Post your favorite Mexican recipes for Cinco de Mayo!

Cafe Society
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Hello all,

I feel inspired to get together with a couple friends after work and cook Mexican food, in honor of Cinco de Mayo. As much as I love Mexican food, I usually default to standards like tacos and fajitas, although once I made a Mexican lasagna that was great. (I’ve actually prepared it two ways, once with layered flour tortillas and once with actual lasagna noodles.) I’d also love to make some nice fresh guacamole, which would be really delicious and refreshing. I’ve seen Emeril make it on TV once, so I think I have that taken care of. Does anyone have any suggestions or killer Mexican recipes to share?

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Margaritas:

1 shot top-shelf Tequila
1 shot Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1 shot fresh lime juice

Put in shaker filled with ice. Shake. Strain into ice-filled glass. Drink and be happy!

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I make some killer Green Chicken Enchiladas (at least that’s what I call them). I don’t have the recipe right here, but this is the gist of it.

Cut 4 chicken breasts into largish cubes and season them up with chile powder, garlic powder, cumin (roasted and ground is best), salt, pepper. Pan sear them in a little butter. Set them aside when done. Cook 1/2 sliced onion in the same skillet until nice and translucent brown. Roast 6 Poblano chiles, I just roast them over the gas burner on the stove, until black. When they are cool, just wipe the black skin off. Don’t wash them! Take the seeds out and cut into strips.

Now put the onions and peppers into a food processor and chop them up. Put that into a sauce pan. Put the chicken in the food processor and chop that up. Now add a pint of heavy cream to the onion/pepper mix. I also add a can of Herdez Salsa Verde if you can find it. Let that cook until it thickens a little, season to taste with just salt and black pepper, then set half of it aside and add the shredded chicken to the half still in the sauce pan. You might have to add some more cream if it’s too thick after you add the chicken.

Soften some corn tortillos in a skillet with some oil in it, not too hot or it’ll fry them. Roll some of the chicken mixture in each one and put them in a baking dish, cover them with the remaining pepper/onion/cream mixture you set aside. Bake at 325 for a few minutes (everything is basically cooked, you just need to kinda cook it all together) and top with grated cheese of your choice and put it back in and cook it a little more to melt the cheese.

This is just a working recipe. I think I have the portions right. It makes about a 9x13 dish full. You might want to add some Jalapenos (slice and de-seed, then cook them with the chicken) if you want a little more heat (none of this is very hot, but roasted Poblanos have a very nice flavor) or add some of your own touches to it.

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I use 2-1-1. In the last month, we have gone through 14 liters of Sauza Hornitos, 7 liters of Cointreau, and 7 liters of fresh squeezed lime juice!

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My God.

I thought Mr. Athena and I had a margarita problem. Not only do you up the percentages (3 shots of 80 proof liquor per cocktail!) but you shame us with your capacity. 14 liters! I’m not worthy!

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Well, there are several of us :smiley: But I get stuck with lime squeezing detail, 7 liters is basically 250 limes.

And I have just enough left over from last weekend to whip up a Cinco de Mayo cocktail or 4 for this evening.

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Good crockpot recipe so you can throw it together and do other things while it cooks. They don’t get much easier than this:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
Rogelio Bueno Authentic Adobo Mole (available at grocery stores or on the web )
water

Mix a couple tablespoons of the adobo with about a cup of warm water. Place the chicken breasts in th crockpot and pour the adobo over them. Cook on low all day or until the chicken shreds. Thoroughly shred the chicken with two forks. Turn crockpot to high and cook with lid off to reduce the liquid. It’s done. It’s good in tacos or as an ingredient in flautas.

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Salsa and Guacamole are essential, and easy enough to make that buying it premade is a shame.

Salsa Acapulco - This is the recipe my fiancee learned to make when she was at a resort in Acapulco. It’s very fresh tasting, and best served the same day as the acid seems to interact with the capsacin in the peppers and reduces the heat over time. We use whatever’s left over as a marinade for beef.

1 Medium White onion, finely diced
3 medium-sized plum or roma tomatos, finely diced
3/4 bunch of Cilantro (about a cup, finely minced)
the juice of 3-4 small limes, to taste
Hot peppers, finely minced, to taste. We use serranos, you could use chipotles, habañeros, jalapeños, whatever.
Salt, to taste.

Mix it all up, let it sit. It’ll be pretty dry at first, but the liquid will seep out of the onions and tomatos and pretty soon you’ve got a nice, chunky salsa. Of course, you could run it all through a blender, too.

I’ve make a variant of this where I toast the serranos, tomatos, and several cloves (4-5 nice-sized ones) of garlic in a hot pan before adding them. For that salsa I always blend it and it’s got a fantastic, dark and spicy flavor.
I’m the only one in the house who likes guacamole, so I generally use one avocado only, and reserve some of the ingredients from the salsa to use. I developed this recipe myself, but surprise-surprise, it’s the exact same recipe I saw used by a mexican chef on the Today Show this morning.

3-4 ripe (but not over-ripe) avocados.
1 roma tomato
1/2 white onion
1/3 C finely minced cilantro
a small amount of minced hot pepper. Guac should not be noticeably spicy, but should have a hint of zing.
lime juice and salt to taste.

You can puree it, but I just mash the ingredients together with a fork untill its well combined.

Enjoy!

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Prepare Coq Au Vin in the usual way. When completed add spicy chilli sauce, and serve with tortillas and sour cream. :slight_smile:

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You know, I’ve never made coq au vin, but I have a recipe somewhere. It just seems really involved, and time- and money-intensive, considering I only cook for myself.

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I’ve got a few real humdingers.

Chorizo Burrito. This is something the best breakfast place in town serves. This is my effort at recreating it. It can be eaten for dinner.

Make home fries.

Make scrambled eggs.

Cook chorizo in a pan.

Cook onions and green chiles in a heavily buttered pan until soft. Add chicken stock to make a sauce, and thicken with butter and flour mashed together (you can make a roux, but don’t need to).

Now, crisp up a large tortilla shell over a gas burner (a nice technique). Wrap up home fries, eggs, chorizo in the tortilla. Top with the onion/chile sauce, jack cheese, chopped fresh tomatoes, and cilantro.

My fajitas:

Make salsa (no one gets my salsa recipe).

Combine in a blender: jalapenos, garlic, mango, salt & pepper, vegetable oil. Blend until smooth.

Marianate some boneless, skinless chicken with it for 2-4 hours. Reserve some for fajita sauce.

Get your grill going.

In aluminum foil, combine sliced onions, sliced peppers, butter & sugar. Put on grill until onions & peppers are soft (20? minutes)

Also, grill your chicken.

Either grill, or gas-flame your tortilla shells.

Fajita-up the chicken, veggies, salsa, mango sauce, sour cream.

Also nice: flank steak marianaded in lime juice, cumin, salt, white pepper, chili powder, jalapenos, garlic. For at least 6 hours. Grill briefly. Cut thin, against the grain, “on the bias”. Served with chipotle-mayo combination.

What the hey. . .

Link to SLOW-ROASTED PORK WITH LIME MOJO, SPICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, and CORN & CHEESE AREPAS.

One of the best meals I’ve ever made.

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Well you can cut corners with the Coq Au Vin recipie, since the whole point is just to let the Mexican Flavours defeat the French.

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RE: Fajitas
Everybody has their own marinade recipe, but some of the best fajitas I’ve ever had were marinated in beer, soy sauce, and garlic powder.

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I have a different recipe for guacamole. I don’t really care for the kind with raw white onion and tomato in it, and a friend from California gave me this:

Sarah’s Guacamole

6 ripe avocados
6 cloves fresh garlic
juice of 1 lime or lemon (I prefer lime)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste

Scoop the avocados out into a large bowl. Crush the garlic cloves and add them to the avocado, followed by the lime juice and green onions. Mash them with a large serving fork or better yet, an old-fashioned potato masher (the squiggly kind!), until the ingredients are nicely mixed but the avocado is still somewhat chunky. Add the salt and Tabasco until you love it. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

It’s better the next day and the lime juice mostly prevents it from turning brown. The Tabasco and fresh garlic give it a nice kick. All the ingredients are adjustable to taste, but these ratios have proved popular among my friends and coworkers.

I’m making this tonight to go with the chicken fajitas I’m grilling. I could eat the entire batch myself. Yum!

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I’m partial to Misery Loves Co.'s guacamole recipe myself. But as long as it has the three key ingredients (avacado, garlic, and lemon-or-lime), I’m happy. I will say this, though: Ideally, let it sit (covered!) for a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to come together. If you’re the type to add tomatoes (sometimes I do, sometims I don’t), do not add them until the last moment before serving. It’s just better that way. Trust me. :slight_smile:

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This is a great one to fool your friends with, as it contains no chilies, but is very delicious. Served traditionally with fried potatoes, but is wonderful with noodles.

Pollo Aguascalientes

Saute one chicken cut into serving pieces in vegetable oil in a heavy pot until browned on all sides. Add one onion, sliced vertically and one clove of garic, minced. Cook about 5 minutes more until onion is limp. Add one 16 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice, undrained, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (yes, really), and 1/2 cup water. Cover, simmer about 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to platter; keep warm. Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir into simmering pan juices and cook until thickened and clear. Spoon some sauce over the chicken; pass remainder.

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Last night I made chicken mole and chiles rellenos, but for added fun, I diced everything fine and sealed it up in filo (phyllo) packets. Two of the chicken mole, one of the rellenos (with three kinds of cheese: two Spanish, one Mexican); bake for twenty minutes, then pour the leftover mole over the filo. On the side, mashed plantain butter-fried in garlic, plus some grilled pineapple.

Yum.

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Has anybody tried the from-scratch margaritas from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook? I keep meaning to, but it says you really need 24 hours in advance, and I always mean to do it for some event and I never do. But if you guys say it’s really good I’ll do it for no event at all - how about Siete de Mayo? :slight_smile:

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Take two Mexicans, add passion…