Mardi Gras is a tradition of the French culture. In America we have made a large celebration out of the holiday by having street parties, drinking and plenty of food available. Here is just a sample:

In New Orleans were the biggest Mardi Gras party is held you will find Gumbo, Jambalaya, Seafood, and lots of Bloody Mary’s on the list. These will well and truly get the party underway.

Chocolate, like most ingredients used to prepare food has to be of good quality. So, do not hesitate to buy good or even very good chocolate when shopping. Of course, price will be higher but certainly this is the price of quality. The quality of a cake, a chocolate mousse or any cream or other chocolate preparation will reflect the chocolates quality exactly. Make no mistake; in this case the price plays an important part in the selection of the product.

Chanukah is an eight-day festival of lights, which begins on the eve of Kislev. It is considered a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness. There are many culinary traditions attached to Chanukah; here are just a few:

Items you will find on the menu during Chanukah are Latkes, Cheese Latkes, Rumanian Zucchini Potato Latkes, Jelly Doughnuts, Apple Latkes, Ale Pudding, and Caribbean Boniato Latkes.

Batman is one of the greatest comic book heroes of all time. There is some debate as to whether he or others such as superman are really the better hero as batman relies on his on skill and ability rather than a freak mutant accident. Black is the theme to go with for this gothic dark winged hero, batman, who hails from the city of Gotham. Anything that has to do with bats, or caves, or evil jokers, jesters are all good ways to add to this theme. You might be a little curious as to what exactly to serve as a meal that goes along with this theme, here are just a few suggestions.

Nascar Racing is growing in popularity amongst fans of all ages and both genders. It’s not just a men’s sport anymore. Now the women are getting involved in the sport as fans and as drivers! You’re little ones are probably turning out to be big Nascar fans like their parents are too. In fact, a Nascar themed party menu can be just the thing for that next racing event.

Christmas has always been a time for family and wonderful food. You will find there are many traditions regarding the typical Christmas menu. If you’re preparing your family’s Christmas dinner, here are a couple of ideas:

Many Christmas culinary traditions are dependent on location. For instance in the South United States many families tend to have either ham or turkey for their main dish. Other families save the turkey for Thanksgiving and the ham for Easter, while eating a delicious prime rib for Christmas. Whatever you choose for your main course, potatoes, corn, beets, dinner rolls, and fruit usually accompany the meal.

Blues Clues is a popular TV show that is aimed at a somewhat younger audience is a rather versatile party theme to go with. Blues Clues is as the name suggests a has a very basic mystery theme as it’s back bone, so any detective styled ideas you may come up with would be a good match with this show. As well of course puppies and the color blue. It also has the standard cute mascot as blue who is a female cartoon dog. As well two reoccurring characters are salt and pepper, in addition to a few other spice which leads to a variety of interesting ideas for meals.

Ah, construction, the foundation of the very house where the party to celebrate it is located. It is fairly easy to set up the decoration for a construction theme, a bunch of unused lumber, some hammer and nails, hard hats, overalls, and viola you’re your house will scream under construction without even needing to remodel anything. The color orange with white stripes like the barrels, or the yellow of caution tape always go with construction as a theme. Some menu items that go with construction can either be creative to do with the theme or hearty and filling like would be eaten before setting to work.

Kwanzaa is an African holiday celebrated during December. The holiday involves much food, dancing, and poetry during the celebration. Here’s an idea of the sort of food you might like to serve for Kwanzaa:

You may find on the menu for Kwanzaa sweet potato pie, Okra, vegetarian stew, Futari, and Benne cakes. Depending on where you live you might even find Kwanzaa is celebrated with Christmas adding to the menu items you may find on the table.

Croatian cuisine is sometimes known as “the cuisine of regions”, since each part of Croatia has its own distinct culinary traditions, and influences from its neighbors. The cookery of coastal regions shows influences from Roman, Illyrian and Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, and even French cuisine, whereas inland areas get their influences from Viennese and Austrian cuisine, Hungarian cuisine and Turkish cuisine.

Some popular Croatian dishes include:

- Juha od Mahuna - A vegetable soup made from green beans, as well as carrots, lentils, onions and peas.

- Brudet - Fish stew, served with polenta (boiled cornmeal)