News and information from the New Orleans area
Carnival
Will Ferrell will Reign as Bacchus 2012!!
013 years
When Bacchus rolls down St. Charles Avenue on Sunday night, February 19, 2012, Will Ferrell will be Bacchus 44. He’s in town filming a movie. I’m a big fan of Will, like most people are. He’s a movie star, major comedian, former Saturday Night Live! player, and now he will be here for Carnival as Bacchus 2012!
Zach Galifianakis and current “SNL” cast member Jason Sudeikis also co-star in “Dog Fight,” which started production in New Orleans on Halloween and is scheduled to continue filming through late January, with an eye toward a summer 2012 release. Other actors in the flick- John Lithgow and Dylan McDermott.
Bacchus 2012 Will Ferrell
My Super Mardi Gras Recipes 3
013 years
World’s simplest cheese cake!!
I came up with this recipe as an undergraduate at Cornell University, and gave it to my roommate, Kenny R. I then proceeded to lose the recipe, only to get it back from Kenny years later. Since then, I’ve made this delicious, creamy cheese cake for numerous Mardi Gras events, and it never fails to get eaten!
19 oz cream cheese
1 c sugar
3 eggs, added 1 at a time
1 T lemon juice
1 t vanilla
Pour into a 9″ graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, let cool and ENJOY!!
David Eyre’s Pancake!!
A favorite recipe of my family for dozens of years, got this from a friend from Cornell. YUM!! We generally double the recipe.
1/2 c flour
1/2 c milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
large pinch nutmeg
4 T butter
2 T confectioners suger
juice from 1/2 lemon or lime
Mix flour, milk, eggs, & nutmeg. Beat lightly, leaving a few lumps. Melt butter in 12″ skillet with heatproof handle. Pour batter into skillet in 425 oven. Cook 15 minutes (or less) until pancake is golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and lemon juice and serve.
David Eyre's Pancake
My Super Mardi Gras Recipes
013 years
I’m in the music biz for decades now, but also dabble in the food arts. I represent some fine well known Louisiana sausage and andouille at some of the really big food and booze benefit shows in NOLA. Just finished up Friday with the Celebration in the Oaks Preview Party in New Orleans in City Park. It’s a huge benefit for City Park. Several thousand folks with good sense pay $100 each for a lot of liquor and super food sampling. We had some great live bands also. We also do the Grand Tastings of NOWFE, the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, which is one day and one evening event. The quality and quantity of attendees, food, liquor and music quality is just fantastic. The locales- Superdome floor, Morial Convention Center, City Park, etc, are just as wonderful.
Mr. Bingle at Celebration in the Oaks
The Celebration in the Oaks Preview Party takes place in the Christmas decorated portions of the park around the amusement area and the Conservatory. The light set ups are just so pretty and unique, and they add a few new special light set ups annually.
Celebration in Oaks Rocking Horse & more
Mardi Gras Favorite Recipes
These recipes are time tested from dozens of years of Mardi Gras usage.
I generally cook somewhat big for Fat Tuesday. That means hot food, BBQ, sushi, high quality deli meats and breads for sandwiches. I always do some combo of really delicious food. I generally bake some Mandel Brot for the big day, and give a loaf or two away, since this dessert makes three loafs at a time.
Mandel Brot (Bread) Recipe – Makes 3 loafs , recipe from my late Mom, Frances Joseph Eidler. Been eating this and making it my whole life.
Definition: Mandelbrot, which literally means almond (mandel) bread (brot), was a popular dessert among Eastern European Jews.
Mandelbrot is similar to Italian biscotti. Perhaps Jews first tasted biscotti in Italy, and then brought the recipe to Eastern Europe and renamed it mandelbrot.
It is likely that Eastern European Jews fell in love with mandelbrot because it made the perfect Sabbath dessert. Since mandelbrot is made with oil (not butter), it was easy to store. And since mandelbrot is pareve, it could be served after festive meat meals.
In a large bowl, add 1 cup sugar, then mix 3 eggs, one at a time, until all are mixed in. Add 1 cup of oil without much flavor of its own like Canola, etc and mix well. Then add a cup of flour (I use unbleached white) and mix well, then another cup of flour, then add 1 t vanilla (I use Mexican vanilla all the time), 1/2 t salt, and 1 t baking powder. Then add another cup of flour, mix well. Add 1 cup of raisins or currants. I use golden raisins a lot of the time. Add 1 cup of mini semi sweet chocolate bits. Get pure semi sweet chocolate bits only! Then add 1/2 cup of flour until the dough is quite stiff and almost makes a ball but not quite.
On a ungreased cookie sheet, separate the dough into three equal sections, and form into loafs, about 1 inch tall and 9 inches long. The dough will settle upon heating a bit, so make the loafs slightly taller by pushing the sides in with both hands until the loafs are no more than 3 inches wide.
Cook at 350 for 35-45 minutes until the loafs start cracking and brown on top, then take out and slice into 1/2 inch slices while still very hot. You can only slice them easily immediately after taking them out of the oven.
Here’s someone else’s picture of someone else’s mandel brot.
Mandel Brot
Meg Pomeroy Eidler’s Potato Salad
Slice up and boil 3 lbs of potatoes until done, then either peel or not, depending on taste. We usually peel 1/2 and leave peel on the rest. We use Russets or Idahos or little red potatoes. The more uniform the cutting, the more uniform the potato cooking.
Saute 1/2 cup of well chopped onions, also food process or hand chop another 1/2 cup until the pieces are quite small, and chop well 1/2 bunch of fresh scallions well. Add to potatoes with mayo and mustard, salt and pepper to taste. We use Hellman’s Mayo for sure, and the light version is OK.
Hellman's Mayo
I grew up on another type of potato salad with vinegar instead of mustard. I gave that up when I moved to NOLA in the mid 1970s. I may try that one sometime in the near future again.
More Mardi Gras favorite recipes to follow soon.
610 Stompers to March in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC!!
013 years
This info courtesy ticketweb.com
Howlin’ Wolf
The 610 Stompers Present The Macys Parade Send Off Party
Friday, Nov 11, 2011 9:00 PM CST
Howlin’ Wolf, New Orleans, LA
18 years and older
610 Stompers on Mardi Gras parade route
Have you heard that the 610 Stompers are representing the City of New Orleans by performing in the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Did you want to make the road trip to support them or just go party with them in NYC?
Well, they would love to see you there, but if you can’t make the trip they have a solution for you. The 610 Stompers are bringing their version of the Macy’s Parade to New Orleans for one night only. It will be indoors at the Howlin’ Wolf and will include parade commentators, balloons, bands, performance groups and a sneak peak at their televised performance before 65 million other people see it.
Watch this youtube video of the 610 Stompers at the Buddy D Parade
Also, get the 610 Stompers 2012 Calendar at a discounted price of only $10 before they officially go on sale. This will be the hottest Christmas gift on the market since “Tickle me Elmo”!!
610 Stompers Logo
From whereyat.com’s article on the Stompers-
What makes these men so special is not only their uncanny ability to entertain crowds, but also the motivation behind the uniforms. What started as a plan to start an all male dance school to help pay for their Saints season tickets in their namesake section 610, has turned into an incredible medium to have fun while help others. Underneath those mustaches of manliness lie men with hearts larger than most. Since their formation in 2009, the 610 Stompers have raised and donated over $100,000 to charity. They were asked to be this year’s “Corporate Chair” of the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Louisiana and Mississippi, released a Stomp Out Breast Cancer video with Touro Infirmary, and have partnered with over 13 local and national foundations where their dance moves have helped those less fortunate. They have mastered having fun with making a difference. At this year’s 610 Ball they gave $610 to each of over 20 local charities, which at first glance doesn’t seem like a lot. However, these grants more often doubled the charities’ operating budgets making a profound impact on our citizens and local community.
All Female Krewe of Nyx Will Roll in 2012!!
013 years
Mystic Krewe of Nyx
The first new full-fledged Carnival parade in Orleans Parish since before Hurricane Katrina, Nyx won approval from the City Council on a 6-0 vote to amend the 2012 calendar and schedule Nyx after the Druids parade on the Uptown route the Wednesday before Mardi Gras.
The city’s last new parading krewe was Morpheus in 2002, a year after Muses and the Knights of Chaos made their debuts.
From their web site:
“Three native New Orleans women always loved the traditions, pagentry, and fun of Mardi Gras. For years they admired the floats and loved the bands. They enjoyed how much the kids’ faces would light up when they caught stuffed or beaded treasures. The women adored how the crowds screamed to the riders “Throw me something!”
The mystique and masquerade of Mardi Gras day filled with history and excitement, had always been the most favorite holiday of the year for the three. The ladies rode in parades and enjoyed the Ball Masques and parties that accompanied them, but something was always missing.
The feeling of unity and originality was somewhat lacking. So the ladies decided to create their own Mardi Gras organization and the Mystic Krewe of Nyx was born.
It’s a tradition in Mardi Gras that the names of the Krewes are usually after Gods or Goddesses in Greek or Roman mythology. Nyx was the Greek Goddess of night. The three knew they wanted to parade at night and be the goddesses of the streets of New Orleans during their ride.
Bringing together women of diverse backgrounds and enhancing the spirit of Mardi Gras for the community is the vision for the Krewe. Embracing a little bit of tradition, with a twist of new and fun ideas, is what makes the Krewe of Nyx so special. All women are goddesses no matter what age they are. Every woman deserves to be adored, respected, and made to feel beautiful.”
32 full-fledged parades will roll in Orleans Parish this year, including five on the West Bank, plus five walking clubs on the uptown route on Mardi Gras.
They claim to have 280 female members so far, and are still looking for a few good new members.