Monday, March 2, 2015

Mardi Gras Tea Party

Even though it is a bit late, I finally got to have my Mardi Gras tea party!




Because of snow I had to push it back, but I'm so glad that ya'll can finally join me!  I thought I would start with a bit of background.  Mardi Gras  has its origins in the last large meal before the start of the Lenten season (thus the name Fat Tuesday in English).  This year it was on February 17.  In the U.S., when we hear Mardi Gras, we immediately think of New Orleans.  So join me on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter


for a Carnival celebration!
  


So here is a touch of New Orleans in my dining room, down to the green, gold, and purple theme of this table, the official colors of a New Orleans celebration, carnival masks, and lots of beads! 




Purple stands for justice, gold for power, and green for faith. 



A Mardi Gras would not be complete without some Cajun/creole goodies and good old fashioned southern cooking, so there is a special themed meal for this tea.


(jambalaya) 


(cornbread, chicken creole bites, and shrimp canapés with a bit of a Cajun flare)


(bananas foster scones with clotted cream)


(king cake and assorted lindt chocolates  on my great grandmother's footed depression glass cake plate)
King cake (sometimes known as three kings cake after the three magi that visited the baby Jesus) is the traditional dessert of a New Orleans Mardi Gras.  This dessert is typically a large sweet cinnamon filled bread in the shape of a circle that is iced and covered in colored sugar (green, gold, and purple of course!). 


In a traditional king cake, a baby is hidden inside the cake granting whomever finds it luck.  I want all my tea guests to have luck though, so I have placed a baby on top of each individual mini-king cake!  I also couldn't resist serving these frogs with their gold crowns.



And of course I've skipped the tea part of the party.  I placed my pansy teapot on my teacart so I could serve tea along with a pitcher of water (some of the food is a bit spicy!).  I have a black tea called Carnival, so I knew it would be the perfect fit! 


I also have a few additional decorations sitting around including these two masks purchased in New Orleans by my father a few years ago:


And here is a closer picture of my chandelier, which was also decorated in gold, purple, and green:





Now just a bit about the dishes for this tea.  Aside from the teapot, this tea is served entirely on glass, most of it inherited.  The gold dishes are elegant glass that belonged to my great-grandmother on my Dad's side (Thanks Jill @ Woodberry Lane for suggesting they are elegant glass!).  Elegant glass is higher-end depression era glass that was sold in department stores and jewelry stores.  The green bowls with jambalaya belonged to my grandmother and the green depression glass cake dish was my great grandmother's (this time on my mom's side).  The two tiered gold glass tray I found in an antique store and I have no idea what it is.  The plate I served scones on I found in a thrift store.  It is a reproduction of the Federal Madrid pattern issued in 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial.  It's pretty much the same color as the elegant glass and is a perfect serving plate to go with this set.   Finally the bowl for the clotted cream is Federal Patrician depression glass that I found in an antique mall.



Later this week I will be posting recipes and ideas from this tea.  I hope you can check back in!


Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Letting the good times roll at these tea parties this week:


Bernideen's Friends Sharing Tea 
Rose Chintz Cottage's Tea time Tuesday and
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Updates:
Savories for a Mardi Gras tea
Bananas Foster scones recipe

12 comments:

  1. Gorgeous Carrie...the colors are such eye candy! Everything was so festive and the food looks wonderful! Wish I could have celebrated with you! Thanks so much for linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea!
    Ruth

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  2. How festive! I would have loved to sample the Cajun food! New Orleans is definitely on my bucket list!

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  3. O MY!!

    What a beautiful tablescape and pretty Mardi Gras decorations!!

    Love it!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

    Hugs,
    Deb

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  4. What a fun party theme, Carrie! I want to be a guest at your table. I love all your colorful decor and you've even decorated the chandelier.

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  5. Wow! You really outdid yourself, Carrie. Everything looks fabulous. I really don't know a lot about Mardi Gras but you have captured it well. I never knew what the colours stood for so thanks for sharing all the info. I love spicy so I would certainly enjoy sipping tea at this fun table. Love your pansy teapot! Thanks for sharing and joining me for tea.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  6. Carrie:
    What a well decorated and colorful table you have set. I am sure everyone loved it. So glad you shared your theme at Friends Sharing Tea!

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  7. WOW!! What a beautifully festive table! Love all the colors, the masks, those adorable King's cakes . . . and that chandy! How fun! Your guests must have loved it. And on top of all that, the delicious food.
    Very impressive, Carrie. Love it!

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  8. Wow, Carrie! Where do I begin? What an incredible table you have set along with the amazing variety of recipes you prepared. I definitely would love to go to a tea like this one. The colors are so vibrant and I'm drawn to all of the beautiful glass ware. You have quite a lovely collection. I've never been to New Orleans and enjoyed learning about Mardi Gras and the king cake. Looking forward to the upcoming recipes. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  9. wow that is unique decoration !!! love greetings from angie from Germany

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  10. It's never too late for a fun look at someone's lovely Mardi Gras table. Yours is so colorful and pretty. I missed it this year, but have lots of plans for next.

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  11. What a wonderful Mardi Gras table, so festive and the food looks delicious! Visiting from Home Sweet Home. :)

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  12. What a fantastic tea party! Love the food and everything! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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Thank you so much for your comment! I hope you have a wonderful day :)