¡MYO Cinco de Mayo!
Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May, is a Mexican-American holiday that dates back to 1862. This day celebrates Mexican ethnic contributions to food, music, and beverages in the United States. One of my favorite traditions for celebrating Cinco de Mayo is creating frozen margaritas and making authentic Mexican food and décor. Take your party south of the border into the Yucatan and Jalisco with my tips below!
Create a frozen margarita bar for your guests to enjoy with the Party Bullet. It’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to make frozen margaritas and you can incorporate some of your favorite fruits of the season. Click here for frozen margarita recipes. For your guests who prefer non-alcoholic daiquiris, click here.
MYO (make your own) taco bar! One of my favorite new appliances is the Crock-Pot Hook Up Connectable Entertaining System, which is great for creating an entertaining spread for small or large parties. It comes with four different units and is perfect for making a taco bar. Click on the links below to get crock-pot recipes for authentic Mexican foods.
Slow Braised Beef Jalisco-Style
What’s a fiesta with out décor? Papel picado or “perforated paper” is a decorative craft that can be used on holidays or really at any time! All you need is a pair of scissors, string, tissue paper, Command decorating clips, and mini colored binder clips. Click here for instructions and templates to MYO papel picado.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Frozen Margaritas
Makes 1 serving in the Party Bullet’s Party Goblet. Multiply the measurements to increase serving size.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Tequila Don Julio
- ¾ oz. triple sec
- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1 oz. simple syrup or agave syrup
- ice
- salt for rim and lime wheel for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
- Fill 1/3 of Party Goblet with ice.
- Add tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and syrup.
- Blend until smooth and slushy.
- Rim your margarita glass with salt and pour the mixture into your glass.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
*For fresh fruit frozen margaritas, add either of the following below before blending.
Watermelon: ½ cup fresh seeded watermelon (per serving)
Mango: ½ cup fresh mango (per serving)
**For a Mark-a-rita, use only 1/2 oz. of lime juice, 1/2 oz. of syrup, and add 1 oz. of orange juice to original recipe.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Non-Alcoholic Daiquiris
Makes 1 serving in the Party Bullet’s Party Goblet. Multiply the measurements to increase serving size.
Ingredients:
- 3 ½ fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ oz. simple syrup
- ½ cup Dole frozen fruit
- ice
- lime wheel and Maraschino cherry for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
- Fill 1/3 Party Goblet with ice.
- Add lime juice, simple syrup, and frozen fruit.
- Blend until smooth and slushy (about 25 seconds).
- Garnish with lime wheel and cherry.
Recommended fruit: Mixed Berry, Pineapple, Peach
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Yucatan Pollo Pibil
Recipe Credit: Slender Kitchen
Makes 8 Large Servings
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs. chicken breast
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 onion, chopped into quarters
- 1 tbsp. cilantro
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 4 tbsp. Achiote paste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (organic unfiltered)
Preparation:
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the crock pot.
- In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients to form the sauce. Pour over the chicken.
- Cook for 4 hours until the chicken can be easily shredded with two forks. Shred the chicken and let everything cook for 30 more minutes with the crock pot lid off. Leaving the lid off will help some of the water evaporate so the sauce thickens up.
- Garnish with pickled red onions.
Pickled Red Onions
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 1 small red onion, peeled & cut in half
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
Preparation:
- With a sharp knife or food processor, thinly slice the onions.
- Scoop into a non-reactive bowl. Pour boiling water over them, count to 10, and immediately pour the onions into a strainer.
- Shake off all of the water, pour onions back into the bowl, pour on the lime juice and stir in the salt.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Slow Braised Beef Jalisco-Style
Recipe Credit: The Ruby Spoon, All Recipes
Makes 12 Servings
Ingredients:
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1/8 whole cloves
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (organic unfiltered)
- 1/3 cup Tequila Don Julio Blanco
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 6 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast
Preparation:
- Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place the dried guajillo chiles into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until the color changes and the chilis have puffed, about 5 minutes.
- Set the chiles aside to cool for a moment. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and cloves in the hot skillet until the cumin seeds begin to pop; remove from the pan and set aside. Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins of the chiles, and place into a small bowl.
- Pour the boiling water over top, and cover. Let the chiles soak for 1 hour.
- Grind the toasted cumin and cloves into a powder, and place into a blender.
- Add the ancho chile powder, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, vinegar, and lime juice. Remove the chiles from the soaking water, and place into the blender along with the 1/3 cup of tequila. Cover, and blend until a smooth paste forms.
- Place the beef roast into a mixing bowl, and pour the guajillo chile past over top. Coat the roast on all sides with the paste, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
- Transfer the roast and marinade to the crock-pot. Cover and slow cook on high for 6 hours. The meat can be left in the crock-pot in the keep warm function for 4 hours if needed.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Black Beans
Recipe Credit: Food.com
Makes 10 Servings
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
Preparation:
- Soak and drain your black beans.
(if you don’t have time to soak overnight, no problem. Put them in a large pot, and cover completely with water. Bring to a rapid boil for 10 minutes, then turn off stove and cover pot. Let your beans sit for 1 hour, then drain water and put beans into crockpot) - Put the drained beans into your slow cooker and add the garlic, broth, tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder.
- Stir well.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Cilantro Lime Rice
Recipe Credit: Food.com, All Recipes
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- coarse salt
- butter
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1 garlic clove
Preparation:
- Rub your slow cooker lightly with 1 tablespoon butter or margarine.
- Pour in rice, 2 cups of water and salt.
- Cover and cook on High 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Note: Up to 4 cups raw rice may be prepared in slow cooker making 10 cups cooked. - Meanwhile, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water; blend until smooth. Stir into cooked rice, and fluff with a fork.
MYO Cinco de Mayo: Papel Picado
Papel picado or “perforated paper” is a decorative craft that can be used on holidays or really at any time! All you need is a pair of scissors, string, tissue paper, Command decorating clips, and mini colored binder clips.
Papel picado can be made by making cuts into tissue paper to create a design, then clipped onto string with binder clips. Use Command decorating clips for damage-free hanging on your walls!
Click on the links below for each template and follow the instructions to make your own papel picado.
- Print the template and cut out the border and shapes to create a stencil.
- Lay your stencil over one side of the 8.5” x 11” paper and trace all of the shapes.
- Fold 1: Fold the paper evenly in half with the printed side out and so that the edges of the shapes line up on the crease. Keep the paper in this half fold throughout the whole process.
- Cut out the edges with zigzag scissors to create the border.
- Cut out the shapes that are on the center crease (fold line 1).
- Fold 2: Keeping your paper folded in half, fold the paper again along fold line 2 and cut the shapes out along this line.
- Open the paper back up to the half fold (from step 4).
- Fold 3: Fold the paper along fold line 3 and cut out the shapes along this line.
- Open your paper to reveal your papel picado!
- Print the template and cut out the border and shapes to create a stencil.
- Lay your stencil over one side of the 8.5” x 11” paper and trace all of the shapes.
- Fold 1: Fold the paper evenly in half with the printed side out and so that the edges of the shapes line up on the crease. Keep the paper in this half fold throughout the whole process.
- Cut out the edges with zigzag scissors to create the border.
- Cut out the shapes that are on the center crease (fold line 1).
- Fold 2: Keeping your paper folded in half, fold the paper again along fold line 2 and cut the shapes out along this line.
- Open the paper back up to the half fold (from step 4).
- Fold 3: Fold the paper along fold line 3 and cut out the shapes along this line.
- Open your paper to reveal your papel picado!
Top 3 Margaritas
One of my favorite ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo is by creating different kinds of Mexican cocktails with tequila aka margaritas! My top 3 margaritas are below!
Tequila is one of the liquids surrounded by many stories, myths, and legends. At the beginning, it was just a drink just for “bandidos and rancheros,” but today has been elevated to a premium spirit that people enjoy sip by sip comparable to fine scotch whiskeys. Tequila is usually bottled in one of three main categories: Blanco, Reposado, Anejo. To read more about the kinds of tequila and what they should be used in, click here.
The Mark-a-rita
My special twist on a traditional margarita. Click here for the recipe.
The Firecracker Margarita
A margarita that uses homemade Thai chili infused Tequila, giving the drink a bit of a bite. Click here for the recipe.
The One-Minute Watermelon Margarita
This margarita literally takes a minute to make, which will help get you out from behind the bar and back to the party! Click here for the recipe.
One-Minute Watermelon Margarita
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh watermelon
- 3/4 oz. triple sec
- 2 oz. Tequila Don Julio
- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1 oz. simple syrup or agave syrup
- Salt
- Ice
Method:
- Rim each glass with salt.
- Muddle 1/4 cup watermelon in the bottom of a glass, add the triple sec, tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup.
- Mix and add ice.
- Garnish with a slice of watermelon.
The Mark-a-rita
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Tequila Don Julio Reposado
- 0.5 oz. Triple Sec
- 1 oz. Orange Juice
- 1 oz. Grape Juice
- 1 oz. Lemon Juice
- 1 oz. Lime Juice
- Citrus Salt Rim
- Lemon and Lime as Garnish
Method:
- Garnish a rocks glass rim with salt.
- Combine tequila, triple, orange juice, grape juice, lemon juice, and lime juice in the glass.
- Garnish with a lemon and lime.
Cinco De Mayo
No matter what your ethnicity or heritage may be, there is one general rule about party-planning in the United States: people love Cinco De Mayo. It’s that simple, really. On what other holiday is it possible to have Happy Hour for a full day.
Many people do not realize that Cinco De Mayo (which means “Fifth of May” in Spanish) is actually a military-related Mexican holiday. This was the date that the Mexican militia took victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
Celebrating the Mexican ethnic contributions to both food, music and especially beverages, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. The date is perhaps best recognized in the United States as a date to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry, much as St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, and the Chinese New Year are used to celebrate those of Irish, German, and Chinese ancestry respectively.
Some of my favorite dishes come from the flavors that center around Cinco De Mayo.
This year, create a sensational Taco Bar, in which guests can create their own delicious treats, so that you can get out of the kitchen and enjoy your own party!
Then, because no Cinco De Mayo is complete without the delicate (or not-so-delicate) margarita, pair the tacos with a Margarita Bar. There are so many things you can do with a margarita, and one of my obsessions is the endless uses of salt and pepper – you can literally use them for everything! So naturally, I wanted to create a margarita that reflected the yin and yang of the spice world.
My Salt & Pepper Margarita is the unabashed compliment to any Cinco De Mayo dish. Tequila infused with organically-grown Thai Chilis gives the margarita its signature bite. To balance, I have dusted the rim with a smoked sea salt. Both savory and spicy, the Salt & Pepper Margarita is a no-brainer for a successful party starter – and a sure way to continue its success all night long!
Chamoy: Mexican Liquid Chile
Chamoy is a Mexican staple that is made with pickled fruits and powdered chiles, and it adds both a little spice and sweetness to your Cinco De Mayo party.
It’s a traditional dish that will have your guests wondering what other flavors they might find in Mexico. Chamoy is served in a fondue fountain to add some interest and excitement, with an assortment of beautiful and colorful fruits and veggies. Try a wide range of things, from cucumbers, carrots, and celery to something more unexpected like mangoes and watermelon!
Cinco De Mayo: Drinks
Thai Chili Infused Tequila
Place 3 red chilies (halved and seeded) in 750 ml bottle of tequila. Allow chilies to infuse for 1 to 2 days.
Salt and Pepper Margarita
Ingredients:
- Shaker with ice
- 3 ounces of Thai Chili-infused tequila
- 2 ounces of Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime juice
- ½ ounce of sugar
- Fresh lime wheel
- Maldon’s Smoked Sea Salt Flakes
Combine tequila, lime juice, sugar and ice in a shaker. Shake vigorously.
Coat the rim of the glass with the Cruz’s Key Lime Juice. Dredge the rim in Maldon’s Smoked Sea Salt Flakes.
Garnish with a wheel of fresh lime. Enjoy.
Serves one.
Try these other two Margaritas variations:
Cinco De Mayo: Fiesta Recipes
Twice Drunken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- Beer & chili marinade*
- 8 oz dark Mexican beer
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 med green bell pepper-sliced
- 1 med red bell pepper-sliced
- 2 large Jalapeno peppers-sliced
- 1 med yellow onion-sliced
- 2 oz. Thai Chili infused tequila*
- 1/3 c. of cilantro-chopped
- 8 whole-wheat flour tortillas
- 1 med Tomato-seeded & chopped
- 3 green onions-chopped
- 8 oz Pepper Jack Cheese-grated
- 6 oz toasted cumin sour cream
- 3 oz cilantro infused oil
Cover chicken with the Beer & Chili marinade in zip lock bag for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Transfer the chicken and marinade to a slow cooker (oven roasting is fine 2) and slow roast for 3 hours on high. The breasts will be very tender and fall off the bone. Remove the breasts from the slow cooker and deglaze pot with beer and reserve for finishing sauce. Pull the chicken from the bone and cover to keep warm.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium and add the green & red peppers yellow onion and 1 jalapeno pepper and cook until tender and onions become translucent. To Flambé the peppers; Remove from heat and add 2 oz of tequila (*alcohol should never be added to a pan on a burner). If your cooking on a gas stove top, return the pan to the burner and carefully tip the edge of the pan towards the flame to ignite the alcohol or use a long fireplace match. Once the flame has extinguished, add the fresh lime juice and remove from heat.
Assembly: Place two flour tortillas on an oven safe plate divide ¼ of the shredded chicken between the two and top with saute vegetables and shredded cheese – roll up into a cigar shape. Cover with more shredded cheese and broil for few minutes to melt. Surround enchiladas with reserved sauce, drizzle the cilantro oil and dollop of the cumin sour cream and garnish with chopped tomatoes and cilantro. serves four.
Beer & Chili Marinade
Ingredients:
- 2 med Ancho Chilies
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 2 c. dark beer (flat)
- 1/2 c. lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 c. fresh cilantro
- 1 tbs oregano
- 1 tbs cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a blender and slowly add the olive oil to make a creamy paste.
Mark on Fox News: Cinco De Mayo
Entertaining expert Mark Addison gave viewers of Fox News a special treat this morning. Live on air, Mark dissected the perfect Cinco De Mayo fiesta and WOW Table, complete with a Nacho Bar, Margarita Station and loads of toppings.
Some of the WOW elements from Mark’s segment include:
- Mix it up and take the theme the extra mile by using sombreros to hold your festive tortilla chips
- Dress up your dishes with handmade mini-burlap bags and twine. Or dress your WOW Table with a multi-colored pancho.
- Ditch the calories of a sugary margarita by mixing 2 ounces of tequila with equal parts Tonic Water and Key Lime Juice!
- Create your own signature sauces by combining equal parts salty, spicy and sweet using items like sour cream, guacamole, pepper oil, sriracha sauce, orange juice, grapefruit juice and any host of household baking items.
- Who doesn’t love a good nacho bar?! If you don’t have a fondue pot, try melting velveeta cheese in a bowl using your microwave.
One Minute Margarita
If you don’t have the time and don’t have the traditional ingredients for a Frozen Margarita… this is a quick fix to a frosty cold beverage in a flash Made with only two ingredients plus ice with optional garnishes. On your mark (pun intended) get set go!
OM Frozen Margarita –
Two lime whole fruit bars (whole fruit)
2 Oz. Quality Tequila
6 ice cubes
salt and lime wedge for garnish (0ptional)
Using the must-have immersion blender (Must-Have hand blender) and accompanying mixing cup, remove the “meat” from the popsicle stick of the fruit bars and place into the mixing cup, place the ice cubes on the top of the lime pop, then pour the tequila on top.
Using the hand mixer on high (don’t start the mixer until the blade has made contact with the ice) press firmly up and down on the mixer increasing the pressure as the ice breaks up and ultimately blends thoroughly. Pour into pre-salted rimmed glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
The Skinny B*tch Margarita
This is my super low-cal version of a Classic Margarita on the rocks without all of the sugar and so simple to make.
Start with a good quality silver tequila (Sauza pictured here) pour 3 0z over ice in a highball glass, top with Tonic water, add a dash of key lime juice and garnish with fresh lime wedges (the more the better)
Ingredients:
3 oz Silver Tequila
Tonic Water
Ice
1/2 oz of lime juice
Fresh lime wedges
It really does taste like a margarita… no really it does!
