Instead of heading to the bar, why not plan your own Cinco de Mayo blowout? It is a great excuse to indulge in delicious Mexican food, dress in colorful clothing and enjoy your favorite Mexican beverages. By planning your own party, you are in total control of the menu, the decorations, the entertainment, and the guest list.

Take extra care with your menu. If you cannot or do not want to do all the cooking, ask your guests to bring dishes for a potluck meal. They all have to be Mexican recipes, though! If you have the cash, you could also have the event catered. Go for some tried and true recipes and some that are exotic. Plan on dishes like tacos, tamales, quesadillas, and refried beans. Make it really simple and set up a salsa or taco bar. Remember to provide enough to drink for everyone. If you are supplying alcohol, take a look at the Mexican beers your local shops have to offer. Margaritas are also a great choice. Do not forget to provide a non-alcoholic beverage for those who wish to remain clear-headed. You can stick with the Mexican theme by providing agua fresco or horchata, which are suitable for guests of all ages.

When Mexican food is brought up, most people think of beef, chicken, or pork, not seafood. If you think about it though, Mexico has six thousand miles of coastline. With all that oceanfront property, seafood has got to be a big part of their menu. Mexico is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf of Mexico also provides a good fishing spot. The amount of seafood caught in Mexico every year is substantial.

Ceviche is a very popular seafood dish from Mexico. Made with small pieces of raw fish, squid, or shrimp, the recipe includes onion, peppers, salt, and cilantro. The fish is “cooked” with lemon or limejuice. The citric acid in the juice changes the proteins in the fish just like cooking. Even so, some ingredients will be cooked for safety purposes. You can enjoy ceviche on its own or used as filling for a taco. It is also wonderful on crackers or tostadas.

Seafood can also be simmered in the Veracruzana style. This is a sauce preparation made with tomatoes, chilies, olives, and capers. The resulting dish is both tangy and spicy. This sauce is often prepared with red snapper or shrimp. Veracruz and its surrounding region are well known for this and many other seafood dishes.

Food is an essential component in Mexican holidays and no self-respecting Mexican would celebrate one of his national holidays without enjoying the very best Mexican cuisine and Mexican drinks. One holiday that you might have heard about is Day of the Dead, which is on November 1 and 2. This holiday is when families get together to remember their dead loved ones.

Day of the Dead traditions include visiting loved ones’ graves to leave gifts of their favorite foods and drinks and building altars to honor them.

Cinco de Mayo is another famous holiday in Mexico. This is a regional holiday and especially close to the hearts of Mexicans living in Puebla because, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in 1862, at the Battle of Puebla.

A lot of people are under the impression than Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day but that is another holiday altogether and it is on September 16. Mexicans would say that Independence Day is their most important national holiday.

The Best Mexican Holiday Foods

Mexican food is vast and varied. Mexico is actually said to have the second most varied foods in the world, after Chinese cuisine. Each part of Mexico has its own Mexican food recipes. The Yucatan area of the country is especially fascinating because the food there is a wonderful combination of Mayan, Mexican, Lebanese, and Caribbean influences.

Some Mexican dishes are spicy but not everything is. Chili peppers are widely used in Mexican cookery and there are lots of variations of them, including pasilla, habanero, serrano, poblano, and jalapeo. Mexicans like to vary their diets by eating meat, fish, poultry, seafood, fruit, vegetables and grains, or at least the ones who can afford to. Stews, soups, and sauces are common Mexican foods and cooking methods include baking, deep-frying and slow roasting.

Mexicans prefer fresh produce and anything more than two days old is no longer considered optimally fresh. Pesticides and herbicides are not used much because they are expensive and vegetables and fruit are picked when ripe or just about ripe. Seasonal produce is preferred to imported food and almost everything is grown locally. The exception to this is in Mexico City where the goods, which are not likely to be sold, are exported.

Mexico has a unique cuisine that is both healthy and colorful. Mexico was home to the Aztec, Zapotec, and Mayan civilizations, and as such, had a well developed agricultural society. They ate staples like corn, beans, peppers, avocados, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and squashes. Meat sources included turkey, venison, and small animals like rabbit and quail. Chocolate is also native to this area, and was originally prepared as a bitter beverage served to the Aztec royalty.

When the Spanish discovered Mexico, they brought their own favorite foods. Cream, beef, bread, and cheese were combined with the foods growing in Mexico. They brought over livestock like sheep, pigs, and chickens, as well as crops like wheat and sugarcane. When Spain stopped ruling Mexico three hundred years later, they had made quite an impact on traditional Mexican cuisine.

Corn is a major part of Mexican meals. Cornmeal, known as masa, is made into a dough that can be formed into tortillas, empanadas, or tamales. Corn is also added to soups, stews, and other dishes. Tortillas made of flour are more common in northern Mexico. Chili peppers are also a main part of the Mexican diet. Jalapenos, poblano, and Serrano chilies are just a few of the common choices in the Mexican household.

If you have enjoyed a Mexican meal with a Mexican family or at a good quality restaurant, there is a strong chance that traditional Mexican cooking pots and pan were used to make the meal. Mexicans use deep-frying, slow roasting and baking amongst other cooking methods and they have unique pots and pans for these. A lot of Mexican food is made with fresh produce such as vegetables, spices and herbs and you will find a mortar and pestle in any Mexican home, as well as a selection of sharp vegetable knives.

Some Common Mexican Cooking Pots

Ollas or Barros are big, deep clay cooking pots, which are great for simmering soup, stew or beans. Barro means mud or clay and olla means pot. Clay is a good medium because it heats evenly and is fine to sit over a direct flame all day. The even heating means you can avoid burnt spots in whatever you are cooking.

It is important to warm clay before using it or let it heat up as the oven does because it is sensitive to changes in temperature and might crack if exposed to heat suddenly. When you cook in clay, the food takes on a wonderful earthy taste.

Mexican culture is very interesting and combines features from the prehispanic past and the Spanish colonial period. Mexicans are justifiably proud of their culture, history, and ethnicity.

Mexican city life is not all that different from life in Europe or in the United States, although some Mexican villages still have more traditional ways. Most Mexicans live in large cities and there are more Spanish speaking people in Mexico than in any other country. The Mexican government recognizes over sixty other languages as indigenous Mexican languages.

After Brazil, Mexico is the second biggest catholic country in the world. Ninety five percent of Mexicans are catholic and the Spanish colonists introduced the religion.

Mexican Holidays and Celebrations

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16 and each city, town, and village celebrates its local patron saint once a year. The people burn candles and pray during religious celebrations. They also decorate the churches with colorful utensils and flowers, hold dance competitions, fireworks, parades and parties. You might see bullfighting, cockfighting, and football during village festivals.