Whether they’re hitting the streets or staying in and hosting their own “Yardi Gras,” New Orleanians make their own fun, from decorating their front porches to look like Mardi Gras parade floats to serving up the best home-cooked food in the world. Here are some top recipes to help everyone pass a good time during Carnival on the porch, on the patios or in the yard. And they’re all made extra rich and tasty with Blue Plate Mayo – That’s the good stuff! Happy Mardi Gras, y’all.
A simple ham and cheese po-boy wrapped in foil is synonymous in New Orleans with family get-togethers (however large or small) and carnival parades (even if it’s a parade of homes!). Serve the ham thin-sliced (we used a local NOLA brand, Chisesi’s Pride® Ham) on flaky New Orleans-style French bread dressed with mayonnaise, a swipe of yellow mustard, ripe tomatoes and plenty of lettuce.
New Orleanians love their po-boy sandwiches – locally baked French bread stuffed with any number of cold cuts or fried seafood – but the simple french-fry po-boy still reigns as the original comfort food meal. It’s traditionally dressed with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickle with the option to be drenched in brown gravy.
Pan-fried pork chops on French bread are a corner-store special, found on the menu in small neighborhood groceries and convenience stores across New Orleans. They make an easy lunch, dinner or snack to go – a traditional food to fill up on for a big day at work or play.