When Wisconsin briefly became the French Quarter

One trip to New Orleans leaves you with a deeper appreciation for food, the South, good times and great architecture. My parents recently returned home from a trip to NOLA, with bellies full of delicious cuisine and the hope to get some more. I fell hard for the city a few years ago, and was all too happy to help them devour anything New Orleanian.

So, Sunday, with the help of some family friends, we had a New Orleans inspired feast. I was so excited to get to the food that I forgot my camera at home. All these photos were taken with my phone, and it shows. Apologies.
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The meal began with alligator sausage. As in, “that meat used to be an alligator,” and while I had a hard time getting past that, I eventually did and gobbled a few pieces. The flavor was fantastic – spicy with a little salt. But the texture was a little dry and slightly oily at the same time. Had I not know it was formally a giant lizard-like creature, I probably would’ve devoured it.
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We washed the ‘gator down with Louisiana-brewed Abita beer and Hurricanes a la Pat O’Brien’s.
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My sister spent 3+ hours making this gumbo – one hour was spent standing by the stove stirring the roux until it became as dark as chocolate. It was fantastic.

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This is called Barbecue Shrimp, though they were never put near a barbecue. It’s a combination of tons of butter, cayenne and black pepper. That’s it. It was crazy good, especially with homemade French bread and cornbread to sop up all the juices.
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A big pot of simmering beans to dump over hot rice and fill up any remaining space left in my belly.
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And loads of crawfish that had been steeped in butter, spices, celery, onion and carrots. Messy, but so good.
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For dessert, a batch of freshly fried beignets made from a box of beignet mix from Cafe du Monde. We also had a pan of bread pudding made with cinnamon bread, chocolate chips and cherries, drizzled in a whiskey caramel sauce. At this point, I was in food nirvana and didn’t even remember to take a picture. But it was one of the best parts of the meal.

Every bit of it was wonderful. I love big themed meals like this, where you get to sample an array of dishes and enjoy them with an assortment of friends. I’m hoping we might make this sort of thing a family tradition.

• ← A last-minute attempt at style
• The Exorcism, as performed by my daughter →