Mardi Gras Dinner Party Ideas
Host a Mardi Gras dinner party that’s more about the New Orleans’ flavors and less about the “wild” factor. Set an elegant themed tablescape and serve traditional recipes and cocktails. This is perfect for a winter theme dinner party directly inspired by our visit to New Orleans.
The weekends leading up to Fat Tuesday are the perfect time to host a Mardi Gras dinner party and share a taste of New Orleans. After visiting New Orleans last year I knew I had to create something special for the occasion. We were so taken with the food, the fun, and the old world atmosphere!
These Mardi Gras party ideas include a chic table setting with multi-course meal. Some quintessential dishes you can include are oysters Rockefeller, jambalaya, etouffee, red beans and rice, and gumbo.
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Themed Tablescape
The first thing you might notice about this party decor is that the colors are more muted. The traditional colors of gold, purple, and green are brought in through brass & amber, mossy green, and amethyst. Right away this sets the tone for a more adult dinner party ambiance.
Use gold-rimmed and filagree patterned vintage dishes for place settings. Shop vintage and thrift stores to find old pieces. There’s no pressure to have them match either. The variety adds old world charm.
Add brass candlesticks and a fabric runner to go the length of the table.
This totally FEELS like New Orleans to me – a city filled with Old-World charm and French influences.
Create a centerpiece with a small floral arrangement placed on a silver tray and surrounded by loads of Mardi Gras beads, of course!
Layer modern bowls on top of the plates to serve the jambalaya in. These lions head bowls add a ‘French Quarter’ vibe.
Give each guest a Mardi Gras mask at their place setting to enjoy throughout the night and take photos with.
Dinner Menu
Our Mardi Gras menu includes some seafood items because it’s so abundant and popular in New Orleans, especially oysters and shrimp.
Start with a plate of cheese and charcuterie to serve with the cocktails, and add some Zapp’s potato chips to the plate. They’re authentic Louisiana chips that come in lots of flavors that are out-of-this-world delicious!
This is the time to serve oysters Rockefeller. These are presented over a bed of rock salt, on the vintage French oyster plate I bought on our trip. You can make your own recipe or pick them up from a local fish market like I did.
Serve crab avocado stacks as an elegant first course appetizer. This recipe is inspired by the one we had at Criollo restaurant. Pretty and delicious!
The next course is a green salad with oranges. It adds a burst of freshness to the menu, while the golden color of the citrus with green color of baby spinach blends in with the color scheme. You can use all one type of orange or a variety of citrus such as pink grapefruit, blood oranges, or mandarin orange slices.
The main entree is classic chicken and smoked sausage jambalaya. It’s easy to make and you can’t beat the flavors.
Some other entrees to consider are:
- Etouffee
- Red beans and rice
- Gumbo
Cocktails
This party is all about the flavors of The Big Easy. And every good dinner party has to start with cocktails! Welcome guests with one signature drink or a tasting of some of the classics.
- Start off with a sriracha bloody Mary. These are abundant in New Orleans and every bar and restaurant has their own version.
- The Sazerac is iconic and is known as the city’s first cocktail.
- Mix up a pitcher of hurricanes if you want the party to take on a livelier tone.
Desserts for Mardi Gras
- End the meal on a sweet note with a traditional colorful King Cake you can purchase from the bakery. Whoever gets the slice with the baby inside, hosts the next dinner party.
- Or serve a king themed cake with a play on the term “king” cake as I’ve shown here. Simply top a frosted layer cake with a gold decorative crown. Garnish with purple or gold edible flowers.
- Another New Orleans’ favorite, Kahlua creme brulee, is an excellent make-ahead option.
- You can also stick to the southern theme with banana pudding mini desserts.
- Try your hand at bananas foster if you dare!
Party Favors
- Send your party guests home with a sweet favor box filled with colorful macarons. They’re so good!
- Another idea is to package up some homemade or store-bought beignets.
- You could also purchase a bundle of Zapp’s chips and send guests home with individual size bags.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to the wild side, and hello to the REAL star of N’awlins (the food) then I hope you’ll give this Mardi Gras dinner party a try. Carnival or not, it’s never a bad time to celebrate the flavors of this great Southern city!
Now, here’s the jambalaya recipe.
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Mardi Gras Jambalaya recipe
This chicken and smoked sausage Jambalaya is an easy Cajun dish that's perfect for your Mardi Gras dinner party. It's ready in about an hour and the last half hour is hands-free cooking.
Ingredients
- Olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 1 (14 oz) package smoked sausage link (andouille sausage or Cajun kielbasa)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 medium size green bell paper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cup rice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Garnish: green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Cut the two breast sides from the chicken and remove the skin. Cut them into chunks about 1-inch in size.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it shimmers. While it heats, Cut the sausage into 1/2-inch thick medallions. You’ll know the oil is hot enough when a sprinkle of water pops and crackles. Add the sausage in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Use long tongs to flip the sausage and to transfer them to a plate when browned.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the hot pot and add the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic; let cook over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the residual bits from the sausage that are on the bottom of the pot.
- Add dry seasoning (salt, chili, thyme, and peppers) and stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot and stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
- Add the rice and stir; let it toast for 3-4 minutes. Increase the temperature to medium-high if needed.
- Pour in chicken stock, add sausage and chicken, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and let cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and give the jambalaya stir to make sure all liquid is absorbed.
- Serve with green onion and hot sauce for garnish.
Notes
Use cooked rotisserie chicken for a shortcut.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I think I found the recipe….
possibly not exact as often something is kept secret, but worth a try.
It is amazing! I love the decor and colors! The menu sounds delicious!