Mardi Gras Food has Spicy Appeal

By Chad Petri Reporter

If you’ve ever made traditional Mardi Gras food, preparation is the key. If you plan ahead some food is simple to make. Mardi Gras Food has Spicy Appeal

Published: Wed, January 30, 2008 - 1:12 pm Last Updated: Fri, February 01, 2008 - 1:05 pm

Chad Petri

In the big kitchen of Chris and Karla's catering, chef Chris Miller has got his hands in different pots. This is the time of the year when caterers make some extra dough with extra banquets and balls.

You're tired but at the same time the joy you see people dancing, laughing having a good time,” says owner Karla Miller. “Eating is a part of that.”

Amid the rice, chopped pepper and live crawfish, it seems gumbo is still the most popular dish. Chef Chris says the flavors are complex but actually making it isn't.

“It's very simple, in 15 minutes or less I can put any of them together, but time cooking you've got your vegetables, they have to cook,” says Chris. With shrimp Creole for example, all you have to do is prepare a sauce with tomatoes and seasoning. Then heat the remaining ingredients and combine.

“You get all your peppers and onions and stuff, your shrimp de-veined and chop your sausage and onions and stuff and have everything pre-prepped,” says Chris. “Then putting it together is pretty simple.” The city of Mobile can lay claim to the pageantry of Mardi Gras. However, many dishes associated with carnival come from our neighbors to the west.

“Mobile is the original Mardi Gras but we base our foods according the New Orleans,” says Chris. “We do the shrimp Creole gumbo jambalaya we do the crawfish we do it all. While he makes jambalaya by the gallon, chef Chris also has a pot of soup base going for a crawfish boil while cooking ingredients for the gumbo.

“I'm blessed, God gave me a gift that I can dabble in four, five different things which you've seen this morning,” says Chris.