Recipe Tuesday...Cinco de Mayo

Yes here in Texas we celebrate anything to do with food and/or drink and Cinco de Mayo is a holiday meant for that.  It is technically Mexican Independence Day but we gringos use it as a day to drink Mexican beer and eat Tex-Mex. So today I give you recipes that are Tex-Mex inspired.

Margaritas to Die For

INGREDIENTS:

2 limes 1/4 cup white sugar 3 tablespoons water 1 cup premium tequila

2 tablespoons brandy-based orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier®) 1 lime, sliced into rounds coarse salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Grate the zest of 2 limes into a small bowl. Cut the zested limes in half, and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup to get 1/2 cup. Combine lime zest, lime juice, sugar and water. Cover, and refrigerate for approximately 24 hours.

2.

Before serving, stir in the tequila and Grand Marnier. Rub rim of 4 glasses with sliced lime, and dip into salt. Take another slice of lime, cut in half, slice under skin of lime to halfway point, and place on glass for garnish. Speedy Homemade Salsa INGREDIENTS: 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained 1/4 cup chopped red onion 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon salt DIRECTIONS: 1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients; cover and process until chunky. Transfer to a small bowl.

Authentic Mexican Enchiladas

"This is the real thing! Corn tortillas are dipped in a home made sauce, fried, filled with Mexican queso fresco, then topped with sour cream, lettuce and tomato. My mother in law is from Mexico and taught me to make this delicious dish! Serve with authentic refried beans, it has a taste different from the norm--so good!"

INGREDIENTS:

6 dried chile de arbol peppers 1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

18 (6 inch) corn tortillas 3 cups crumbled queso fresco 1 cup sour cream 1 cup shredded lettuce 2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced 1/2 cup chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Snap the tops off of the dried chilies, and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the water, and place chilies into a food processor or blender with the garlic and salt. Puree until smooth. Press sauce through a strainer, and set aside.
2.	Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Soak each tortilla in the sauce, then place in the hot oil. Turn over almost immediately, and fry for about 5 seconds on the other side. Remove to a plate that is lined with paper towels. The easiest way to do this is to fry the tortillas and stack them directly on top of each other until you have fried them all. This will keep the tortillas pliable until you are ready to fill them.
3.	Take one fried tortilla at a time, and fill with about 2 tablespoons of the queso fresco. Roll up, and place seam side down on a plate. Place three of these on each plate. Top in the following order: Start with a layer of sour cream, then a small handful of lettuce, three tomato slices, 2 more tablespoons of queso fresco, and finally, 1 tablespoon of green onions. Tres Leches Cake "The three milks in this egg rich Mexican cake are used to macerate and frost this high, single-layer cake decorated with Maraschino cherries." INGREDIENTS: 1 cup white sugar 5 egg yolks 5 egg whites 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk 1 pint heavy whipping cream 10 maraschino cherries*** DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. 2. Beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar until light in color and doubled in volume. Stir in milk, vanilla, flour and baking powder. 3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until firm but not dry. Fold egg whites into yolk mixture. Pour into prepared pan. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes. 5. Loosen edge of cake with knife before removing side of pan. Cool cake completely; place on a deep serving plate. Use a two prong meat fork or cake tester to pierce surface of cake. 6. Mix together condensed milk, evaporated milk and 1/4 cup of the whipping cream. Discard 1 cup of the measured milk mixture or cover and refrigerate. Pour remaining milk mixture over cake slowly until absorbed. Whip the remaining whipping cream until it thickens and reaches spreading consistency. Frost cake with whipped cream and garnish with cherries.

***I use strawberries instead of cherries, I don't like cherries that much.

All recipes came from Allrecipes.com

Have a great Tuesday

*****It was brought to my attention by my so call Friend that Mexican Independence day is 16 de septiembre according to Wiki  here is the Link for what Cinco de Mayo really is.  I will admit that I am wrong and Jen :P