For adult beverages, the liquor of choice, of course, is tequila. The blue agave, the plant from which tequila is distilled, calls Mexico home. There’s even a drink named after the holiday.

Cinco de Mayo
2 ½ oz. anejo or white tequila
1 oz. grenadine
1 oz. Rose’s lime juice

Shake well with lots of ice. Strain into glass. Garnish with fresh lime wedge if desired.

Mexican Tepache
1 whole fresh pineapple
12 c. water
21 oz. brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
3 whole cloves

Wash the pineapple; remove stalks at each end; cut pineapple into large cubes, including the rind. Place the pineapple cubes in a large lidded container and add 8 cups of water, all the brown sugar, cinnamon and the cloves.
Cover and let rest at room temperature for 48 hours. Strain this resulting liquid, the “Tepache”, into a new, clean container and add the remaining 4 cups of water. Let rest another 12 hours. Strain again, adding 3 cups water. Serve cold with ice cubes and fresh fruit slices.

Licuado de Leche
1 c. milk
1 ½ tbsp. sugar or to taste
¾ c. fresh fruit such as banana, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, strawberries, watermelon or guava

Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove seeds or fibrous bits.
When a Licuado is made with water instead of milk, it is called a Licuado con Agua. These concoctions usually have a slightly higher concentration of liquid to fruit and are normally sweeter.

This recipe for quesadillas is full of colourful flavours, including mango, the tropical fruit that’s a common ingredient in Mexico. The quesadillas are filled with chicken coated with a chili pepper-based sauce and combined with sliced mangoes and Jack cheese.

MANGO CHICKEN QUESADILLAS
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 dried ancho or pasilla chili pepper, stemmed and seeded
Salt
4 burrito-size (10-inch) flour tortillas
6 oz. thinly sliced Jack cheese
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Mango Salsa (recipe follows)

Cook chicken on a lightly oiled grill over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until lightly charred and cooked through. Let cool slightly and cut into bite-size strips. (You may substitute leftover grilled chicken.)

In a blender or a food processor, puree tomato sauce and dried pepper. Transfer to a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add grilled chicken to pan and toss well to coat; season to taste with salt. Place flour tortillas on a flat surface. Top half of each tortilla with equal amounts of cheese, mango, bell pepper, green onion and chicken; fold over tortilla. Cook in a large skillet on both sides until cheese is melted and tortilla is crisp, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve with mango salsa. Makes 4 entree servings or 8 appetizer servings.

MANGO SALSA
1 large peeled, pitted and chopped mango
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tbsp. lime juice
1/8 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients. Serve with quesadillas.

If you plan on extending your experimentation with Mexican cooking beyond Cinco de Mayo, you’ll need to stock your pantry Mexican-style, authorities say.

Here’s a list of popular ingredients compiled by tips from Monica Guest, co-owner of Maria’s Mexican Restaurant; Mahmout Salem, owner of the Latino Market; cookbook author Sheila Lukins; and the “Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery.”

- Masica, masa (corn flour made out of corn kernels soaked in lime, then ground to a meal).

- Tortillas (flour or corn)

- Cheese: the Mexican cheese queso fresco or Monterey Jack

- Chile peppers: fresh, canned and/or dried depending upon the recipe. Common peppers used include poblanos, jalapenos and anaheim

- Cilantro: a spicy herb (also called Chinese parsley) in its fresh, leafy form.

- Rice

- Beans: black or pinto, whole or in the canned refried form

- Fresh produce: avocados, limes, oranges and scallions

- Chocolate

- Meats: ground beef, ground pork and chorizo, a Mexican sausage

Related Links >
http://www.texmextogo.com/Glossary.htm

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/foodindex.html

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/CookingSchool/EthnicCuisine/EC_Mexican.htm

Falda a La Mexica >

4 Lbs. Skirt steak
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
10 cloves of garlic chopped
4 spring fresh thyme
10 chiles guajillos (seedless and cleaned)
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz Tequila

Pico de Gallo garnish
1 piece of fresh cactus
10 oz. fresh cubed pineapple
4 oz. red onion chopped
2 oz. fresh cilantro
2 plum tomatoes chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Black pepper and salt to taste

Preparation
Boil the chiles in a pan until they are tender, and then let them cool
Once they are cool, blend them with lemon juice, oil, thyme, until you achieve a creamy texture
Add the garlic, black pepper and salt to taste
Let the meat in the mixture for 1 hour minimum to let it absorb all ingredients
After an hour, grill steak and splash with tequila (Serves 2)

Comida es amor > food is love

Chiles Rellenos >
For the sauce:
1 cup water
2 jalapeno peppers
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic
For the chilies:
4 poblano chilies
1 cup grated chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese
4 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups peanut oil, for frying
For the garnish:
1 bunch fresh cilantro

For the sauce: In a small saucepan, boil water and jalapeno peppers on high heat 15 minutes, or until peppers are fork tender; drain. Place peppers, tomato sauce and garlic in a blender container and puree. Return to saucepan; keep warm.

For the chilies: Rinse the poblano chilies. One by one, hold chilies with a roasting fork or a pair of tongs over flame of a gas range. When skins start to pop and blister, turn chili and roast on the other side. If you don’t have a gas stove, preheat your oven broiler. Put chilies in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place on the top rack of the oven. When skins start to turn black, flip the chilies and return to broiler until skins are blackened on other side.

After both sides of the chilies are evenly charred, place the warm chilies in a large resealable plastic bag and seal to allow the peppers to steam. Check them after 5 minutes. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chili.

Cut a slit almost the full length of each chili. Pull out fibers and seeds and fill each pepper with 1/4 cup cheese. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whip egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in salt and beaten egg yolks. Add flour to the eggs and stir until you have a thickened mixture.

Pour peanut oil into a deep, heavy skillet (cast iron works best) and heat to 300 degrees. Dip the cheese-filled peppers into the egg mixture, coating the outside evenly. Add peppers to the skillet, seam side down. Rotate chilies using tongs and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Pour sauce over each chili and garnish with fresh cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

If your only taste of Mexican culinary culture comes from beer and tequila advertisements, you’ve missed a world of flavor.

Going beyond guacamole and margaritas, Cinco de Mayo is a time to explore authentic Mexican cookery. “Most non-Hispanic Americans don’t have to travel south of the border to encounter a taste of real Mexico,” says Rick Bayless, author of Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (William Morrow, $30), now available in a 20th-anniversary edition. “There are authentic grocery stores and ma-and-pa restaurants catering to Mexicans popping up as fast as Starbucks.”

On a drive up U.S. Highway 441 in north Orange County, culinary explorers will find small eateries and stores, such as Taqueria Los Primos in Apopka and La Parada Mexicana near Plymouth. In west Volusia County, from DeLand to DeLeon Springs, grocery stores such as San Vicente and eateries such as Los Dos Compadres offer inspiration and resources to cook authentic dishes. And in Osceola County, Vallarta Mexican Grill and La Placita Latina, both in Kissimmee, offer spice and flavor for adventurous cooks.

Flans, pork stew and moles (savory sauces flavored with a small amount of chocolate) are signature dishes of Puebla. For our celebration, we’re showcasing Mole Poblano de Guajolote, a spicy turkey mole typical of Puebla. Complex cuisines flourished in Puebla before the Cinco de Mayo battle. Mole recipes vary in Mexico, but the ingredients are similar.

Dark and Spicy Mole With Turkey >

10- to 12-pound turkey, cut up into pieces
16 medium dried mulato chilies 
5 medium dried ancho chilies
1 canned chipotle chili, seeded
1/4 cup sesame seeds, dry roasted, plus extra for garnish
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, dry roasted
3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
Heaping 1/3 cup unskinned almonds
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 corn tortilla, stale or dried
2 slices firm white bread, stale or dried
1 large tomato, boiled, cored and peeled
2 ounces Mexican chocolate, chopped
10 black peppercorns
4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
Coarse salt to taste
1/4 cup sugar

1. Stem, seed and devein ancho and mulato chilies, reserving 2 teaspoons seeds. Tear chilies into flat pieces. Dry roast the reserved seeds. Combine peppercorns, cloves, anise and cinnamon and pulverize with spice grinder. Place tomato in a large bowl with the chocolate. Add all roasted seeds to bowl.
2. With exhaust fan on, fry chili pieces in 1/4 cup oil. Remove from pan, draining as much oil as possible. Cover chilies with boiling water and weight down to submerge. Let soak 1 hour. Drain and combine with chipotle chili. Puree chilies in 3 batches using about 1/2 cup broth with each batch.
3. Heat in 1/4 cup vegetable oil in same skillet. Add nuts, stirring frequently, 4 minutes. Remove nuts, draining well, and add to tomato mixture. Fry raisins 1 minute, stirring. Remove, draining well, and add to tomato mixture. In same pan, cook onions and garlic 8 minutes. Add to tomato mixture.
4. If needed, add more oil to pan to fry tortilla. Break up tortilla; add to tomato mixture. Lay bread in pan and flip over to coat with oil, then brown on both sides. Tear into pieces; add to tomato mixture. Puree 1/4 of it with 1/2 cup broth. Strain through sieve and repeat with remaining tomato mixture.
5. Brown turkey pieces in oil, 4 minutes per side. Remove to large roasting pan. In same pan that you browned the turkey, stir chili puree 5 minutes. Add tomato puree and stir until mixture thickens. Add 5 cups broth, partially cover, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and sugar. If sauce is thicker than heavy cream, thin with broth.
6. Heat oven to 350 F. Pour sauce over turkey. Cover and bake 2 hours. Remove turkey; let cool. Skim fat from sauce. Remove skin from turkey and cut meat from bones in large pieces. Before serving, pour sauce over turkey and heat in 2 or 3 baking dishes smothered in sauce, 15-20 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Rum provides the backbeat, white wine sings the lead, while strawberry, lime and orange hit the high notes with a syncopated splash of club soda.

Move over margarita, color-me-tipsy pitchers of fruit-chunked, rum-razzled white sangria are the diva fave this Cinco de Mayo (or Fifth of May, when Mexico ousted French invaders back in 1862).

You don’t need an excuse to throw a party, but our rebellious American roots celebrate South of the Border freedom, and what better way than a shimmering glass of love-at-first-sip sangria? From its humble roots in Spain, sangria is a refreshing red or white wine punch consisting of wine, fruit, juices, soda water and sometimes brandy or rum.

Use a good-quality wine, but save vintages that cost more than $20 to enjoy in their pure state. Dare to concoct your own creation using favorite fruits of the season. Toss in peaches, nectarines, plums or kiwi, then cue the mariachi band and dance barefoot in a colorful, twirling skirt. The party’s not over till the last sip is slurped.

Until the Fat Lady Sangria >

1 large navel orange, thinly sliced
2 limes, thinly sliced
10 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup white rum
2 bottles dry white wine
1 10-ounce bottle club soda

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large glass pitcher. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight or at least 3 hours. Just before serving, add the club soda. Or top individual glasses with club soda, as desired. Makes 8 servings.