & Green Onion

~ Sweet Potato Cornbread ~
~ Big Cajun Chopped Salad ~

~ Key Lime Pie ~
with My Favorite Graham Cracker Crust~
~ or maybe Bananas Foster ~

~ or maybe Vanilla Ice Cream ~
with Homemade Caramel Sauce &
~ Bourbon Pralines ~

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What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• HOW WE DID A Laundry Room Refresh on a Budget What we did, why we did it, what we love, how much it made sense. (PIN This)

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• February 10th (Wednesday) - Lunar New Year
• February 11th (duh, Sunday) - Superbowl Sunday
• February 13th (Tuesday) - Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Night
• February 14th (Wednesday) - Valentine's
• February 14th (Wednesday) - Ash Wednesday / Beginning of Lent
• Fridays During Lent - Friday Fish
• February 19th (Monday) - President's Day
• February 29th (Thursday) - Leap Day 2024


• March 1st - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Spring
• March 10th (Sunday) - "spring forward" time change
• March 10th (Sunday) - Academy Awards
• March 12th - Equal Pay Day
• March 14th (Thursday) - Pi Day
• March 16th (Saturday) - St. Urho's Day
• March 17th (Sunday) - St. Patrick's Day
• March 19th (Tuesday) - First Official Day of Spring
• March 28th (Thursday) - Baseball Opening Day!
• March 31st - Easter (yikes! soooo early!)


• April 1 - April Fool's Day
• April 8 - Solar Eclipse

• THE COLLECTION Football Fever! Game-changing recipes for Playoff Games & Superbowl Parties. (PIN This)
• AND ANOTHER Chillin': Favorite Chili, Chowder & Cornbread Recipes Football friendly! (PIN This)

• THE CONCEPT Make Tonight a Pancake Night Move over Taco Tuesday and Pizza Friday. (PIN This)
• AND ANOTHER #PieDayFriday Because good pie deserves more than one day a year.

• THE COLLECTION Valentine's Recipes for romance.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.
• MORE RECIPE IDEAS Cooking for One or Two Recipes easily divided and/or freeze well.

Looking Back ...

THIS WEEK, YEARS PAST
• 2020 Early February (Week 6)
• 2021 Early February (Week 6)
• 2022 Early February (Week 6)
• 2023 Winter Salads (Week 6)

RECENT WEEKS
• The Art of Winter Salads (Week 5) (PIN This)
• Rediscovering the Lowly Carrot (Week 4) (PIN This)
• Staying In, Staying Warm (Week 3) (PIN This)
• Juicing Up on Vitamin C (PIN This)
• January Bucket List (PIN This)
• Best of 2023 (Week 52) (PIN This)
• Taking It Sloooow (Week 49) (PIN This)
• Sweet Potato Season (Week 45) (PIN This)
• Chickpeas (Week 43) (PIN This)
• Soups to Sustain the Spirit (Week 42) (PIN This)

Veggies Forever!

• THE COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for February
• LOOKING AHEAD Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for March

Not to Miss!

• THE RECIPE Light Red Cabbage & Carrot Salad
• ANOTHER TAKE Mighty Perfect Cabbage & Broccoli Coleslaw

Good to Know!

• TEN THINGS I Love About Our New Kitchen What we did, why we did it, what we love, what we've changed. Now updated after ten years! (PIN This)
• ONE QUICK TIP My Most-Used Kitchen Tool, a Garbage Bowl or Compost Bowl

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Manna Café Oatcakes (Oatmeal Pancakes) Famous pancakes from a much-missed restaurant. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Oatmeal Three tricks for the very best oatmeal, all easy! (PIN This)

Something to Read

I fllllllllllew through this book, an easy listen while driving. And I'm glad to know that it's Book 3 in a series because you can bet, I'm going back for 1 and 2. It's filled with 1970s nostalgia and cultural icons, like Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons did for college life in the early 2000s. The plot line was both a shock and oh-so-obvious in retrospect. Love this!

• THE BOOK All the Demons Are Here (affiliate link) by Jake Tapper, yeah, that name is familiar from his work for CNN.


• NO TIME TO READ? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

• Any ideas for Seasonal Sundays? Share away!
• Who's kinda sad that there's so many good holidays smooshed into a few days this year?
• Who cooks in / goes out for Valentine's Day? Who does Gal-entines? Sounds fun!
• Who's thinking what fun might be had on February 29th, this Leap Year?
• Who thinks their gumbo's better than any restaurant gumbo?
• Who's itching for a little beach time?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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2024