From staff reports

The celebration started early in New Orleans this year, with the Saints' first-ever Super Bowl win Sunday, but Mardi Gras is officially on Tuesday.

Translated, Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, and it's the traditional day to eat all you can before the church season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

To celebrate, decorate with the traditional Mardi Gras colors — purple (representing justice), green (faith) and gold (power). Serve anything you want, but traditional Mardi Gras parties include spicy Cajun dishes like crawfish etouffee or jambalaya, king cake for dessert (which can be picked up at most grocery stores this time of year) and of course, plenty of alcohol.

Here's a few recipes to try as you let the good times roll.

Crawfish etouffee

Ingredients
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup butter
2 bunches green onion, chopped
1 large onion, diced
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound crawfish, peeled
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Directions
Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in onion, green onion, green pepper and celery; cook until transparent. Mix in crawfish and tomato paste; cook for 10 minutes.

Pour chicken broth into skillet.

In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water. Stir dissolved cornstarch into crawfish mixture and cook until thickened, about 35 minutes.

Note: Shrimp can be substituted for crawfish.

— allrecipes.com

Jambalaya

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped celery
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ pound cubed cooked ham
½ pound cubed cooked chicken
½ pound cubed smoked sausage
2 (14.5 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, with liquid
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 cups uncooked white rice
½ pound salad shrimp

Directions
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add celery, bell pepper, and onion to the bacon drippings and cook until tender.

Add the ham, chicken and sausage to the pot, and pour in the tomatoes, beef broth and chicken broth. Season with thyme and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil and add the rice. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Stir in the shrimp and bacon just before serving and heat through. If you use uncooked shrimp, let it cook for about 5 minutes before serving.

— allrecipes.com

Hurricane

Ingredients
1 ounce vodka
¼ ounce grenadine syrup
1 ounce gin
1 ounce light rum
½ ounce Bacardi 151 rum
1 ounce amaretto almond liqueur
1 ounce triple sec
¼ cup grapefruit juice
¼ cup pineapple juice

Directions

Pour all but the juices, in order listed, into a hurricane glass three-quarters filled with ice. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit and pineapple juice, and serve.

— evite.com

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