Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

One of the most widely known Mexican holidays happens to be Cinco de Mayo. This holiday is one that celebrates the independence of Mexico from the French and it is a big deal. Of course, you do not have to live there to enjoy having your own Cinco de Mayo party this year. Why not go ahead and throw your own party to celebrate this day. You can have fun with friends and family while also enjoying tasty Mexican dishes. Here are a few fun tips you can use for throwing this type of a party.

First, you may want to go with the colors of the Mexican flag for your party. You may even want to have a Mexican flag up. You can also use the same colors for your tablecloths, napkins, streamers, lanterns, and more. This way you use those colors throughout. It is even fun to find some traditional music to play as background music for your party as well.

These celebrations are usually quite noisy, so you may want to play your music rather loudly. It is also a popular option to have fireworks to set off at these parties. Of course, consider your neighbors and if you have nearby neighbors that may not appreciate any fireworks, consider going with sparklers, which are sure to be fun for all the kids. It is also a great idea to have some piñatas for the kids to swing at so they can break it and enjoy all the candy that it is stuffed with. Adults may even enjoy playing this traditional game.

Of course, you definitely want to make sure that you serve up some traditional Mexican dishes for your Cinco de Mayo party too. The food is sure to get everyone in the spirit for the party. Try offering several different traditional dishes for everyone to enjoy. Quesadillas make great appetizers and are easy for you to make. Serving several main dishes is a nice touch as well so guests can sample various dishes.

Do not forget about dessert. It is easy to focus on the appetizers and the main dishes, but you definitely want to serve up some traditional Mexican desserts as well. You can serve up some tasty flan flavored with coconut, which everyone will enjoy. Sapodillas are a popular dish too for dessert. Fried ice cream can be made for your guests too, but make sure that you are able to keep the ice cream cold until you are ready to fry and serve it to your guests.

Easy Crunch Fried Ice Cream Recipe

You may be surprised to find out that you really can fry ice cream. This is an easy and delicious fried ice cream recipe you will definitely want to give a try when you are throwing a Cinco de Mayo party.

What You’ll Need

• ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 3 cups of vanilla ice cream
• 1 ¼ cups of graham crackers, finely crushed
• Oil to use for frying

How to Make It

Scoop out six ½ cup scoops of vanilla ice cream and place them on a foil covered baking sheet. Freeze the ice cream until scoops are hard. In a shallow bowl, place the heavy cream. Combine cinnamon and the graham cracker crumbs in a bowl as well. Take ice cream bowls and dip them into the cream and then roll them in the cracker crumbs. Cover them and then allow to freeze for about an hour or more. Place cream in the refrigerator until you are ready for it again.

Once again, roll the balls of ice cream in the heavy cream and in the crumbs. Allow to freeze for 15 minutes. Heat up your oil to 375 in a deep fat fryer or an electric skillet. Fry the balls of ice cream for about 15 seconds or until the crumb mixture is browned lightly. Allow to drain for a few seconds on some paper towels. Serve right away. Makes six servings.

Having a party for Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to try out some new Mexican food dishes. Look for Cinco de Mayo food recipe to try out so you can enjoy this wonderful Mexican holiday with friends and family.

MexicanDessertRecipes.net The Sweet Side of Mexican Food

Cinco de Mayo commemorates a very special day in Mexican history and whether you are Mexican or not, you can still enjoy the celebration on the fifth of May. You will find that this holiday is full of delicious foods, great games, and plenty of fun. If you are planning to have a party to celebrate this holiday, you will definitely want to have plenty of food. As you are planning out your menu, do not forget to plan some desserts for the party as well. Here is a look at some authentic Mexican desserts that you may want to serve when you throw your own Cinco de Mayo party this year.

One great dessert idea is to make your own Mexican cinnamon chips. This combines together the fun of something crunchy with a sweet taste. You can easily make these chips to serve up on your dessert table. They taste great alone or you can serve them with a tasty sweet dip of your choice as well. Guests are sure to stop and grab some of these delicious sweet chips during the party.

One classic Mexican dessert is flan. If you want to serve desserts that are authentic, flan is definitely a great choice. Flan is a bit like custard and it is very sweet, creamy, and tasty. Slivered almonds can be added to flan if you want a nice crunch or you can go with a simple basic flan to serve with a nice sauce over the top. Do not forget about churros either. They can be fried and covered with some cinnamon sugar. Keep them simple or consider filling them with various types of fruit fillings for extra flavor.

Easy Almond Flan Recipe

This dessert is a classic and provides a sweet creamy dish that is great for a Cinco de Mayo party or just as a dessert with any Mexican style meal.

What You’ll Need

• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of slivered almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1 10.5 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

How to Make It

In a saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has caramelized. In a cake pan, pour the sugar mixture and make sure the bottom of the pan is covered.

Take the rest of the ingredients and blend together for 20 seconds at high speed. Pour the ingredients over the sugar mixture. Cover the cake pan and place into a pan that is larger. Add enough water to the larger pan so you have hot water two inches up the smaller cake pan. Bake for an hour at 350 degrees.

Take the cake pan out of the water and uncover it. Let it cook for about 35 minutes. Use a large serving dish and place it upside down on the cake pan. Flip the pan to allow flan to come out on the serving dish. Loosen gently. Serve flan or refrigerate it for later.

Desserts are always a great addition to any Cinco de Mayo party. Enjoy looking for great Mexican food that you can eat any day of the week and find tasty Cinco de Mayo recipes that you can add to your menu to make your party a success.

MexicanDessertRecipes.net The Sweet Side of Mexican Food

Americans spend a lot of time preparing for and celebrating Cinco de Mayo. One reason is that Mexican food is so popular and there always seems to be a new recipe to try. Make some of the best Cinco de Mayo recipes a bit hotter or less intense by adjusting the chili peppers, particularly jalapenos. Spices are an acquired taste and you will want the family to grow into the extra-spicy flavors of foods like Mexican grilled corn topped with cheese, chili powder, and mayonnaise. A way of doing that is by serving the cheese and sauce on the side, so each person can experiment with the taste.

Use nearly any type of meat or seafood for special Cinco de Mayo recipes. Shredded beef enchiladas topped with guacamole and sour cream are a favorite. Add tender grilled shrimp to warm flour tortillas with bold flavors provided by citrus juice, particularly lime, grilled onions, and chipotle peppers, those hot little smoked jalapenos. It can be a taco or folded as a burrito. Chicken is a favorite for a chilaquiles casserole.

Dessert is wide open on holidays. Make the day special with dulce de leche crepe torte. Mexican chocolate is so delicious. Melt it and drizzle it over the crepe torte. Another dessert is cinnamon-sugar churros. Deep-fried foods are a big part of Mexican cuisine, such as a dessert with fruit filling, such as apple, deep-fried in a tortilla. Sprinkle powdered sugar on both sides after removing from the oil. Get the kids involved in dessert by letting them roll out sugar cookie dough and cut out bell pepper shapes. Bake and cool the cookies and frost with green, yellow, orange, and red frosting.

When Mexicans celebrate the Christmas season, food definitely plays a huge part. The celebration usually lasts about three weeks instead of just celebrating Christmas on one day. During this time, many different types of foods are made and enjoyed. Here is a look at some of the holiday traditions that are celebrated and some of the tasty foods that are made during these wonderful celebrations.

Usually the celebration starts out with what is called “posadas.” This is done to commemorate the long journey Joseph and Mary had to go on to reach Bethlehem. Neighbors will go to someone else’s home every night for tasty food. During this time, there are many fun things for the kids to do. Piñatas are set up for kids to enjoy breaking and once it breaks, the kids all enjoy the tasty candy.

At posadas, tamales are a very popular Mexican dish that is served. Another popular option is bunuelos. Buneulos are fritters that are sweet and they are usually served up with tasty hot chocolate. For the adults, often a hot punch is offered, which is made with a shot of spirits and some seasonal fruit.

To celebrate Christmas Eve, special foods are made on this night. The main dish is usually bacalao a la Vizcaina. This is a dish that includes tomatoes, cod, potatoes, capers, olives, red bell pepper, and onion. When this dish is made, it is made in a large quantity so others can come visit and join in the wonderful celebration as well.

On Christmas Day, once again food definitely plays a part in the celebration. Romeritos are often made, which includes bell pepper, remoerito herb, potatoes, and dried shrimp. This dish is cooked in a tasty mole sauce that is full of savory flavors.

The celebration does not end until January 6th. To celebrate this day, Rosca de Reyes is made, which is a loaf of sweet bread that is shaped into a wreath. Dried fruits, spices, and even figurines or Jesus are baked right into this loaf. Often there is a glace put on the top of this bread as well.

Bacalao a la Vizcaina Recipe

If you want to try an authentic Christmas recipe from Mexico, you will find that Bacalao a la Vizcaina is a tasty dish to make. Here is a simple recipe that you can try out. You may even want to make it a part of your own Christmas celebration.

What You Need:

• 2 pounds of red peppers
• 2 pounds of dried salt cod, skinned and boned
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Several teaspoons of olive oil
• 1.5 cups of water
• 10 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 potatoes, sliced thin
• Pepper and salt to taste

How to Make It:

Take the dried salt cod and allow to soak in cold water for a couple days. The water needs to be changed five times during this time period. Peppers should be chared over a flame and then placed in a bowl and covered so it is easy to peel them. Peel peppers after they cool a few minutes and then de-seed them. Cut into strips.

Dark and chop cod into medium chunks. Dust cod with flour and then fry. Heat up oil over medium heat in a skillet and sauté parsley, garlic, and onion. Process the onion mixture and peppers in a blender until you have a smooth paste. Add 1.5 cups of water and return to your skillet. Add in salt, pepper, and a bay leaf.

On top of the pepper mixture, place the cod. Cover and then allow to cook on low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes. Put the potatoes in the pan around the cod and then bake at 350 until potatoes are tender. Serve hot. Makes about 10 servings.

Enjoy trying out fun Christmas Mexican recipes. You can also find a good salsa recipe that you can enjoy eating all year long.

MexicanFoodRecipes.org When it has to be Real Authentic Mexican Food

Cinco de Mayo food is much like the foods of any special Mexican meal. There is a world of ingredients and as with any celebration, an infinite way of combining as many family favorites as possible. Mexico is a large nation with a lot of input from the various countries that visited and stayed. Spain, France, Italy, China, Portugal, Turkey and more have influenced cuisine. Various regions have access to certain fruits, vegetables, poultry and seafood, which are more predominant in the food for those areas.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with color, which is never a problem with traditional Mexican foods. Beautiful yellow, green, orange and red peppers are cheerful and add various flavors and cheerful appeal to any dish. Spanish conquistadors, missionaries and settlers combined recipes from home with Aztec foods, resulting in a blend of delicious meals. Slice avocados in half to act as a bowl for boiled shrimp, slice for garnish on enchiladas, or make them into guacamole for dip. Fix up the most colorful vegetables and salsa to accompany other Cinco de Mayo food offerings such as mole poblano, a rich, thick chocolate-tinged sauce, and chilaquiles.

Decorate the patio for Cinco de Mayo with serapes, piñatas, crepe paper streamers and unglazed pottery jars called ollas. Invite friends and neighbors, who can bring drinks and snacks or perhaps a favorite Mexican dish of their own. Break away from tacos and make some of the delicious Mexican food recipes that you have been anxious to make, such as tortilla soup, fajitas or genuine Mexican salsa. Knowledge of other cultures is important and enjoying traditional Mexican food is a wonderful way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.