It’s Mardi Gras Time!

It’s that time of year here in New Orleans! It’s Carnival Time and the first parade rolled on  Saturday, February 15^th! This year, Mardi Gras falls on March 4^th, which is a little late compared to last year (February 12). That’s okay because that means king cake season lasts longer!

Speaking of king cakes, NolaCajun offers delicious, fresh baked king cakes that are delivered straight to your door. Our king cakes are made from gourmet Danish pastry dough which are then iced and decorated in the Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, and gold). We offer The Traditional King Cake and Filled King Cake. Our filled king cake comes in a variety of 14 different flavors to choose from:

Apple
Apple Cream Cheese
Bavarian Cheese
Blueberry
Blueberry Cream Cheese
Caramel
Cherry
Chocolate
Cream Cheese
Lemon
Praline
Pineapple
Strawberry
Strawberry Cream Cheese

            For our New Orleans Saints fans, you can purchase our Saints King Cake that is decorated with the Saints black and gold colors. You can also get the Saints King Cake traditional or filled. What a great way to show your team spirit this Mardi Gras season!

We also have Baby King Cakes! These mini king cakes are perfect for a school class or an office Mardi Gras party. They are approximately 5 inches in diameter and feed one person. You get 18 mini cakes for $50.00 which is less than $3.00 a piece!

If you are looking for the perfect Mardi Gras shirt, come take a look at our Mardi Gras Heart and Crown shirt. This shirt is available in purple or white! Perfect for the parade route!

Here at NolaCajun, we cannot wait for the parades to start! And for those that cannot be here in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, we offer these king cakes to you to share a little piece of New Orleans with you this Mardi Gras season!

Staying Warm This Winter

Sleet and snow and ice. Oh my!  It has been a cold week here in New Orleans. The locals are staying warm in their homes and what better way to keep warm than a nice hot bowl of gumbo! Here at NolaCajun.com, we offer a variety of different rouxs to help get your gumbo started.

A roux is a mixture of even parts of fat and flour. The traditional French roux uses butter while the Cajun roux uses oil. Our best selling roux, Kary’s Roux, is a traditional dark Cajun roux made from flour and oil, cooked slowly until it is the perfect color. We also sell Kary’s Gumbo Mix; just add your favorite Cajun meats or seafood for an authentic Louisiana gumbo!

Savoie’s Roux, Ragin Cajun Roux, and Richard’s Cajun Roux are some of the other traditional rouxs we sell. If you are looking for some dry roux, we also carry Bailey’s Cajun Creole Roux Mix, and Tony Chachere’s Roux.

Here is a great recipe for Sausage & Chicken Gumbo using Bailey’s Cajun Creole Roux Mix:

SAUSAGE & CHICKEN GUMBO

1 – 3 pound chicken, cut up
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage(cut into 1/4 inch slices)
1/4 cup oil
1 pack Bailey’s Roux Mix
1 pack of Bailey’s Spices
2 – 14 ounce cans of chicken broth
1 pack of Bailey’s seasonings
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 dozen raw oysters (optional)
1 – 8 quart pot

In an 8-quart pot, fry cut up chicken pieces, Bailey’s andouille or smoked sausage and Bailey’s seasonings in oil for about 15 minutes.  Add 3 quarts water and bring to a boil, then add Bailey’s spices to taste.  In a separate bowl, mix Bailey’s Roux Mix with water from boiling pot (approx. 10 ounces) until it is soft and smooth.  After Roux is mixed, add to the boiling water in 8-quart pot.  Add 2 cans of chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and cook uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  If desired, oysters should be added in the last 15 minutes of cooking. Skim excess oil prior to serving.  Optional: add 1 tablespoon file’.  Serve over rice.
Serves 16 – 8 ounce servings

Do you have any interesting recipes of New Orleans and/or Cajun cuisine?  If you would like to send us the recipe with a picture of the finished product, we would love to feature it on our blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest!  This goes for all of our products…we are always looking for great ideas from our loyal customers!