Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Any holiday celebrated with good food + drinks is always a favorite of ours! A lot of people think Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican independence day (which happens to be September 16th) but it actually celebrates the victory of Mexican troops over the French at the Battle of Puebla, which took place May 5th, 1862. There's some random trivia for ya!

For Jess and I though, Cinco de Mayo is a good excuse to make some killer Mexican food + margaritas. Some of the best margarita mix we have found is from Williams&Sonoma, and can be found here. It's made with agave nectar, and comes with some really cool infusions like kiwi, cucumber and Velvet Falernum liqueur. Definitely check that out!

We actually ended up cooking all day yesterday since we'd have more time than today. Southwestern cuisine is so bold and vibrant, definitely some of our favorite things to eat! All the recipes are from Bobby Flay's newest cookbook, which I highly recommend! On to the food:

Goat Cheese Queso Fundido with rajas + blue corn tortilla chips...not your average chips and dip! The individual cast iron skillets are from Crate&Barrel


Shrimp and corn tamale with roasted garlic sauce...nothing beats a homemade tamale!


Cornmeal crusted Chile Relleno, stuffed with roasted eggplant + manchego cheese, roasted red pepper + balsamic sauces. Heaven on a plate!


Jess is a dessert diva, and made a fabulous cupcake to fit with the holiday. These are Aztec-spiced chocolate cupcakes: a bittersweet chocolate cake made with 70% cacao and laced with Ancho, Chipotle, and Chile de Arbol powders, dipped in dark chocolate ganache flavored with cinnamon + nutmeg, and topped with a rich chocolate cream cheese icing...YUM!


She has some crazy skills with a pastry bag...

The finished product...mine don't look this good

Did you know that cupcakes make great wedding favors, cakes, gifts, snacks.....Hmmmmm......exciting news coming soon!!!


Have a great Cinco de Mayo, and enjoy some great food + drinks!

:)

Chris&Jess