The Big Game in the Big Easy: New Orleans-Inspired Recipes for Your Super Bowl Party

Super Bowl season is upon us and this year it's taking place in one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. The game coincides with the lead-up to Mardi Gras, the city’s busiest and most chaotic time of year. This fusion of festivities feels as serendipitous as a once-in-a-generation celestial event — though it has occurred twice before, in 2013 and 2002.

This February, I am reminded of the horrible disappointment that is the New York Giants and would prefer to tune out the postseason altogether. But if we must come together to watch this marvel of late stage capitalism, we may as well upgrade our snack table to honor the rich culinary stylings of New Orleans, one of America’s greatest food cities.

King Cake

The king cake is an icon. I can’t say I know why a little plastic naked baby is involved, but it's an aesthetic W in my eyes. For those unfamiliar, hidden inside the king cake lies a small, naked plastic, baby, and whoever finds it in their slice has to throw the next party. They are a little challenging to recreate at home, but if you do opt to bake your own king cake, you can customize it with your team’s colors and opt for hiding a little plastic mascot instead.

Beignets

Every great food culture has its own take on deep-fried dough, and in New Orleans it's the beignet. Golden, airy pillows of fried perfection, crisp yet impossibly light, dusted with a delicate veil of powdered sugar🤌. You can purchase beignet mix directly from Cafe du Monde with instructions printed right on the box. If you're feeling creative, it would be so cute to try and pipe some royal icing onto the beignets to make them look like little footballs. I would be really impressed if the host of my Super Bowl party did that.

7 Layer Mardi Gras Dip

Make a festive 7 layer dip that screams Mardi Gras with purple, green, and gold layers.

• Green layers are easy — guac, salsa verde, and a green onion/cilantro/pickled jalapeno topping

• Gold layers are full of cheese and optionally, some roasted corn for a textural element

• The purple layers are not easy. I suggest using a finely diced red onion for one layer. For a second purple layer I’m cheating a little and adding beet juice to sour cream. A little purple sour cream never hurt anyone

Assemble your layers-- guac, corn, sour cream, salsa verde, red onion, cheese, green toppings and enjoy!

Syrup Sandwiches

This one is not native to NOLA, but is a must for the halftime purists-or the viewers that go to the bathroom during the plays so they won’t miss the commercials- the casuals. We pay homage to Kendrick Lamar through syrup sandwiches. A syrup sandwich is as simple as maple syrup on bread. If it were me, I would toast the bread, spread a little butter and top with cinnamon sugar. Serve with a side of bananas for the Weezy loyalists.

Voodoo Daiquiri/ Purple Drank

Canned beer is boring and predictable. Every great party has an experimental signature cocktail that no one knows the ingredients to ✨. Believe it or not, the Voodoo Daiquiri is a local favorite during Mardi Gras season and it's made from just 3 simple ingredients-- 2 parts bourbon, 1 part everclear (!), and 4 parts grape juice. Blend with ice and garnish with a Powerade and Advil on your bedside table.

Crawfish Boil

This last party hack is for the people who really really don’t want to watch a football game. Hijack the Super Bowl watch party and bring all of your friends to the backyard where you’ll spend the February afternoon de-shelling crawfish for tiny morsels of meat,all in the name of paying allegiance to the host city. Not a stretch at all.

Host your own Game Day Party 🏈