jay: you ve got to pray before you cuss. anthony: as one does. jay: it s the order before you do it. bruneaux: tony, we always start with rice. jay: i m going to get some wine for everybody. bruneaux: yeah, let s start with some jay s going to pour us some wine. anthony: this is beautiful. so everybody excited about tomorrow, the big day? bruneaux: yeah. oh, yeah. anthony: and there are how many days to recover? jackie: well, we have the whole lent to recover. anthony: right. jackie: there you go. the music and the food are part of what makes us cajun. larry miller: and the mardi gras is a very important part of who we are as a people. so we re keeping those traditions going. we re starting the fifth generation of my family running mardi gras. anthony: how far back does the tradition go, and where did it all start? larry: back in the 16th century, what they called mardi gras then, but it was because our ancestors were not invited to the king s party beca
you know? anthony: indeed. jay: that s what we came here for. anthony: there are consolations however for our mighty hunters. back at the miller home, grandma jackie prepares fresh-baked bread. while uncle bruneaux cooks up some traditional family specialties. shrimp and okra. sweet potatoes, rice of course. and pod au pu, heirloom peas from grandpa larry s garden. all in all, things worked out okay in the end. miller family: bless us, o lord. and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through christ, our lord. amen. bruneaux: and, good food, good meat, great god, let s eat. jay: let s eat. bruneaux: god damn it, let s eat.
anthony: their tracks are everywhere. jay: they ve walked here in the past 24 hours. anthony: yeah. jay: so where they at? where? we could try our best hog call, just like anthony: does that work? jay: wayour honor! want to hear the most annoying sound in the world? anthony: yeah, that s it. and yet, despite there being millions of invasive wild pigs in louisiana, after tear ass-ing around the marshes for hours, we come up empty. no pig for you, yankee carpetbagger. jay: i know you want to have a family dinner, and all this romantic bullshit, but look, i can tell you. my grandma has the most impressive farts you ever smelled. and the best cinnamon rolls, too. you re in for a treat. anthony: i was looking forward. [ laughter ] bruneaux: nope, we didn t see nothing. no pigs. it happens. i guess why they call it fishing and hunting instead of killing and catching. you know? jay: let s continue on with the beer drinking and perverted jokes.
anthony: so it started out as a genuine need for food, and a way to get it. larry: that s true. anthony: one day a year that you could get it. and as i understand it, it was kind of license to mock the people you were larry: yeah, they were anthony: who were leaving you out of the party. jackie: that s where the tall, conical hats come from. in mockery of the queen. they were proud people, and they didn t want to be recognized. that s why they disguised their face. and not to feel like they were taking charity, so they put on a performance. jay: so at each home that we stop at, there s like a little party that goes on. anthony: right. so they know you re coming? and you know what you re expecting? jay: it s already pre-arranged. like, they know we re coming, they have a chicken. and they cook something, and anthony: so if i knew you were coming, what would be appropriate preparations be? i should have some food on hand? bruneaux: you could throw money. you