13 Recipes to Celebrate Mardi Gras

This renowned baked oyster dish was created at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans in 1899 by the proprietor, Jules Alciatore. According to legend, the dish was created as a substitute for baked snails, which were hard to obtain from France. It was named in honor of John D. Rockefeller, at that time one of the world's richest men, because of the sauce's intense richness. The following recipe is the old Delmonico restaurant's take on the dish, with the Rockefeller sauce base used not only to make the Oysters Rockefeller appetizer, but also used as a spread on toast to create canapés.

"Historically tied to pre-modern domestic routines—when 'laundry day' meant washboard work and a trip to the river—red beans and rice developed as a hearty, low-maintenance meal that simmered slowly over a banked fire, often flavored with hambone from the previous Sunday's sit-down supper," says writer and photographer Pableaux Johnson, who has become famous for his weekly red beans and rice suppers. He adds, "Done right, red beans and rice is a bowl of comforting, sustaining goodness that takes the edge off the always-premature demise of a good weekend. Long-cooked and creamy, properly made red beans integrate the core flavors of the south Louisiana aromatic trinity—onion, green bell pepper, and celery—along with the savory richness of pork and a kick of garlic for fun. But the true star of this dish is the beans, and in this case, it's Camellia beans."

This hearty Creole jambalaya is smoky, aromatic, and just a little bit spicy. Rendered fat from a combination of andouille sausage, bacon, and smoked sausage serves as the base, and the dish keeps building from there. Take the time to cook each element of the jambalaya to add browned, caramelized flavor. Make sure to save the shells when peeling and deveining the shrimp, as they'll be used for a homemade shrimp stock that goes in towards the end.

On a visit to New York City in 1984, Emeril Lagasse visited the Food & Wine test kitchen and shared several recipes, including his Shrimp Creole, which we named one of our 40 Best. The spicy Creole sauce has layers of flavor built on a foundation of the Cajun flavor trinity— onion, celery, and green bell pepper—mixed with garlic and sautéed in butter until tender. The Creole sauce can be made through step 4 and chilled for up to four days, or can be frozen for up to a month. This recipe makes more Creole seasoning than you'll need; save the remainder in an air-tight container.

This gumbo is rich and toasty thanks to the dark roux. It's wonderful with oysters, shrimp and crab, but chef Slade Rushing says you can substitute what's good in your area: clams, for instance, or even chicken.

Chef David Kinch playfully combines two New Orleans classics here—chicory coffee and beignets—for a sweet treat with a bitter edge from the chicory.

No flavor goes to waste in this étouffée—even shrimp shells are used to make the seafood stock. It's inspired by Food & Wine executive producer Kwame Onwuachi's memories of his grandmother Cassie Phillips' definitive version of the dish.

This classic Muffaletta sandwich gets its flavor from layers of cheese, Italian meats, and tangy olive relish stuffed into perfectly crusty ciabatta. The ideal make-ahead meal, this sandwich should rest at least an hour to let the flavors meld. It is delicious the next day, too.

Smoky, gently spiced andouille sausage and a spoonful of Creole seasoning give deep flavor and mild heat to this jambalaya, while the trinity of onion, green pepper, and celery provide a classic aromatic base to the dish. Parboiled rice is perfect for this recipe, since it cooks to tenderness just as the andouille, chicken, and shrimp reach doneness.

The subtle spice of Biscoff cookies helps to balance the sweetness of each layer of creamy custard and fresh bananas in this tall and impressive banana pudding for a crowd. It's inspired by the recipe made by Kwame Onwuachi's aunt Yolanda of Beaumont, Texas; he tasted it while on a recent trip to connect with his roots in Louisiana and Texas.

Here, the beignet batter thinly coats a creamy, warm crab filling with a crispy, light crust. The batter is loose and can be tricky to shape at first; keep frying and practicing, and they'll improve with each batch. These are ideally eaten while still very hot, so make them while enjoying aperitifs in the kitchen.

New Orleans icon Big Freedia drapes her signature nachos in spicy cheese sauce and buttery, Creole-seasoned crawfish. "Crawfish is something my mom made all the time when I was a kid, so I can make crawfish in many forms," she says. "It's so New Orleans."

"There are as many thoughts, feelings, opinions, and preferences about king cakes in New Orleans as there are king cakes themselves," pastry chef Kelly Fields says. "I take a pretty traditional approach with the dough, but my team and I dreamed up the idea of adding a layer of caramelized sugar to give our cake a fun, shattering crunch. With cream cheese icing for a less-sweet approach, I find myself craving this cake year-round."