In honor of Mardi Gras we spoke to two chefs with serious ties to New Orleans. John Besh was born in the area and now runs six local restaurants (August, Lüke, Besh Steak, La Provence, Domenica, and the American Sector) while David Guas is a New Orleans-born pastry chef who lives and works outside of Washington DC. Both chefs have new cookbooks and both shared some of their favorite recipes with Epicurious, as well as their tips for capturing some real New Orleans flavor. Using recipes from his new cookbook, My New Orleans, John Besh created a casual pre-parade brunch. As he explains, this is an easy, laid-back gathering that offers friends and family a chance to visit, eat, and drink before heading to the parade route. His menu, which includes Green Onion Sausage and Shrimp Gravy, Slow-Cooked Veal Grillades, Jalapeño Cheese Grits, and King Cake, makes for authentic New Orleans feasting. Besh also gave us some lagniappe, or a little something extra: His simple decor and music suggestions will help give your party that essential carnival feeling. Even if you’ve never had the pleasure of savoring sugar-dusted beignets at Café du Monde, if you have a sweet tooth, you’re bound to enjoy David Guas’s new book, DamGoodSweet, which in addition to including some of New Orleans’s most beloved desserts (Bananas Foster, bread pudding, Lemon Doberge Cake), features universal favorites like pecan pie, turtles, and brownies. For our story, New Orleans Sweets, Guas shared five irresistibl…[...]

Click below to read the full story from the source…
Recipes for Celebrating Mardi Gras