Cinco de Mayo Menu

With the best laid plans and all that, I went and did my grocery shopping this afternoon, and with 3 house showings, Nicholas’ soccer game and The Girlfriend’s birthday party tomorrow, I thought I’d get some of the cooking for tomorrow night out of the way tonight. (Ok, you can tell I’m tired because that’s a crazy run-on sentence and I’m too exhausted to fix it).

I figured I’d bang dessert out of the way, so that would be two less things to worry about tomorrow. I reached in the cupboard to grab a can of evaporated milk to add to the mixture that was whirring around. I opened up the lid and it just didn’t look right. I don’t use the stuff often enough to know what necessarily looks right, so while holding the opened can over the sink, I lifted it up so I could see if there was a date stamp on the bottom … and you guessed it … managed to spill a fair amount of it on my black top. A fair amount of expired-in-August-2006 of it on my black top. I knew The Neighbors wouldn’t have any, and it turned out The Newlywed Neighbors didn’t either, so I had to turn off the burner and the stove and run to the store to pick up another can. Sigh. I figured if I didn’t go then, I’d lose my ooomph. Fifteen minutes later, I was back on track, and now, I have the two desserts done. Oh, there was a very minor incident with water in the flan, but we won’t go there.

For some reason, I had a rough time deciding on a menu for tomorrow. Indecision was rampant as my list got longer and longer. I crossed out, I added, I rearranged, I searched for more recipes, I consulted. The menu was heavy on “picky” appetizer-type foods. Generally that’s ok, because we open up the coffee table, plop on the floor, pop in a few movies and just graze all night. Perfect for “picky” food, but I wanted to make sure there was enough sustenance too.

So, barring any last minute changes, this is what the menu is for tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo fete:

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (The Neighbors)
Juicy Margaritas (The Neighbors)
Artichoke and Black Bean Nachos (The Newlywed Neighbors)
Cheese-Stuffed Jalapenos (already in the freezer, from The Neighbor Husband a few weeks ago)
Guacamole, Salsa and Chips
Cheese Quesadillas
Green Chile Bites
Black Bean and Corn Salad
Mexican Roast Chicken
Mexican Rice
Mexican Wedding Cakes
Kahlua Flan

I know, enough to feed an army, right? But really only one “main” thing, and half the fun of having a dinner party is feasting on the leftovers the next day. That’s just how I roll. You’ll just have to tune in tomorrow to see if I managed to stay within my self-imposed $30 challenge. Until then…

A year ago today… a delicious dish from Bobby Flay.
Two years ago today… nothing.

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