For Chef Frank Davis, famed author, TV personality and all-around chef extraordinaire, there are only two major issues that must be addressed when planning a day on the street on Mardi Gras: “What kind of food to make and pack up, and will there be enough of it so you can eat non-stop all day long,” he said. “That’s how we all do it here.”
Thinking back to past Mardi Gras celebrations, Davis had a hard time picking out just one memory that was a favorite.
“Just about every memory you ever make at Mardi Gras becomes a special one,” he said. “But the year I served on the court at the Krewe of Hercules Ball, plus the wild parade that followed it, will always be a Mardi Gras highlight to me.”
Davis recommends a Mardi Gras Pulled Pork, Crockpot Potatoes and Mushrooms, and N’Awlins Coleslaw as a great meal to make on the day.
“It’s outstanding for a Mardi Gras Day dish because it’s done with very little attention, cooks in the over and crockpot all day, and provides that comforting meal for the end of the day feast,” he said.
6 potatoes, peeled and halved
8 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
8 cloves garlic, whole
1 pork loin, 3 to 4 pound average
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarse-ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cocktail sherry
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix®
2 bay leaves
First, prepare all the vegetables—peel the potatoes, shave the carrots and chunk them, chop up the onion, mince the parsley, and remove the hulls from the garlic. When they’re all ready, set them aside momentarily on the countertop.
Next, season the pork loin with the salt and pepper and briskly rub it into the meat with your hands. Then place the roast into a hot skillet (which you’ve lightly coated with a little vegetable oil) and gently pan-fry it on all sides until lightly browned.
While the roast is searing, go ahead and place the other ingredients into the crock-pot in the following order: first the carrots, then the potatoes, then the onions and garlic, and finally the pork roast. Then thoroughly mix together the water, the chicken broth, the wine, the parsley, the bay leaves, and the onion soup mix and pour the mixture evenly over the roast. All that’s left is to slow-cook the pork and the fixin’s on low for about 10 hours.
Then when you get home from an exhausting day at the parades, stash the beads and doubloons, put the costume away for another year, take a relaxing hot shower, and then sit down to a magnificent hot meal straight from the crock pot. A crisp cold salad and bread sticks will make this Mardi Gras meal complete.
Hints
1.) Be sure to trim away as much fat as possible from the pork loin before putting it into the crock pot, otherwise it will render out during the slow cooking and cause the gravy to be greasy.
2.) I suggest that you use bottled water instead of water from the tap in this recipe. Because the pork cooks slowly and concentrates the flavor, you don’t want any impurities or chemicals in the cooking liquids.
3.) If you’d like to have extra garlic to serve with this dish, simply add more to the crock-pot at the outset. As long as they remain whole, there is no limit to the number of cloves you can drop into the pot.
4.) The best way to have a salad ready is to cut the lettuce, celery, mixed greens, green onions and tomatoes and place them into a gallon size ZipLoc bag before you leave the house for Mardi Gras. Then, when you get home and you’re ready to eat, take the bag from the ‘fridge, pour the salad dressing into it, toss it briskly to coat the greens, and serve it up ice cold. No muss, no fuss!