Cinco de Mayo

While Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day, as some people call it, nor widely celebrated in Mexico, this traditionally “family holiday” has grown into quite the celebration in the U.S.

My guess is because Americans will find any excuse to build a celebration around food and booze. Hey, why not? Cinco de Mayo could be one of the pioneers, so to be speak, in helping Mexican cuisine become Americans’ favorite international fare, stomping longstanding champ Italy in recent years.

If you want to go all out on Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of May 5^th commemorating The Battle of Puebla, build your festivities around traditional fare like enchiladas, tamales, and flautas. Margaritas and Mexican beer are di rigeur in the U.S. and the famous Tres Leches Cake is as sweet and moist a cake as you’ll find on either side of the border.

Margarita

The Cointreau-tequila-lime juice Margarita has been named Cointreau's official drink of Cinco de Mayo. According to Cointreau, this is the original recipe as created by Margarita Sames, a Texas socialite, in 1948.

Ingredients
1 part Cointreau liqueur
2 parts tequila
Fresh lime juice
Ice

Method
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the Cointreau, tequila and fresh lime juice.

Strain into a Margarita glass, with or without salt, and serve.

How to rim a Margarita glass with salt:

Pour lime juice OR Cointreau OR water into a wide shallow bowl. Pour coarse salt onto a plate and level. Dip the rim of a Margarita glass into the lime juice [or Cointreau or water, if using]; shake off excess. Set the rim of the glass in the salt and press, rotating the rim around in the salt depending on how much salt you want on the rim.

Sour Cream Chicken Tacos

A venerable favorite in my house, this version of a recipe that appeared in The Chicago Tribune before I was even born, is not like American tacos instead more along the lines of a light enchiladas.

Ingredients
1/2 pound canned tomatoes, drained
1 small white onion, halved 
1 clove garlic, peeled  
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt    
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cooked chicken meat, shredded, salted, kept warm [recipe follows]
1 small green chili, roasted and cut into strips [seeded if desired]
1/2 cup sour cream
8 flour tortillas
Fresh cilantro

Method
Heat the oven to 375°

Puree tomatoes, half of the onion, garlic and salt with a stick blender [or in a blender or food processor] Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet. Add shredded chicken; cook and stir over medium high heat until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato puree and the chili strips and continue cooking until almost dry. Remove to a plate, set aside, and keep warm.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet; fry the rest of the puree over fairly high heat, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Set sauce aside and keep warm.

Heat the tortillas [I use one of the burners on my gas stove] just until warm. Mince the remaining onion half.

Put a little bit of the chicken filling in the middle of each of the tortillas, roll them up, and place them side by side in an oven proof serving dish, or on a jelly roll pan. Pour the sauce down the center of the tacos. Bake about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Remove tacos to individual plates and garnish with remaining onion and fresh chopped cilantro.

Shredded Chicken
[makes 1 cup, enough for 8 tacos]

Ingredients
1 whole chicken breast, bone in, skin on
1 can [13.75 oz.] chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
coarse salt

Method
Put the chicken breast, the broth, pepper [to taste] and the bay leaf in a saucepan; add water to cover and heat to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool in the broth. Remove skin and bones and shred meat by pulling it apart with your fingers or two forks. Save broth for another use [if desired]. Season the meat well with the salt and keep warm.

Tres Leches Cake

I made this “Three Milks” cake for a co-worker’s birthday in 2000. I took it as a great compliment when he told me it was as good as his Mexican grandmother’s. This special-occasion cake from the state of Sinaloa is a great way to end your Cinco de Mayo festivities.

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
9 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
9 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 [5 ounce] can evaporated milk
1 [14 ounce] can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar

Method

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well after each addition. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter using a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

In a small bowl, stir together the 2 cups heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Pour the mixture over the cake until it won’t absorb any more. You may have a bit leftover.

Combine the whipped cream and sugar, spread over soaked cake. Refrigerate cake until serving

Pour leftover milk mixture onto plates and swirl in jam if desired, before setting cake on the plates.