Laissez les bons temps rouler. For some, Mardi Gras might evoke thoughts of beads, booze, and Bourbon Street. But for many, Mardi Gras is about crawfish boils with friends and family, hoisting children onto hand decorated ladder seats, and waking up at 5 am to secure your spot on the parade route. My Mardi Gras experience changed in 2019 – the year I joined the Krewe of Iris. The oldest and largest all-female Krewe in New Orleans was founded in 1917. Being a member of Iris has, in the best possible way, forever changed my Mardi Gras experience. Friendship is now at the center of my Mardi Gras experience.
What Mardi Gras would be complete without a one-of-a-kind headdress made by my bestie Jen Chamberlain? Or the dance moves of Michele Koski? The celebration of female friendship is the centerpiece of riding with the Krewe of Iris. The fact that it just gets better every year is as addictive as adorning your hand made sunglasses with the words “let the good times roll” in Jen’s craft room. Hand decorated sunglasses are a signature throw of the Krewe of Iris, and Jen has it down to a science.
Plastic bins of jewels, feathers, beads, letters, alligators, crawfish, and king cake babies lie beside a line of hot glue guns and a bin of sunglasses. After she finishes adorning each pair of sunglasses, they get placed in an individual plastic bag with a note and glitter. These are almost as incredible as the headdresses she makes each year for the float brunch, held the day before the parade. Only in New Orleans can you step into an Uber wearing a headdress en route to a pre-Mardi Gras brunch and not get a lengthy stare.
While my Mardi Gras adventures have evolved over the years, the food has thankfully remained the same. King cakes, crawfish boils, gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and of course Popeyes. Yes, Popeyes is native to New Orleans and a beloved Mardi gras treat. Everyone has their favorite place to buy a king cake (Randazzo’s, Dong Phuong, Haydel’s, Gambinos) or grandmother’s recipe for gumbo which they are eager to share with any visitor.
To fuel a morning filled with sorting through hundreds of plastic and glass beads, doubloons, and stuffies followed by at least two hours of tossing beads from a moving float into a sea of people cloaked in purple, green, and gold, we need a protein packed breakfast. This andouille frittata was how I started my Iris Saturday in 2022. Can’t wait to kick off Mardi Gras 2023 with a slice of this frittata. Hail Iris!
Mardi Gras Frittata
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
To fuel a morning filled with sorting through hundreds of plastic and glass beads, doubloons, and stuffies followed by at least two hours of tossing beads from a moving float into a sea of people cloaked in purple, green, and gold, we need a protein packed breakfast. This andouille frittata was how I started my Iris Saturday in 2022. Can’t wait to kick off Mardi Gras 2023 with a slice of this frittata. Hail Iris!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces andouille sausage
- 3 Tbs butter or bacon grease
- 1 cup red onion
- 1 cup leek
- 1/4 cup jalapeno (about 2 jalapenos)
- 2 Tbs garlic or roasted garlic
- 4 cups sweet potato, cubed (about 2 medium sweet potatoes) – about one pound
- 10 large eggs
- 1/3 cup crème fraiche
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup grated cheddar, grated mozzarella, or mascarpone cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 Tbs chives
- 1 Tbs parsley
- 1/3 cup green onion
- 1 tsp pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stovetop grill or pan, cook the andouille sausage over medium heat. Remove the cooked sausage and chop into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Next, cook the vegetables: In a large cast iron skillet, melt the butter or bacon grease over medium heat. Add the red onion and leek. Season with salt, to taste. Cover and cook for about 5-8 minutes until softened. Add the jalapeno and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes. Cover and cook until softened, about 10-15 minutes.
- While the sweet potatoes cook, make the egg mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the crème fraiche, milk, cheese, smoked paprika, chives, parsley, green onion, andouille sausage, pepper, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour the egg and andouille mixture on top of the sweet potatoes. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and the eggs are set.
Notes
The frittata will puff up in the oven but then fall back down after removed from the heat and cooled.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
Keywords: Breakfast