by Dave MichelFebruary 16, 2015

Mardi Gras was a special evening. It was the first large group event (19 guests), it was where I first served homemade sausage, and we sang love songs since it was Valentine's Day (thanks, Patrice, for bringing songbooks and leading). I was also able to play my sabbatical bass for a sabbatical event

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Anna and Kris came up with expert decorations while keeping it simple. Even the Naked Lady was festooned with beads.

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We've hosted Mardi Gras parties before, so the food was pretty much a known quantity. The homemade Andouille was in the jambalaya, with another portion fried to top the red beans and rice, along with chopped green onions. The fish creole is always a hit. The only thing that didn't come out as anticipated was my first attempt at cooking a large quantity of rice in the crock pot - it was done nicely about two hours late. I just made a large-ish batch the regular (20 minute) way in a 5 quart pot, and that lasted the evening. I baked my first King Cake for this event, with a cinnamon nutmeg raisin filling (Kris decorated).

A lovely time was had by all.