The good times continue to roll at Universal Studios Florida’s Mardi Gras celebration

Jaime Schilling

14 years ago

Happy Mardi Gras Day! Although
the festivities in New Orleans officially end tonight at midnight (as Fat Tuesday
gives way to Ash Wednesday), the party's just getting started at Universal
Orlando.

So if you find yourself in desperate
need of "Beads, Bands and Good Times" now through April 23^rd,
Universal Studios Florida is the place you need to be. For Mardi Gras lives on at
that theme park. Thanks – in large part – to Universal Orlando's attention to
detail. Making sure that they get all of the essentials of this annual street
celebration just right.

And by that I mean …

The Food: From Gumbo and
Jambalaya to Beignets, Universal Orlando's French Quarter Courtyard has all the
New Orleans favorites covered.

The Alcohol: Vendors had everything
from Bud Light to Jello Shots for sale, including classic Mardi Gras beverages
like Abita Beer and the Hurricane.

The Music: Zydeco bands flown
in from New Orleans play most Friday and Saturday nights. The evening
that Max and I visited Universal Studios Florida, We watched Lil Malcolm and
the House Rockers. And between the bounciness of the music (one of the band
members played a washboard!) and the excitement of the crowd, more than a few
people were dancing in the street.

The Parade: Unlike Mardi Gras in New
Orleans, Universal Orlando's parade is entirely G-Rated. Floats are designed and built largely by Blaine Kern
Studios in New Orleans (who also designs and builds many of the floats featured in the Big Easy's Mardi Gras parades). The theme for the 2011 parade is "The
Elements." And if you're paying attention , you'll notice that the floats
symbolize Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
The parade lasted about a half-hour and is then immediately followed by
that evening's headlining band performing on the Music Plaza stage.

The Headliners: Each Friday and
Saturday night until Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras celebration officially ends
in late April, a headlining band will perform live onstage at USF's Music Plaza.
This Saturday night, March 12^th, it's Foreigner. And the weeks ahead,
Neon Trees (March 18^th), The Roots (March 19^th), One
Republic (March 25^th), Blake Shelton (March 26^th), Sean
Kingston (April 1^st), Ne-Yo (April 2^nd), Lifehouse (April
9^th), The Beach Boys (April 16^th), and Thirty Seconds to
Mars (April 23^rd) will be wowing the crowds at Universal Studios
Florida.

The Beads: It just wouldn't be
Mardi Gras if there weren't beads. If you feel like you just didn't collect
enough of those tens of thousands of strands that are thrown nightly from those
floats that parade through Universal Studios Florida … Well, this time of year,
street vendors all over the Universal Orlando Resort have a grand & gaudy
assortment of beads for you to choose from. I also noticed USF staffers who
work in that theme park's French Quarter Courtyard handing out beads to guests
who were dancing and having a good time in front of the zydeco bandstand.

I know, I know. If you're far away
from New Orleans and Orlando right now, it might make you sad to think that
(today, anyway) you're missing out on all this Mardi Gras-related fun.

So let me tell you about my most
recent experience at the Universal Orlando Resort. Where – thanks to the kind
folks in Universal's PR office – Max and I got to take part in a cooking class
which was Steven Jayson, the executive chef who is responsible for all the
menus and recipes at Universal Orlando.

Step by step, Steven led us through creating a delicious New Orleans-style
gumbo – from cooking the onions, celery, and peppers in rendered bacon fat, all
the way to adding the gumbo file for a final punch of flavor and
thickening. Chef Jayson recommended
customizing the gumbo to suit your personal tastes . For example, he suggested
adding oysters instead of (or in addition to) the shrimp. Crawfish, chicken, whitefish or other
shellfish are also great alternatives.

Steven Jayson, Executive Chef for the Universal
Orlando Resort. Copyright Universal Studios.
All rights reserved

And given that Steven was generous
enough to share his gumbo recipe with Max and I … well, I now thought – as kind
of a Mardi Gras present – that I'd share this recipe with you.

Universal Orlando Resort's Mardi
Gras Creole Gumbo

Ingredients:

1/2 cup onions (diced ¼")
1 cups celery (diced ¼")
1/2 cup red bell peppers (diced ¼")
1/2 cup green bell peppers (diced ¼")
4 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
5 slices bacon (diced into pieces)
1 bay leaves
1/2 Tbsp. Thyme leaves
1/2 lb. Okra, frozen (cut into bite size pieces)
1 28 oz. Can tomatoes diced with juice
1 Tbsp. Fish or shrimp base
¼ tsp. Black pepper ground
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cups Fish stock strong, hot
1 Tbsp. Gumbo file
1/2 cup water, cold
1/2 lb. Shrimp (raw, peeled 26-30 count)
1/2 lb. Andouille sausage
4 Tbsp. Butter unsalted
4 Tbsp. Flour all purpose
½ tsp. Tabasco

Directions:

1.Prepare brown roux by cooking
flour and butter.

2.Heat bacon in soup pot and cook
until lightly brown add onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic and cook until
tender.

3.Blend in okra, bay leaves, thyme,
black pepper and Tabasco, stirring constantly.

4.Add fish stock, sausage and
tomatoes and bring to a boil and then blend in roux mixing well.

5.Bring back to a boil, turn down
heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir frequently.

6.Add shrimp, Worcestershire sauce
and simmer 10 more minutes.

7.Remove from heat, blend gumbo file
and water with wire whip and stir into soup. Adjust seasoning.

8.When serving, put one spoon of
boiled hot rice into cup, pour in enough gumbo
to cover and garnish with chopped green onions.

I know, I know. The above recipe might seem almost overly
complicated. But Chef Jayson assured us that most of the ingredients necessary for
his gumbo recipe can be found in your
local grocery stores.

Though – that said – some of the rarer ingredients like gumbo file (sometimes
called powdered sassafras) will be admittedly harder to find. Which is why –
before you get started here – that you might want to consider making a quick
side trip to your area's gourmet cooking store. Just to stock up on those
little things that will make a good gumbo great.

Anyway … At the end of our cooking
class, Chef Jayson dismissed us with: "Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!" Which
means "Let the good times roll!"

And the good times continue to roll at
the Universal Orlando Resort. So if you find yourself in need of a"Beads, Bands and Good Times" fix, be sure
and check out Universal Studios Florida's Mardi Gras celebration now through
April 23^rd.