Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2009)

May 5, 10:22 AMPhoenix Mexican Food ExaminerSunny Conley

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Pinata whacking is part of Cinco de Mayo festivities. Photo by Sunny Conley

For those of you new to the borderland, Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico that observes the victory of Mexican forces over the French expeditionary forces on May 5, 1862. Parades, mariachi music, folkloric dancing, fireworks, piñata whacking, and scrumptious feasts (I share a few traditional recipes below) are part of the festivities.

Locally, there's plenty of Cinco de Mayo celebrations. Check out this site for more details on all the *cool* happenings!

Avocado Fruit Salad

1/2 cup walnut oil
1/3 cup (or less) raspberry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Minced fresh cilantro to taste
Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves
4 medium red grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
2 medium avocados, peeled, seeded, sliced lengthwise
2 medium papayas, peeled, seeded, sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts

For the dressing, put the walnut oil and raspberry vinegar in a screw top jar. Cover and shake well. Chill dressing in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Line 8 salad plates with Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves. Top with grapefruit sections, avocado slices and papaya slices. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Shake the dressing well, season to taste with salt and pepper, and whisk in the cilantro. Distribute the dressing evenly over the salads. Makes 8 servings.

Tom Fitzmorris’ Margarita Shrimp Salad
This recipe was gleaned from a newsletter I receive from The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. What makes this recipe unique  is that the salas dressing uses all the ingredients for a margarita, plus the standard salad-dressing items. Tom Fitzmorris is the author of New Orleans Food (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, February 1, 2006).

12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied

Marinade:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Margarita Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup tequila
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 sprigs cilantro, leaves only, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cilantro cream:
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt to taste

Salad:
2 heads romaine, torn in bite size pieces
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1/4 cup cooked, firm black beans
Tortilla chips, crushed
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 lime wedges, for garnish

Combine shrimp with the marinade ingredients in a plastic food storage bag. Chill for an hour or so. Make the dressing. Combine the garlic, jalapeño, tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice and cumin in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a light boil and reduce by about a third. Pour the pan contents into a bowl, and cool. Whisk in the olive oil, and then add the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the jalapeño cream sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly. Season to taste. Refrigerate.

Prepare salad: In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomato, pepper, avocado and black beans. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and all marinade ingredients. Cook the shrimp until fully cooked, about two minutes. Toss the salad with the margarita dressing. Drizzle four chilled plates with cilantro cream. Place salad in center of plates and sprinkle with tortilla chips. Arrange three warm shrimp on each plate, garnish with lime wedge and a sprinkle of chili powder, and serve immediately. Serves four.
 

Grilled Tequila-Lime Chicken
Crusty bread and white wine are perfect accompaniments to this dish.

1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup tequila
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons minced, seeded jalapeño chiles
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
About 1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 boneless chicken breast halves (with skin preferably)

Mix lime juice, tequila, orange juice, cilantro, jalapeños, chili powder, salt and pepper in bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover; chill overnight. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Brush grill rack with oil. Grill chicken until cooked through, turning occasionally, about 18 minutes. Transfer to platter. Serves six. (Adapted from a recipe that appeared in Bon Appétit magazine, August 2000.)

Pina Colada Punch Recipe

46 ounces pineapple juice
15 ounces coconut cream
1 tablespoon coconut syrup flavoring
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 liter pineapple soda
1 pint vanilla ice-cream

Chill pineapple juice and soda. Blend first four ingredients in a blender until creamy. (Depending on the size of the blender, you may have to do it in two batches.) Chill in refrigerator.

To serve: Place coconut mixture in punch bowl, add ice-cream and allow it to melt somewhat. When ice-cream has melted almost completely, add pineapple soda. Add ice ring, if desired (to keep it cold) and decorate the frothy top of the punch with thin orange slices. For an alcohol drink, cut back on the amount of soda and add a bit of rum – try spiced rum! Morgan's Spiced Rum.