Mardi Gras Wrap up

 

Both Mardi Gras and masquerades often call for elaborate masks and finery. Mardi Gras conjures up images of jesters, beads, Bourbon Street, New Orleans, green and gold and purple, and noisy, loud festivities. A sizeable group of 18 decided a quick trip to New Orleans was not happening so our hosts Ann,  Dennis, Toni and Tom came up with a great alternative throwing their own Mardi Gras party. And no one had to drive more than 4 miles to reach their house. 

Well, this is a group that went "full out" with outfits, food, decor, and glitz. Some went thrift shopping for their outfits and some hit the order button on Amazon. I jumped on this party idea quickly when I found on Amazon the perfect hat that lit up. Sorry this photo does not show the feature when posted. But it was an awesome purchase. 

Enjoy some of the photos and note how "fancy" some of the men were dressed. Looks like their wives did a bit of extra shopping. 

   

There was no shortage of food and drinks with many authentic New Orleans dishes to sample. The evening was off to a roaring start serving a New Orleans signature beverage Hurricane Drinks and Moscow Mules.  My first and no doubt will be my last baking attempt at a King's Cake. What I did discover about this cake was it was essentially a yeast coffee cake bread with a cinnamon nut brown sugar filling. Unfortunately, mine was overbaked. And it was good to know that a baby planted inside the cake was safely rescued and not swallowed. 

What I did have more success with was the rice, beans and sausage dish I brought. 

What a fun time had by all. 

Watch for Sunday's posting, a video on How To Make A Chocolate Martini, a Valentine special.