{"id":649,"date":"2016-01-19T16:17:34","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T22:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/?p=649"},"modified":"2017-07-03T16:52:12","modified_gmt":"2017-07-03T21:52:12","slug":"pairing-wine-with-the-foods-of-mardi-gras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/2016\/01\/pairing-wine-with-the-foods-of-mardi-gras\/","title":{"rendered":"The Foods of Mardi Gras and the Wines that Pair with Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
I’m a huge fan of Mardi Gras. And along with my love of Mardi Gras, is a love a Cajun and Creole cuisine. My better half is from south Louisiana so it was kinda written into the wedding vows. I also love to hear stories about Mardi Gras when he was growing up, particularly those related to Courir de Mardi Gras. Now this is different from the carnival type Mardi Gras many of us associate with New Orleans or Rio de Janiero. This is more of a family, communal celebration that was, and still is, practiced in rural communities and which traces its origins back to medieval France. Courir de Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday Run” in Louisiana Cajun\/Creole French. As part of the Courir de Mardi Gras, members of a troop called a “Mardi Gras” would gather ingredients to use in preparation for a community gumbo to be made later that night. Le Capitaine, who was the leader of the Mardi Gras, would ride his horse while leading a group of other masked riders or runners and go from house to house gathering ingredients for the gumbo. The procession is many times accompanied by bands playing music.<\/p>\n
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In order for the homeowner to provide the group with an ingredient for the gumbo, the troop would have to perform and earn the offering. Sometimes they would sing and dance, and other times they would participate in a chicken run. As chicken is one of the most important ingredients in a chicken and sausage gumbo, it was very much a prized ingredient. To earn a chicken, the homeowner would throw the chicken (or sometimes a duck or guinea) in the air and the members of the troop would have to literally run and chase it down. So imagine a bunch of drunk folks running around trying to catch a chicken! According to my husband, when he was a young boy, he had the record for two years straight catching the most chickens. He even caught a guinea once. Makes sense to put the kids up to it as I imagine the adults were feeling pretty nice from all the liquid revelry. Once the group gathered all of the ingredients for the gumbo, the community would get together to cook and eat the gumbo in a large, booze filled celebration that ended before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lent season.<\/p>\n
During the Mardi Gras season, I usually cook a variety of Cajun and Creole dishes to celebrate the season. I cook these dishes all year long, but we seem to have more during the Mardi Gras season. So of course, one of the first things I always make is gumbo. Given its ties to the season, the fact that the weather has turned cold, and the fact that it’s just so darn good are all reasons to cook up a large pot. And there is no such thing as a “small” pot of gumbo. I also get a delicious King Cake and hide the baby inside and Thing 1 always “miraculously” gets the slice of cake with the baby. Of course, I don’t ever recall her paying for next year’s cake. In addition to gumbo and the King Cake, we also feasted on fried shrimp po-boys, fully dressed and pork loin stuffed with andouille sausage, amongst other goodies.<\/p>\n
As I’m burning it up in the kitchen, my mind is never far away from what wine I’m going to pair with my food. I definitely like to get my drink on while I’m getting my eat on! Mardi Gras food and wine? Don’t fear. It can be done! And let’s just get this out of the way – yes, I know beer is great with gumbo, po-boys, etc. I know! I know! But I don’t always want a beer and given how filling the food is, I want my drink to be a little less filling.<\/p>\n
Gumbo & Riesling<\/i><\/p>\n
So for the gumbo, I cook it with a little bit of spice, but knew it would get even more spicy when I added in a couple of drops of Louisiana hot sauce. And it has a lot going on with the dark roux, sausage, chicken, and blue crab. If it weren’t for the spice, I probably would have gone for a buttery Chardonnay, but given the spice, I opted for a Riesling. Well, two Rieslings. Riesling ended up the wine of choice as the sweetness of the wine acts to tame the spiciness of the food.<\/p>\n