MOBILE'S MARDI GRAS OMELET

INGREDIENTS
2-3 egges per omelet
1 teaspoon cream
1-2 tablepsoons dry Ranch dressing powder
1/4 cup purple hull peas (canned or frozen -- microwave until soft)
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
Butter
Yellow bell pepper
Green bell pepper
Purple onion
Green onion
Pork sausage
Rotel tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
Whip 2-3 eggs with cream. Add ranch dressing powder mix to eggs and salt and pepper to taste.

While cooking, brown favorite pork sausage.

Finely dice yellow and green bell pepper and purple and green onions for Mardi Gras confetti. Sauté confetti in a little butter until tender. Then stir in purple hull peas. For spice add some Rotel tomatoes to vegetable mixture.
For fun add a fine layer of grated pepper Jack cheese to top omelet.

For more on Mardi Gras in Mobile, including parade routes, click here.

NEW ORLEANS' SHRIMP GRILLADE

INGREDIENTS
8 large Louisiana shrimp
8 mushroom slices
1 tablespoon of green onion
1 tablespoon of onion
1 tablespoon of chopped tomatoes
1 bowl of cheese grits

DIRECTIONS
Cook grits traditional way and add cheese until grits turn yellow. Sauté onions in butter or margarine. Add shrimp and mushrooms and sauté shrimp until pink and mushrooms until done. Let ingredients cook together until they caramelize.

Pour over cheese grits and top with a little brown gravy of your choice.

Takes eight to ten minutes to prepare. Made to order. Serves one.

For more information on Mardi Gras in New Orleans, click here.

PENSACOLA'S GRITS A YA YA

INGREDIENTS
Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits:
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound Dixie Lily grits
1/4 pound butter
1 pound shredded smoked Gouda cheese

The Ya Ya:
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallots
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound peeled and de-veined jumbo shrimp
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced
1/4 cup diced scallions
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups smoked Gouda cheese grits
White Wine
Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS
First, make your grits. Run the chicken stock into a thick-bottomed saucepan and turn on high till it boils. Mix in the grits and stir like crazy. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream if you need more liquid. Then tumble in the butter, drizzle in the rest of the cream and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well till it's all nice and smooth.

While your grits cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and shallots. Sauté and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. When the downsides of the shrimp become white, flip them and add mushrooms, scallions and spinach. Sauté for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring. When reduced by one third, add salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.

For more information on Mardi Gras in Pensacola, click here.

BILOXI'S MARDI GRAS CRAWFISH PASTA

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces crawfish
2 ounces oil
2 tablespoons garlic
2 ounces Tasso (lean strips of boneless pork)
3 ounces cream
1 pound cooked al dente angel hair pasta
1 small julienne green bell pepper
1 small julienne yellow bell pepper
1 purple onion
Pinch cayenne pepper
Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place oil in hot skillet. Add garlic and lightly brown. Add Tasso, cayenne and crawfish. Finish with cream by reducing the cream volume in half. Place pasta on plate and surround with the crawfish and Tasso cream. Add bell peppers and onion in pan and lightly sauté till tender. Add salt and pepper. Place on top of pasta in center and the dish is finished.

For more information on Mardi Gras in Biloxi, click here.

And for more traditional Mardi Gras recipes, visit our Kitchen Assistant.