Cinco de Mayo Chic
Through a wealth of history and abundance of delicious foods, we can think of so many reasons to explore and learn about Mexico’s unique, warmhearted culture full of music, art, color, and tradition. Not only does our very own principal, Rachael Glaws, love traveling there often with her family, but she takes the entire team at RGI for a full team retreat almost every year. Once embracing it in its entirety, you’ll surely agree there’s no argument that Mexico represents one of the great world cultures - distinctive and varied with so much to love you’ll want to keep going back like we do.
With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner we wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge Mexico’s diverse traditions and customs by asking Rachael Glaws to share a few of her entertaining essentials for a proper celebration of its rich and vibrant culture. She shows her appreciation for the country’s traditions and flavors by curating some delicious recipes and lively decor ideas to celebrate at home with her family. Read on for Rachael’s top three tips for a chic Cinco de Mayo celebration.
TIP 1: SPICE UP YOUR CELEBRATION WITH A FUN + INTERACTIVE BATCHED COCKTAIL STATION
A festive margarita bar is the perfect way to serve up all the different blends and combinations for your Cinco de Mayo celebration. Setting up ingredients for your guests to create their own scratch cocktails is an easy way to round out your margarita bar and provides something more interactive for the guests. Plus, everyone can have some fun making their own margaritas based on their flavor preferences so there’s no need to worry for a bartender. To keep all the guests from congesting one area, consider setting up separate stations for each step of the process. A fun addition to your margarita bar is a custom salt station with a variety of artisan salts, sugars, and spices for rimming the glass.
One of Rachael’s personal favorite margarita recipes is the Spicy Jalapeño margarita. Drinks don’t always have to be sweet, and there’s nothing like a little jalapeño heat to give us that little kick. But remember - a little jalapeño can go a long way, so add sparingly to taste if you’re sensitive to spice.
Ingredients
1.5 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz triple sec and 1/2 oz agave syrup
2 jalapeño coins
Lime wedge and salt to garnish
Directions
1. Press the jalapeño coins at the bottom of the cocktail shaker with agave syrup.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients into the shaker and fill with ice to shake until chilled.
3. Strain the mix into a salt-rimmed glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with a lime wedge, remaining jalapeño coins, and fresh mint.
Photo by Cassandra’s Kitchen
TIP 2: USE CREATIVE SERVICEWARE TO ELEVATE YOUR FOOD PRESENTATION.
For instance, if you’re doing a self-serve salsa bar then using a variety of plate settings to serve up all the different dishes and garnishes is a great way to elevate your food. Much like the margarita bar, it’s an easy “service” because guests can help themselves and create their own combinations to their liking.
From blue corn tortilla and black bean chips, to pica de gallo, queso, and salsa verde, it’s always good to have variation laid out to give your guests different options. A great serving tip from Rachael is to use these adorable mini cast iron skillets to present. They’re simply adorable and they don’t take up much space!
Spicy, smoky, tangy, and incredibly delicious, one of Rachael’s favorite dishes is this “elote salad” for all the off-the-cob lovers out there. Esquites are everything you love about the classic elote, but without the mess and easy to eat! Its cheesy, creamy, irresistible goodness is perfect for serving as a side salad or topping.
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 ears fresh corn, shucked
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 oz feta
½ cup finely sliced scallions
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt + chili powder
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add corn, season with salt, and cook for about 2 minutes on one side until charred. Toss and repeat for about 10 minutes total until corn is charred all over and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients into bowl and toss to combine. Season to taste with additional salt and chili powder as needed.
Photo by Jo Cooks
Photo by Official Fiesta
TIP 3: FLOURISH + FLARE WITH COLORFUL AND FUN LITTLE ARRANGEMENTS AROUND YOUR DISHES AND DRINKS TO HELP SET THE MOOD FOR A FUN-FILLED FIESTA.
It's always helpful to start off with a color palette to inspire the rest of your decor pieces. In this case, bold and bright colors help make this fiesta a little more festive. This is a great place to start and will help you choose things like plates, napkins, and other fun accessories. A Cinco de Mayo celebration isn’t the same with a vibrant tablescape. Rachael dressed her table up with a geometric-patterned table runner and some succulent centerpieces.
A fun serving tip is to decorate mini tequila bottles with mini sombrero hats and pair with tacos for your guests. If you’re doing a margarita station, you can also put sombreros on your serving bottles to add a bit of flare.
Undoubtedly, this period of self-isolation isn’t much of an ideal time for a celebration, but festivals and fiestas have always been big in Mexico and celebrated even in the smallest towns. Not to let the stay-at-home order get in the way of all our plans this year, we hope these recipes and decor ideas gave you some inspiration for low-key ways to still celebrate the holiday safely at home with your loved ones.