Cinco de Mayo, traditionally celebrated with Mexican food and drink, is truly a holiday that anyone can appreciate, right? Indeed, while many of us have our personal favorite Cinco de Mayo recipes, the best Cinco de Mayo recipes come from people who are excited about celebrating yet another holiday. Since this particular holiday is widely embraced throughout the United States and Mexico, it is a chance for you to share this warm, summer-like day with family and friends.
With this particular holiday quickly approaching, many restaurants are already getting creative with their food and beverage menus, hoping to provide something special to guests on this particular day. This means more than just traditional fajitas; many places are now offering up cinco de Mayo platters, margaritas, quesadillas, burritos, tamales, nachos, dips, and other items to help create the perfect Cinco de Mayo menu fit for any given establishment. Naturally, there are a variety of different prices when it comes to these platters and beverages, which makes picking the perfect menu a little bit more difficult. Luckily, we’ve spent long enough with cinco de Mayo menu makers to know what constitutes the perfect menu, regardless of your budget.
First, start off your search for Cinco de Mayo menu ideas by looking into popular dishes from Mexican cuisine. Of course, Mexican favorites like enchiladas are a must for any fiesta, but you’ll also find a number of different Mexican delicacies that you might also be surprised to know about. For instance, quesadillas have become extremely popular throughout Mexico as well as the United States and are making their way onto American menus all the time. Quesadillas can contain vegetables, Chiles, cheeses, meats, dips, salsa, or even a mixture of several items to make something truly unique (and not too spicy). Other Mexican favorites include pico de Gallo (fish sauce spiced up with lime) and guacamole.
If you’re looking for traditional Cinco de Mayo recipes, you should keep an eye out for some easy ones to prepare. If you’ve been to a fiesta before, you know that traditional (and delicious) cinco de Mayo drinks consist of a simple Margarita, but there are a number of different variations you can put to use in your next guacamole recipe. For starters, you can take a simple fresh guacamole and make a Margarita style cocktail that is full of flavor thanks to the addition of fresh cilantro. You can also use fresh cilantro to top off a warm quesadilla, or just serve it on its own to get that extra kick of cinco de Mayo flavor.
Of course, traditional Cinco de Mayo menu recipes don’t always have to involve cinco de Mayo. One very tasty alternative that many people seem to enjoy is the traditional horchata, or milk tea. Horchata is made from sweetened rice milk and is often enhanced with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and other spicy spices. Horchata is typically served during the celebration with a nice dip, or you can just make it a drink and enjoy a cold one while watching the fiesta.
As you can see, there are many possibilities when it comes to preparing Cinco de Mayo menus. You don’t have to choose between traditional foods and traditional drinks; you can have both! Whatever you elect to do, you can be sure that your guests will be enjoying their meal, and that you will have the added satisfaction of knowing that your Cinco de Mayo was a huge success! Happy eating this year!
