Traditional Mardi Gras Food
Do you live in an area where Mardi Gras is celebrated? If not, you really need to attend a real Mardi Gras event at least once in your life. Better yet, make it an annual tradition. I'm fortunate enough to have spent most of my life in an area where Mardi Gras is a way of life.
King Cakes
One of the most widespread Mardi Gras tradition is that of the king cake. King cakes are circular cakes with hollow middles. A king cake basically looks like a flat wreath made from cake. The cakes themselves have a flaky consistency, almost like sweet croissants.
King cakes are covered in a frosting glaze, and sprinkled with sugar toppings in purple, green, and gold, which are traditional Mardi Gras colors. What's really special about the cake is what is baked inside. A tiny plastic baby is placed in the cake batter before baking. Tradition says that the person who gets the piece of cake with the baby in it (a) will have good luck and (b) is responsible for providing the king cake for the next get-together of the Mardi Gras season.
Moon Pies
Many Mardi Gras revelers include moon pies in the stashes of items they toss to revelers during Mardi Gras parades. Moon pies are basically marshmallow sandwiches. A think layer of marshmallow is spread between two relatively large cookies, and then covered with a sugary frosting-like topping that hardens.
Moon pies are shrink wrapped in plastic, and tossed to the crowd either individually or by the box full. They come in a few different sizes, ranging from the tiny "mini moon pie" to the super sized "double decker" moon pies that have four cookies and two layers of marshmallows. They also come in several different flavors, including banana, orange, and chocolate.
Fair Food
During Mardi Gras, there are street vendors everywhere. When you walk down the street, you'll see concession carts with all types of calorie laden goodies. They sell all kinds of treats, which my husband refers to as fair food. He looks forward to splurging on corn dogs, funnel cakes, and chicken on a stick every year during the festivities. Other fair food widely available during Mardi Gras parades includes sausage dogs, roasted peanuts, cotton candy, and many other yummy selections.
Ready for Mardi Gras?
When you attend Mardi Gras, be sure to come hungry and ready for a party. You really don't know what your missing if you've never witnessed throngs of people waving at masked float riders and yelling, "Throw Me Something, Mister"!