I know it’s only Tres de Mayo, but I wanted to talk about Cinco de Mayo food.

I had a minor (OK, major) freak out this weekend when I learned that 20 midshipmen were coming to our house for dinner Monday, and another 15 are coming tomorrow night. But I realized that the easiest (and most thematic) option for feeding all those people on a school- and work-night was a chicken taco bar.

I made three Crockpots worth of Mexican chicken, as well as a bunch of guacamole salad and fiesta fruit salad (both of which can conveniently be 99% made the night before). We put that out with a huge stack of tortillas, refried beans (I mixed them with some diced green chiles before heating them up), shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. And, of course, chips, salsa, guacamole and Dixie Chili dip* for appetizers.

(UPDATED: I remembered to take a photo Wednesday… it’s above)
I think the menu worked well. I would definitely recommend it for any large gathering if you don’t have much time the day of. I think for actual Cinco de Mayo, I will use some of the leftover chicken to make some chicken enchiladas… and I am definitely going to try a
pineapple margarita.

In other exciting Cinco de Mayo-related news (if you live in or near Annapolis): After a long, margarita-less winter, Mexican Cafe is re-opening this week — in a new location that is much closer to my house. Muy bien.

So what are y’all planning for Cinco de Mayo?

*I just realized I don’t have Dixie Chili dip up on the site, but I will try to get some photos of the super-easy process tomorrow. It is not Mexican in any way, but it is a great go-to party dip!