In Honor of Cinco de Mayo, the below are some excellent recipes for a good Cinco de Mayo dinner. These and other great recipes can be found in the Cookbook Forum at OldHippie.com.
Pepper jelly spread on corn chips is a good way to start the meal.
Hot Chilli Pepper Scoville heat units
Naga Viper pepper …..1,382,118
Red Savina habanero..350,000–580,000
Scotch bonnet pepper…100,000–350,000
Jalapeño pepper..2,500–8,000
Poblano pepper….500–2,500
Green Bell Pepper,….No significant heat,
Napalm Chilli Jam
1 1/2 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups Jalapenos,Red New Mexico ,or Habanero Chilies.
1 package pectin
Puree the chilies with a food processor or a blender. If using a blender, the vinegar may be needed to keep the blender from stalling and aide in the puree process. Either way, take care when opening the cover of the blender or food processor; the fumes are deadly. Place puree in a non-reactive sauce pan and add the powdered pectin. Add the vinegar if it has not already been used in the puree process. Stir to dissolve the pectin. Place over high heat until the mixture comes to a HARD boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down). Stir continuously as the mixture is being heated. Add all of the sugar and bring back to a full rolling boil while stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off the foam with a metal spoon. Place in hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 6 0.5 pint jars.
Note 1 Each type of chili produces a different colored jam as well as a different heat response. The jalapenos will give a slow turn on and slow turn off of medium heat; the New Mexico chilies will get the back of the throat and the habeneros will produce a “step response” of sensation.
Note 2 use a food processor and do not use vinegar in the puree process. To measure, I cut the chilies into the size of half a habanero and fill up a 2 cup liquid measuring container. Measurements are not too critical and the bite will vary from batch to batch as the chilies vary in heat content….. If the bite is too much for people, bell peppers can be used to bring up the amount of fruit used.
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Hot Apricot Habanero
1 lb. habenero peppers
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup apricot nectar
6 cup sugar
1 pkg. certo
6 drops orange food coloring
Directions
cut off stem ends of peppers blend together with 1/2 of the vinegar and apricot nectar. bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil, add the pepper and coloring and bring to a boil for two minutes. Add the certo and bring to a boil again. Skim , pour into jars and seal. makes about 24 oz of jelly.
Put out the fire with a couple Old Hippie’s Cinco de Mayo Strawberry Margaritas
- 5oz Tequila
- 3oz Triple Sec
- 1/2 box frozen strawberries in syrup
- 6oz can frozen limeade
- powdered sugar
- cut a box of frozen strawberries in half — and dump in blender
- plop in can of frozen limeade
- add tequila and triple sec to taste (see my starting point in ingredients)
- blend until smooth
- wet rim of glass on wet paper towel, and dip onto plate of powdered sugar
- Pour frozen margarita into glass and enjoy.
5 Minute Chili con Queso for an appetizer
1/4 Round of Queso Fresco Cheese (a white cheese sold in small 5″ diameter 1″ thick rounds)
1/4 jar of your favorite sausa (my wife likes peach — I like habanero)
Splash of milk
Cube the Velvetta and Queso Fresco into small cubes and throw into a ceramic bowl that will be twice the capacity of the ingredients — as it will bubble up in the microwave.
Pour the sausa and then the milk on top. Put bowl on a plate and heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Heat again for 1 minute, and then stir. 1 more minute on high ought to do it. Should be very warm and smooth. You may need one more minute depending on your microwave.
Dip corn chips in the Chili con Queso
For a Cinco De Mayo Entree — nothing beats Sweet Grilled Fajitas
- 8oz LaChoy (LaChoy is the only Gluten Free) Soy Sauce
- 8oz Cooking Sherry
- 8oz Pineapple juice (buy six pack of little cans)
- 1 Tsp minced garlic
- 2 Skirt Steaks
- 1 Sweet or Yellow/Spanish Onion Sliced long ways
- 2 Bell Peppers sliced
I have a metal grilling basket that I cook the peppers and onions in — so that they’re less greasy. Slice a large Spanish (yellow) or 10-17 (sweet) onion and 2 green peppers, and coat with 1 oz olive oil and 1 tsp of Hungarian Paprika by shaking in a Tupperware type of covered bowl. Grill in the grilling basket while grilling the fajitas.
The marinade makes the tough cut skirt steak very tender and a little sweet.
See the Fajiata Soup recipe for the fresh leftovers
