Going to New Orleans not required to indulge in ‘Fat Tuesday’ feasting

Today’s the day: “Fat Tuesday.” And in New Orleans, it’s the last day of Mardi Gras when all the sinners, so to speak, will revel one more time before the saints come marching in.

A French term, “Mardi Gras,” is the last opportunity for such revelry and indulgence in food and drink before the temperance and Christian fast of Lent, the 40-day period of self-denial and abstinence from merrymaking.

Though far from the mouth of the Mississippi River, I intend to celebrate Fat Tuesday by listening to the Jambalaya Cajun Band playing the “Mamou Mardi Gras Hot-Step” and by conjuring up a spicy gumbo, complete with tiny Maine shrimp.

I want to indulge all day – if not in fact, in fiction – starting my morning by eating a plate of

freshly fried beignets, sprinkled heavily with confectioners’ sugar and washed down with good hot cafe au lait.

Whether in a French Market coffeehouse or a Down East kitchen, these rectangular doughnuts are simple to prepare; the key ingredient being evaporated milk, a staple for most Maine fish chowders.

For lunch, I want a steaming bowl of shrimp and crab gumbo, which is a misnomer because it contains smoked sausage as well and, of course, the ingredient that gives the dish its name, okra (gombo being an African word for okra.)

The fundamental cooking technique for any gumbo depends on the roux base, a mixture of butter and flour cooked slowly to a rich brown, that gives the gumbo its color, thick texture and smoky flavor. Maine shrimp and crabmeat (or clams or mussels) can be added to the sausage and frozen okra, and don’t forget the file powder made from dried sassafras leaves.

In the late afternoon on this intemperate day, I think I’ll concoct a gin fizz, one of New Orleans’ most popular drinks, if I can find orange flower water, that is.

The fizz is made with egg whites, confectioners’ sugar, half and half, vanilla, lemon juice, cracked ice … and dry gin.

Now comes dinnertime on this Tuesday when we’re Fat-tening up. With the frigid temperature outside,

I’m craving heaping mounds of red beans and rice.

Just because Louis Armstrong signed his letters, “Red beans and ricely yours,” doesn’t mean that we Mainers can’t create the same rich taste in our old iron pots. Why, we’re known for our beans, so all we have to add to dried kidney beans is lots of gravy thickened with flour, hunks of salt pork, and a large hambone with plenty of meat still on it.

These slow-cooked beans are flavored with the marrow of the hambone seeping into the gravy and with a careful balance of spices: black pepper, cayenne, red pepper pods, bay leaves, thyme, basil, and, of course, onions, green peppers, parsley and garlic. Serve over boiled rice and mop up the gravy with a loaf of crusty French bread.

For dessert, something even richer … possibly some filled crepes with orange sauce and flaming cognac before we waddle off to bed.

After all, it’s Fat Tuesday, the day before the fast.