Dinner in the Yellow House

Cinco de Mayo

     

A Cinco De Mayo Celebration

  

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican celebration.  On May 5, 1862 the Mexican army defeated  the French army which was twice its size in the Battle of Puebla.  It is a day when Mexicans remember with pride those who bravely fought for freedom and liberty.  Napoleon had sent Maximilian of Hapsburg to rule in Mexico for France.   In later days the Mexican army with the help of the Americans were able to expel the French.  The Americans had been happy to help because by defeating Napoleon in the Battle of Puebla, the Mexican army had  hindered the French in helping the confederate rebels in  the United States.  The American army flourished and ended the Civil War.

For those who are interested in more information you can check out some of these links:

1.  Wikipedia   

2.  MEXonline is an online guide to Mexico and has a brief 

     description on the  history of the Cinco de Mayo.  

3.  A short description of  the Cinco de Mayo is offered 

     by an organization called LULAC in San Marcos TX.  

 We feel eating a lot of good Mexican food at this time is a way of honouring the day.  Last year friends of mine,  the Bryant's, suggested we have a Cinco De Mayo dinner at their house.  For me it was a treat because I love to cook, especially for people who love to eat tasty and interesting food,  and my friends  have a great cooking kitchen.

Menu

We came up with the following menu:

Tortilla chips with dips        Red Salsa 

                        White Sour Cream  

Green Guacamole

    Main Dishes

            Spanish Rice

Pork Mole

Chiles Rellenos

Tamales

Salads and Salsa 

Green bean salad

Jicama with tomatoes/oranges

Salsa, papaya and pineapple

Tortillas

Fresh Corn tortillas  

Dessert

Fruit in Carved Watermelon

Churros

Guacamole

Green of the Flag Guacamole

My mother used to say that the table should have all the colours of the Mexican Flag so we used red, white and green dips and colourful  tortilla chips .

My mom used to make a simple guacamole which has always been my favourite.  She said you must dice your tomatoes and add a bit of very fine raw onion.  These two should spend a couple of hours getting married (not marinated, but married) before you add other ingredients.   Later you add a bit of hot chili for heat and plenty of fresh cilantro.  To add to the volume I usually add some store bought salsa as well. 

 

Just before serving she would mash the avocado and add a bit of lemon or lime juice. 

 

Tortilla chips:    a variety of colours

 

Present in the same order as the colours of the flag.

    Red Medium Salsa   (We just used a bought salsa) 

    White Sour Cream  

    Green Guacamole

 

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Spanish Rice

We made a large recipe of  Spanish Rice for eight people.  

1 cup onion

2 cloves garlic

2 cup long grain rice

5 cups of liquid  (canned  crushed tomatoes, and chicken stock)

salt and pepper to taste 

handful of green peas

 Sauté a cup of finely cut onions of a few minutes.  Remove them from the pan and add rice to pan.   Cook the rice in the hot oil until it begins to brown.  Be careful not to burn.  Cook in a rice cooker or pot on the stove or in an oven dish in the oven.   For each cup of rice I use two and a half cups of liquid.  The liquid is made up of chicken stock,  crushed tomatoes and water.     My mother always threw in a handful of green peas for colour.   

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Pork Mole

    

one small pork roast  

2 T cooking oil

1 onion (cut finely)

3 cloves garlic (crushed

1 chocolate disk (Ibarra Chocolate, see picture)

1/2  jar of mole (see picture)

2 c  broth  (chicken or beef)

1 c  canned crushed tomatoes (28 oz)

salt and pepper to taste

corn starch or flour for thickening if necessary

Cut the roast into inch cubes.  Cook in deep pot in a small bit of oil until well browned.  Add finely cut onion and garlic.   Add broth and crushed tomatoes and simmer.  After 30 minutes add chocolate and mole paste using the following procedure.  Dissolve the chocolate and mole in a saucepan in a small amount of hot broth before adding to the meat.  With a fork work the mole and chocolate into a thick paste.  Slowly add broth from the meat mixture until all the lumps dissolve and then add it to the meat mixture.   Simmer another 30 minutes or so.  If the broth is thin add thickener.

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve

   
   Mole  Jar       Ibarra Chocolate               Mole

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Chiles Rellenos Poblanos

It seemed logical to make Chiles Poblanos to celebrate the Battle of Puebla.  My mother was born in Puebla so we make chiles poblanons in her honour on El Dia de los Muertos as well.   For the recipe for the Chiles Poblanos see the entry dated March 21, 2008, Dia de los Muertos.  

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Tamales de Pollo

 No Mexican celebration is complete without tamales.  If you have never made them before spend some time reading through this and looking at the suggested sites.  Each part of the process takes time.  

You will need filling, dough and corn husks.  And you will need to know how to fill the husks and the steam them.  

Play some lively Mexican music while you make your tamales.

             

I used chicken mole only because we were already eating pork mole with the meal but any mole filling could be used. You can use other fillings in tamales including sweet fillings. 

I make a good amount of chicken mole and use about 2 cups of it for the tamales.  The rest I save to eat with tortillas or rice.

Filling:  Chicken Mole (pronounced molay)  

  

one chicken 

enough water to cover meat

1  onion 

1 carrot

2 stalks of celery and 

1 bay leaf

2 cloves of garlic

Simmer for about an hour.  This will make a nice stock.  

Use some of the stock when making the mole and the rest in the tamale dough.

After the chicken is cooked and cooled shred it.  

Mole Saucee 

1/3 jar of mole paste     

1 disk of chocolate             

  

3 cups of broth

1 can crushed tomatoes 

Dissolve about a third to a half of a jar of Mole paste in hot broth.  It is best to do it in small amount in a small sauce pan.  Use a fork to work out all lumps.  I find the taste of the paste a bit strong and temper it by adding a disk of chocolate.  Work out all lumps.  Add a can of crushed tomatoes.  Use cornstarch or flour to thicken.  Add the shredded chicken.

Dough

2 cups masa

       2 C luke warm broth

1 t baking powder

        2/3 cup lard

½ t salt

water

hojas de elote (corn husks)

 I used the recipe on the flour bag.   Previously I had used regular masa flour that you also use for tortillas but this time I found a masa flour that said it was specifically for tamales.  These were my best tamales so maybe it is really special.

These were the instructions on the bag:

Combine Maseca (masa flour), baking powder and salt in a bowl, work broth or water with your fingers to make a soft moist dough.  In a small bowl, beat lard or shortening until fluffy, add masa and beat until dough has a spongy texture.  

Now dough is ready to put into the husks.

Filling the Husks

Wash husks in hot water and rinse well.  Don't use soap.   They should be very pliable after a good bath.  

Spread about 3 to 4 tablespoons of masa on a husk.  In the center add a heaping tablespoon or two of filling and then carefully bring up the sides to fold over the filling.  Fold the empty part of the husk and tuck it under to keep it from opening. 

To see the traditional way of filling the husk look at this video.  

Steaming the Tamales

I steam the tamales an hour to an hour and a half.  Stack the tamales in a standing position in the steamer.  Cover them with extra husks to create a tent over them and put the lid on the pot.  

There are plenty of videos on line that show how to stack and steam.  This one gives you a good idea of what they can look like. 

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Salads and Salsa

We made two cold fresh and crisp salads and a salsa with pineapple and papaya to aid the digestion of this rich meal.  

They complement the heavier spicy dishes.

Green bean salad

Cut and steam green beans and add to the rest of the ingredients.  Let them marinate for several hours or overnight.

       1 lb green beans fresh

1/3 c olive oil

1 small can pinentos 

2 T vinegar

2 T lemon juice

onion 

parsley 

sugar 

salt 

black pepper

Jicama, Cucumber and Orange Salad

Following are the ingredients we used and there is a very similar jicama recipe at this site.  

    2 c jicama (peeled and cubed)

    1 cucumber   (peeled and seeded sliced)

    1 orange  (peeled and cubed)

    4 T lemon juice 

    1/2 t chili powder 

    1/4 t salt

Papaya and Pineapple Salsa

This festive papaya and pineapple salsa is a lovely palate surprise.  It can be served as an appetizer and with the meal. 

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Fruit Salad in Carved Watermelon

 I carved a couple of watermelons for my children when they were little.  My favourite was a dragon wrapped around a watermelon for Chinese New Year's.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to try something new.  I have always liked the paintings of lilies by Diego Riverra.  I decided to put some lilies on a very nicely shaped and very dark green watermelon.

I drew some lilies on tissue paper and with a pin outlined them on the watermelon.  I made sure to leave a green line wherever there was a pencil drawing line.

 

With the tools from a wood carving set I gouged out the green part of the shell. The yellow center was highlighted  with a yellow felt pen.

   

 Once all the lilies were done I cut the top off  be able to ball the watermelon and hollow it out.  

 

We added mango, papaya and pineapple. The pineapple and papaya helped in digesting his heavy meal.

  

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