It’s fiesta time! Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and it’s a great excuse to celebrate with friends and enjoy delicious tasting food and yummy margaritas. Since this holiday falls on a Saturday this year, why not gather your friends and throw a festive fiesta? Sit back and scroll through all the pics for some inspiration and entertaining ideas from the tablescape and centerpiece, to my color choices and delicious recipes!
A ‘Fresh Produce’ Centerpiece
Let’s start out with the centerpiece, shall we? Inspired by all the fresh ingredients and fruit used to make Mexican dishes, I used a wood carved tray to display an array of food items such as habanero chilli peppers, jalapenos, serrano peppers, avocados, lemons, limes, mango, and cilantro. I made a small hole in the middle of the centerpiece to nestle in a mini bouquet of flowers.
‘Floral Arrangements & Table Accents’
The color scheme for this Cinco de Mayo tablescape is bright and colorful. From shades of pink and peach, brown, gray, yellow, orange, with splashes of white make for a festive looking table. To ground the bright colors, I used a gray table linen. I found this cute Wood Bead & Pom Garland from the new Opalhouse product line at Target. I simply arranged it on the center of the table as a festive touch.
Anchoring the fresh produce centerpiece, I placed two small floral arrangements filled with roses that had a pink and orange tint to them and carnations in vibrant shades of pink, yellow, and white. Carnations are such an inexpensive flower and when grouped together, they look so good!
‘Fresh Cantaloupe & Pineapple Margarita’ Recipe
Cinco de Mayo is not a party without margaritas, am I right? It was sheer coincidence that the peach/orange hue of the margarita coordinated well with the tablescape…ha! This cocktail recipe is light and refreshing – a crowd pleaser, for sure. For a little elegance, I used our gold rim, blush colored margarita glasses I found at HomeGoods to serve this delicous cocktail in. Months later, I was lucky enough to find a matching gold rim pitcher to the glassware set!
Yield: 1 Pitcher
Ingredients:
- 1, whole Pineapple (if you use canned pineapple, you will need 2 cans) – optional: depending on how many glasses you are serving, reserve a few cut pieces for garnishing
- 1, whole Cantaloupe (optional: reserve a few cut pieces for garnishing)
- 32 ounces, Water
- 1, lemon, freshly squeezed
- 4 oz, Tequila
- 2 oz, Cointreau
- 2 oz, fresh lime juice
- 2 oz, simple syrup
- 2 cups of ice
Directions:
- Once you have peeled and cut off the skin of the pineapple and cantaloupe, cut into chunks and place in a blender. Then add water, lemon and blend.
- Over a large bowl, remove pulp from juice by straining it through a fine strainer to get rid of pulp.
- Pour juice and 2 cups in the blender. Add Tequila, Cointreau, lime, simple syrup, ice, and blend.
- Pour into margarita glasses, garnish with chunks of pineapple and cantaloupe (optional).
- Serve and enjoy!
‘The Place Setting’
No silverware needed for this place setting! Everything (minus the dessert) on our menu was made to pick up with your hands. Speaking of the menu, I did a little DIY project by printing a menu and placing it on a chalkboard table stand. I glued mini pom poms in coordinating colors on the side of the menu to add a splash of cheery. I placed the chalkboard easel on the table – a great way for guests to know ahead of time what is for dinner!
For the place setting, I used my wooden charges I had found a few years ago while antiquing. Any dark brown charger plate would work, such as rattan chargers. I used neutral taupe-colored plates so that the other items atop would stand out. I thought these bev napkins were fun and whimsical so I placed them on top of each plate. I found this set of Hibiscus Faux Floral Wine Charms and thought they would look better used as napkin ring holders to attach to our coral dinner napkins. Since I rolled the dinner napkins, the charms clipped on easily.
A Tasty ‘Guacamole, Mango & Crab Dip’ Recipe
Inspired by an appetizer we had recently tried at one of my favorite restaurants that was served as a ‘special’, we decided to recreate it at home. For our rendition of this guacamole, mango and crab dip, we added a few other ingredients and spices to boost the flavor. I served this appetizer in individual glass ice cream cups -they are the perfect size and makes for a great presentation when serving to guests. Adding to the presentation, I tucked a combination of yellow and blue tortilla chips in the dip. It’s a perfect way for your guests to enjoy without having to stay stationed to where the chips and dip are.
Serves: 4-6 people
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Red Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp, White Wine Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 Whole Mango, cut into bite-size chunks
- 2 Tbsp, Pineapple Juice
- 2 ripe Avocados, mashed
- 1 Lemon, freshly squeezed (cut in half)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup, Crab meat
- 1 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
- Sweet Red Pepper, for garnish
- A bag of Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips and/or Red Hot Blues Corn Tortilla Chips (the brand we used was Garden of Eatin’)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, add the chopped onion, vinegar, salt & pepper, and set aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, add avocados, half the juice of lemon, salt & pepper.
- After you have peeled the skin off the mango and diced it, add the pineapple juice and then toss it with the avocado. Then add the bowl of onion mixture, cilantro and mix.
- Prepare individual serving cups or bowls by adding 1-2 heaping tablespoons of dip. Then add a 1-2 tbsp. of crab meat on top and squeeze some lemon juice on top of the crabmeat. Garnish with sliced sweet peppers and tortilla chips.
‘Homemade Churros with Dulce de Leche drizzle, paired with Dulce de Leche Ice Cream’
A fiesta would not be complete without serving warm, light and crispy churros, drizzled with Dulce de Leche caramel spread, served alongside two scoops of creamy Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche Ice Cream! I used a clear glass sundae cup and nestled a few churros inside. I found this easy to make, churro recipe. I altered the recipe a bit – instead of baking them, I fried them. I know, baking would have probably been a healthier way but I figured what the heck, let’s indulge!
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Festive Cinco de Mayo Fiesta post and it has inspired you to recreate some of the entertaining ideas for your own Cinco de Mayo get-together. ‘Fiesta like there’s no tomorrow’!
Salud!
-Photos & Styling by Rose Angel Lopez
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