Entertaining: {Mardi Gras Dinner Party}

 Not being from the South, but loving the food, we had a Mardi Gras Dinner Party the Saturday following Fat Tuesday. My husband spent a couple of years in Louisiana and brought home the love of the food. We had a similar but smaller party last year.

 Dinner was potluck style, but with specific assignments, such as corn bread, a cajun mustard dressing to go with the salad, beignets and gumbo. We made the Jambalaya (a house hold favorite), Shrimp etouffee, Mint Juleps (we don't drink alcohol so they were Virgin style) and the traditional King Cake.

 For this year's party, I wanted a bayou feel. It turned out great. I did simple centerpieces. I gathered Spanish moss, and stuffed that into a mason jar, and added branches. Then tea lights to add to a low lit, glowing feeling. Black table clothes helped keep the room a dim and cozy feeling.

My favorite part was the Christmas lights. We had strung seven strands of white Christmas lights from our loft railing, to our curtain rods across the way. The lights in the home were all off with the exception of the tea candles and Christmas lights. It had an awesome look, that was difficult to capture on camera, so the picture gives you a bit of an idea.  

We also had a playlist going of jazz and zydeco music. We had Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis. Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Connick Jr, and some zydeco bands such as Jude Taylor and his Burning Flames, Rosie Lydet, Buckwheat Zydeco, Carol Fran, and even some of the songs from the Princess and the Frog Soundtrack.

The evening was a spectacular hit. We made an impression with Sights, Sounds, and Taste! I will share recipes soon!