Sunday, May 1, 2011

5 de Mayo

Although 5 de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day as many believe, it is a good opportunity to celebrate Mexico’s cuisine with friends and family. To help you prepare for your 5 de Mayo party, I’ve created a menu for you that is easy to make, cost-effective, and that will have your guests begging for more food! Here it is

  • Appetizers
    • Guacamole, a favorite dish that is healthy and very easy to make.
    • Tuna ceviche tostadas, a light appetizer that is perfect during spring and summer.
  • Main Dish
    • Enchiladas suizas, a classic in Mexican kitchens.
  • Dessert
    • Pineapple with chile powder ice pops, a great light and fruity dessert that is perfect after a feast.
Enjoy with Mexican beer such as Sol, Tecate or XX.

Guacamole
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 medium roma tomato (seeds and pulp removed & finely diced)
¼ cup finely minced onion
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, finely diced (stems and seeds removed if you are afraid of heat)
2 ripe (soft) avocados
1 teaspoon olive oil
Fresh lime juice (a few drops)
Salt
Water (if needed)
Tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Cut avocados in half and remove seed. Scoop out the avocado from the peel and pit in a mixing bowl.
2. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the minced onion, jalapeno, cilantro, olive oil, salt and mix. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon of water or more.
3. Add the diced tomato and a few drops of lime juice (this will slow the darkening of the guacamole). Mix again.
4. Serve with tortilla chips.


Tuna Ceviche Tostadas
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
Tostadas
2 cans of tuna (preferably in water)
2 carrots (chopped)
1 firm tomato (diced)
1-2 scallions (finely diced)
1 Serrano chile (chopped)
¾ cup cilantro (chopped)
1 lime (juice)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon (or more) hot sauce such as Valentina or Cholula
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper (as needed)

Directions:
1. Open the two cans of tuna and drain. Put the tuna in a bowl.
2. Add the carrots, scallions, Serrano pepper, and mix. Add the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, hot sauce, lime juice and mix.
3. Add salt, pepper, diced tomatoes and mix.
5. Refrigerate for about 5 hours. Serve on tostadas.

Note: Don’t let the tostada sit for too long because it will soften and break.  If you cannot find Tostadas, you can use tortilla chips.



Enchiladas Suizas
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 white onion (quartered)
2 garlic cloves
2 pounds tomatillos (husks removed)
3-4 Serrano peppers
¾ cup cilantro
½ cup heavy cream
Tortillas (about 15)
1 pound Oaxaca cheese (if you cannot find it, you can use grated Mozzarella cheese)
Olive oil
Salt
4 cups water

Directions:
1. Cook chicken breasts in 4 cups of water. When the chicken is ready, take it out and shred it. Add salt and pepper and mix.
2. Use the water where the chicken cooked and add onion (quartered), garlic, Serrano peppers and tomatillos. Cook until ready. The tomatillos will be ready when they change color: from a bright green to a darker green. Let them cool.
3. Put the tomatillos, garlic, onion, cilantro, heavy cream, and water in a blender and mix.
4.  Add olive oil to a pan and heat (medium). Add the sauce and salt to taste and let it simmer.
5. Pour vegetable oil (do not use olive oil) in a frying pan. When the oil gets hot, slightly fry the tortillas one by one. Put on a paper towel afterwards to soak the oil.
6. Once you have fried all the tortillas, dip one by one in the green salsa for a few seconds.
7. Place a tortilla on a rectangular baking dish, fill with shredded chicken, add approximately one table spoon of the green sauce to the chicken, and roll the tortilla to make a taco. Repeat until baking dish is full.
8. Add green salsa on top and sprinkle with shredded Oaxaca cheese.
9. Turn on the oven on “broil.” Put the baking dish in the oven until the cheese is melted and browned.
10. When serving, you may want to add more sauce if the enchiladas are too dry. You can serve the enchiladas with refried beans on the side.

Note that you may not use all the chicken or/and sauce. You can refrigerate and make more enchiladas the next day.




Pineapple Ice Pops
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
½ pineapple (peeled and cut in bite-size pieces)
2 cups of water
1/3 cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon chile ancho powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled.

2. Put the chilled mixture, pineapple chunks, chile ancho powder and lime juice in a blender and puree.

3. Transfer mix into ice pop molds.

4. Transfer molds to the freezer and freeze until slushy, about an hour. Insert a popsicle stick into each mild and freeze until pops are solid, about three hours. To release the ice pops from molds, run the bottom of the molds briefly under warm water.





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