Cinco de Mayo

[steve h.]

Any excuse for booze.

Old school margaritas: lime juice, sugar, blanco tequila, orange liqueur and coarse sea salt.

Ceviche will be on the table, too. Fresh fish, kissed by lime, cilantro, whatever, is good. My Korean fishmonger will give me whatever is freshest.

Beans and pork to finish the meal (Yucatecan style, cribbed from Rick Bayless).

Nothing fancy.

Anybody else doing a cinco de mayo meal? I did a search but came up empty.

[Phurstluv]

Juicing my limes for the margaritas........

Tacos al pastor
Frijoles negroes refritos con queso
avocado, orange & red onion on fresh romaine with roasted pepitas

[c oliver]

One thing I love is jicama sticks (like carrot sticks) with little bowls of lime wedges, salt and chile powder.

[JerryMe]

Margaritas and Dos Equis for sure. Then I'm making "Black and Gold Gazpacho" from "1,000 Vegan Recipes" by Robin Robertson. Finally, green chili burritos w/ a 7-bone roast I have in purchased tortillas from a favorite tortilleria. Maybe Tres Leches Cake. I dunno. Haven't made that type of cake before, but it might be worth a try.

[ladyberd]

I'm going to try Grilled mahi mahi tacos with tangy avocado dressing, shredded cabbage and jack cheese. I've had fish tacos out many times, but this will be my first attempt at home.

Cheers.,
Ladyberd
http://ladyberds-kitchen.blogspot.com

[davecrf]

Beer margaritas{PBR.Sauza Gold &Lime aid].Pork tacos and gauc., and usual salsa and pico de gallo.

[Rubee]

Thought I'd link to report of the best Cinco de Mayo party I had. I say "best" because it was a Chowhound potluck. : ) What a feast, we of course ate very well!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3992...

[appycamper]

mmm, good topic! margaritas, guac, salsa with roasted peppers, seared scallops and corn salad.

[Rubee]

Changing my menu. This month's Cookbook of the Month is Gourmet Today, so instead I'm doing all recipes from the book.

Tequila Sunrise, p. 19 and Classic Margaritas, p. 17
Tortilla chips with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, p. 418

Garlic shrimp with guajillo chiles, p. 367
Poblano Tortilla Gratin, p. 318
Grilled Corn with Chipotle Mayonnaise, p.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, p. 857

[MazDee]

Sounds wonderful. I don't have the book, so could you describe the poblano tortilla? Is it a Spanish potato tortilla with poblanos? Here in Mexico, 5 de Mayo isn't much celebrated except in Puebla, where the battle took place. (It's not even a bank holiday in the rest of the country.) But, we have plenty of other fiestas!

[katidyd]

I have quite a few employees from Mexico and I also was very surprised to hear that it isn't as celebrated down there as in the states. I'm in Canada now and I'm keeping it alive. Tomorrow it will be Don Juan straight...(good tequila is like brandy...mix not needed). We're not doing a big dinner since I will be celebrating with my friends who have twin toddlers..who aren't into the spice yet...but I have made a fire roasted salsa, guacamole and chips. I bet the twins would enjoy the Dulce de Leche Ice Cream though.

[Rubee]

Hi Mazdee:

It's not the Spanish-style tortilla. It's a Mexican dish, like a budin or layered tortilla casserole. Recipe link here: http://gourmettodaycookbook.com/recip.... Growing up, I mistakenly thought Cinco De Mayo was Mexican Independence Day, but now know that's actually 9/16. So for me, Cinco do Mayo is all about the food - just another reason to cook up a Mexican feast! My husband (who is Mexican) says it's a bigger deal for me than him. ;)

Katidyd:

I'm going to have to make something else than the ice cream after all, my freezers are so full that I don't even have room for the ice cream maker. I guess it's time to clean them out.

Thanks for the recommendation for Don Juan - I'll have to look for it! I love añejo or reposado for sipping (some favorites are Don Julio, Herradura, Tres Mujeres), and use the blanco/silver for mixed drinks. Though we just went to a tequila dinner and had a Manhattan made with Cazadores añejo that was delicious!

[katidyd]

Hi Rubee,
If the freezer is too full for the ice cream maker - cheat. Haagen Dazs makes a Dulce de Leche...and with the small size container - it's hard to over-indulge.
As for the tequila - I know it is a reposado...but now I'm going to have to double check when I get home - is it Don Julio or Don Juan.
A few years back, we went to a charity function where I was introduced to "real" tequila. Since then, can't go back and I never mix it...but the Manhattan with Cazadores sounds very interesting. I wonder if it is available up here in Canada...I don't recall seeing it. I get most of my tequila when I vacation in Mexico a couple of times a year...so I rarely buy it from the shelves up here.

[Rubee]

Ha - That's the exact solution my husband gave me - "why don't we just buy it". So I'm taking you both up on your idea.

Sometimes my husband will make a batch of sangrita to go along with a reposada. http://www.ianchadwick.com/tequila/sa... Also, at the tequila dinner the tequila representative, a woman from Guadalajara, suggested wedges of oranges sprinkled with cinnamon as opposed to salt/lemon. Loved it.

Have you ever tried Don Julio 1942? Oh wow. It's a splurge but is fantastic, like a cognac. We first bought it in Mexico, but it's now available here.

[katidyd]

Great minds think alike.
Orange slices with cinnamon! Sounds very interesting. I have some oranges...so may have to have a taste test this evening when I get home. I have had Don julio...but not sure of the year. Some of the reposadas we've had...you would swear you were drinking fine cognac or brandy. It was a real revelation to me and now I can't even look at Jose Cuervo.

[Gio]

Here's the link to the Tortilla:

http://gourmettodaycookbook.com/recip...

(I always put links on a separate line... seems to work all the time.)

[Rubee]

Thanks Gio!

[MazDee]

Thanks Gio and Rubee. Sounds good.

[kattyeyes]

I'll have dessert covered with Mexican chocolate snickerdoodles. And, no, NOT the vegan recipe you may have seen. Old school snix with butter and eggs!

[Jennalynn]

Gazpacho

Baja Shrimp Tacos

Beans & Rice

Flan

No booze, I've got a sober crew invited.

[steve h.]

No booze?
Heresy.

[Veggo]

make a pitcher of agua de jamaica, with a little mint

[Jennalynn]

Likely I'll pull together some Agua Frescas.

[JungMann]

Sonia, I had wanted to make sopes for cinco de mayo, but I wasn't sure how they would hold up on a buffet as an hors d'oeuvres. Would they keep okay in a warm oven or would I need to make the boats freshly?

[Rubee]

I've had good luck making them and then heating before serving, but if you keep them too long in a warm oven, they tend to dry out and get hard.

[JungMann]

So do you end up crisping the bottoms just prior to serving? My other concern was that the fillings would make the sopes go soggy within minutes. I'm not certain if there's an appropriate waterproof layer that could be put on the bottoms to make them hold up longer.

[Rubee]

I actually make them ahead (day of), cover at room temp, and then warm in the oven and fill just before guests arrive. Depending on what you fill them with, they can get soggy, though I usually do a layer of refried beans or some shredded meat (carnitas, chicken etc), and top with garnishes (crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, onion, salsa, and/or crema), so nothing too 'wet'.

[JungMann]

I had a Derby Day / Cinco de Mayo theme so it was a bit of a mashup. The Mexican theme was hinted by the:
Trio of salsas (ancho, verde con aguacate and macha)
Scallop kilawin (very similar to ceviche) on squid ink pasta nests
Kani salad with mango
Chorizo scotch eggs
and watermelon-cucumber margaritas with chili salt rims.

[jenscats5]

I think I'll make this...chicken for me, veggie for hubby...

http://crepesofwrath.net/2010/03/12/t...

[jenscats5]

Made the sauce today, ahead of time....ended up using 6 chipotle peppers as I like spicy....this sauce is delicious....looking forward to Wednesday.

[steve h.]

cool.

[sonia darrow]

I am too much of a hermity loser right now to have parties but if I were having a Cinco de Mayo party I would make sopes, because they were so delicious the last time I made them.

Basically you make tortilla dough, and make little thick tortillas, which you pinch into bowl shapes after they come off the griddle.

http://marcsala.blogspot.com/2006/06/mexican-sopes-step-by-step.html
http://crazeecook.blogspot.com/2009/0...

I used those recipes as guides, and filled them with sauteed onions and chorizo and they were pretty damn amazing.

Really you just have to have something involving masa.

[Rubee]

For us, Tequila Sunrises to start and then margaritas of course.

Guacamole
Sopa de fideo (but I like your idea of ceviche, may do that instead)
Chili rellenos with Mexican rice, for beans "Frijoles Maneados Sonorenses" and the "Original" Caesar salad (both Diana Kennedy)

Haven't decided on dessert, maybe classic flan.

[steve h.]

Blood orange margaritas may make it onto the menu. Your salad sounds good. I haven't thought about dessert.

[bushwickgirl]

Those margaritas sound to good to be true.

Here's a Cinco de Mayo dessert thread with quite a lot of ideas and some recipes:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/397646#2534799

I don't know how involved you want to get but since your meal is not really a big one, I think you could fit in a piece of Tres Leches cake. it's actually quite simple to make and can be done up to a few days before. Believe it or not, Martha Stewart has a very good recipe on her site.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/t...

[steve h.]

Any time is a good time for cake (apologies to Tarantino).
Thanks for the tip.

[c oliver]

Can you get blood oranges at this time of year?

[steve h.]

Absolutely. Italian blood oranges. One of life's little pleasures.

[jenscats5]

I didn't think about it before, but now I'm tempted to make something.