Thread by @frioux

Next Sunday I'm throwing a big Mardi Gras party (sadly can't just ask everyone to take of Tuesday.) Current attendance is 38 people saying yes, 8 people saying maybe, and 10 *families* who have not responded.

I will make my gumbo (blog.afoolishmanifesto.com/posts/gumbo-v2/)

Also gonna make Green Gumbo (gumbopages.com/food/soups/gum…) that should be vegan friendly; will get the ingredients a few days prior at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market.

I ordered a couple king cakes but intend to make another one because I want to: gumbopages.com/food/dessert/k…. I did ok last year, but no better than the stuff you can order:

https://twitter.com/frioux/status/1361855249787408384

My friend @BrobotDillard is gonna bring Jambalaya for those who will be unwilling to enjoy Gumbo (unimaginable.) I haven't had his Jambalaya but I had Red Beans and Rice he made a few years ago and it was great.

I am thinking we might want to *also* make Red Beans and Rice (allrecipes.com/recipe/241499/…) just in case those 10 other families show up. The more the better I figure, and worst case we are set for the week on food?

I don't think I can sensibly make more food, but if I could I'd make Potato Salad. I learned surprisingly recently that some people put it in their Gumbo, and it's a good side anyway!

OK drinks, we'll have some seltzer, some beer, maybe some wine or champers, Martinellis and Cola, I'll have espresso (will need to roast extra I think,) we'll have stuff to make a Tom Collins (though the weather looks a little cool for that,) and Hurricanes. NO HAND GRENADES.

My friend @BrobotDillard mentioned some kid games or activities in our shared doc. I'm not gonna stress too much about that, we can probably make sure stuff is available but I don't think we need to be super hands on with it.

Trying to think back on Thanksgiving and what went well and what didn't. One of the most mortifying things for me was when some people showed up late and the food had gotten cold. With this we should be able to keep everything hot on the stove or in a crock pot.

Also, most drinks should be fully or nearly pre-made. At Thanksgiving I was literally measuring out ingredients for drinks for people and that's silly. We probably should have a cooler out of the kitchen for most stuff too.

I think I'm ready, I just need to make sure I have all the ingredients by end of day *Friday*, since I'll do a lot of cooking/baking on Saturday and finish on Sunday.

BTW for a minute I considered doubling my Gumbo recipe to stretch it further, but this is my current recipe in a full sized stock pot (nearly full.) So I don't think that's an option.