Cinco de Mayo, May 5th

Many summers ago I waitressed at Bennigan’s while I was in between semesters at college. One late night a couple came in and the woman ordered Queso & Chips, but she looked me straight in the eye and said, “But can you leave off the cheese?” I wanted to fall over. So I tried to be sweet and not sarcastic when I replied, “So you just want the chips?” but I guess I failed because she just stared at me with the most annoyed glare, while her date actually gave me side eye for my comment! (My Dad still loves to repeat this story.)

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (and my friend Tori’s birthday today!) I wanted to declare my absolute love of Mexican food. I like the flavors, textures, and spices, but let’s be serious– they use the same few ingredients in every single dish. I’m not looking to cause trouble by saying that– I’m a huge fan. But can we break down the difference between tacos and burritos for a quick sec?

There’s a shell or holder of some sort, and a few layers containing some but not always all of the following ingredients: rice, beans, a meat or veg or both, cheese, a squirt of sour cream, cilantro, lime, and hopefully some tasty salsa. Enchiladas? Yep, the same? Quesadilla? You guessed it– same. Even the ingredients at Chipotle for a Bowl and a Salad are exactly the same, it’s just that in a Bowl the lettuce goes on top, and in a Salad, the lettuce goes in first. It’s like someone hit the huge “Save As” button in Mexico and created a whole menu using the same ten ingredients, plus corn. Ooooh, corn! (I purposely left out guac in case you missed it– but I didn’t!)

I started feeding Matty black beans when he was still in the highchair. He would pick up each bean individually, like toddlers tend to do, analyze it, then attempt to stuff it into his happy mouth. But more often than not he would drop it en route and then desperately look over the side of the highchair to find it. Even though hundreds more were right in front of him– he really wanted that one. Today I think Matty eats Mexican food at least 3 times a week and his overstuffed burritos from Chipotle have no trouble making their way into his mouth.

I make a Mexican Layer Dip (MLD) that is so easy and so good that everyone in my family requests it. In fact, every time Matty is home from college he asks for two things: MFP– Mom’s Famous Pasta, and MLD– Mexican Layer Dip, and of course I happily comply! I start by combining a jar of store-bought salsa at room temperature with a small container of sour cream (I like Daisy) and set that aside. (It should be a light pink color like Vodka sauce once you mix.) I strain and wash a large can of black beans and spread them at the bottom of a shallow serving bowl. I sprinkle a liberal amount of cumin over them, and then I dump in the salsa / sour cream mixture to cover the beans. Next I use grilled veggies, cubes of grilled chicken or a cooked protein (your choice), or you can skip this layer altogether if you want to keep it simple. This gets topped with a ton of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro leaves, and a squeeze or two of lime. (Optional ingredients include chopped tomatoes, black olives, and guac. Hell you can go crazy and add bacon too if you want.) The whole recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make, requires no baking, very little chopping and stays good in the fridge for a few days. You’ll be amazed at how good it is! We like to use those big restaurant style tortilla chips to scoop up the MLD, but you can pick whatever chips you like, serve it over a pre-made salad or spoon it into a taco shell and crunch away.

Someone at I’mNotRightInTheHead.com was quoted as saying, “Taco Tuesday sends a terrible message to our nation’s children! They need to know that tacos are an option no matter what day it is.”

Mexican food is so tasty, and so satisfying that even if I’ve eaten tacos on Tuesday, I could still be craving a taco salad by Saturday. No matter the dish you choose for your Mexican specialty, just remember that one too many chips at your fiesta today might result in you having to take a siesta, especially if you’ve paired your meal with a little tequila. And the best part about tequila? It goes with burritos, and quesadillas, and enchiladas and well… you get the point, sí?! Happy Cinco de Mayo!