Cinco De Mayo Dinner in the Time of COVID
A brief moment of escape from the reality of our world right now to enjoy a Margarita and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I got the last bottle of Margarita Mix at TJs and unintentionally created a Cinco de Mayo dinner that looked like an ad campaign for kitchen appliances. Tortilla press for homemade tortillas (so fun), food processor for salsa (so easy), an Instant Pot for Carnitas (so fast), and finally my rice cooker for Mexican Rice (so true, a rice cooker, lol).
I pulled out my tortilla press for a low tech appliance start to stamp those flour tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas but the fam outvoted me, I didn’t have any Masa Harina anyways. LOL. The King Arthur Flour website was my first stop for a recipe for tortillas. I found their recipe for Simple Tortillas and I was in business.
The Tortillas
The tortilla is simple and contains flour, salt, shortening or oil, and water. It comes together quickly and is kind of fun to make, especially if you have a tortilla press. This is a no-brainer fun cooking project with your kids or when without kid but you are abiding by SIP orders for a pandemic. Find the recipe for Simple Tortillas on King Arthur Flour here.
Carnitas
Carnitas are probably my favorite taco, burrito, anything filling. Love em’ and since I had a pound of pork in the fridge and it was Cinco de Mayo. Yep, no-brainer, Carnitas Tacos for dinner. Found a tasty recipe on Simply Happy Foodie for small-batch carnitas in a 3 quart Instant Pot. I threw it all in my 6-quart pot which worked fine. Next time I am doubling or tripling the recipe, that good.
Instant Pot Carnitas
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsps Olive or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Cumin
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika or reg
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Powder use 1/4 tsp or more for spicier
- 1 to 1-1/2 lbs Pork Shoulder / Pork Butt * cut in 3" chunks
- 1/2 small Onion chopped
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 Cinnamon Stick about 2-3 inches long
- 4 cloves Garlic finely chopped or minced
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice or Pineapple Juice
Instructions
- Combine oil, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, coriander powder, and cayenne pepper in a medium size bowl. Mix well.
- Add the pork to the spice mixture and toss to cover all of the meat with the mixture.
- Press Saute button on Instant Pot. If you can adjust the heat, use high or more on your pot. When display reads “Hot” add the meat. Cook until browned on all sides, but not done. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add onion, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze (get those brown bits off the bottom) Add a small amount of water to help the deglazing.
- Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the pineapple juice or orange juice and stir.
- Add the meat back in to the pot and just nestle it down into the juice (it won't be covered).
- Place the lid on the pot and set the Steam Release Knob to Sealing.
- Cancel the Sauté function by pressing Cancel
- Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 30 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has ended, let it sit for 15 minutes. It will start naturally releasing the pressure.
- Turn the steam release knob to Venting and release any remaining steam/pressure. There may not be any left, and that's okay. When the pin in the lid drops down it is safe to open the lid.
- BEFORE you stir, take a spoon or a small measuring cup and skim off the extra fat that is on top and discard. It's a lot easier doing it this way than pouring it into a fat separator!
- Stir the meat and transfer just the meat to a sheet pan with sides or ovenproof dish. Reserve sauce. Using two forks, shred the meat and spread on baking sheet.
- Broil the carnitas to get those nice crispy bits. Slide them under the broiler until they reach the desired crispness. Watch carefully it will go fast!
- Garnish with sour cream, salsa, cilantro, diced white onions or green onions, avocado, and serve with those warm delicious homemade tortillas.
The Salsa
A quick and super easy salsa that starts with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes in a can! I posted this for Cinco de Mayo a couple of years ago. It is my go-to salsa. Find it here!
Mexican Rice
I adapted this recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. It is right up my alley since it is made in a rice cooker, the only way I know how to make rice. It’s easy and delicious. I use half of the quick salsa to make Mexican Rice, and the rest to serve.
Mexican Red Rice
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
- 1½ cups white rice
- 1 cup homemade quick salsa commercial salsa will work also
- 1 cup chicken broth
- salt to taste start with 1/2 tsp
- 1½ cups frozen peas optional
- 1 /2 can roasted chilis 4oz you know the mild kind in the little cans, optional
- 1-2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Heat a medium (3 quart) ovenproof saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the oil. When it is hot add garlic and fry for 1 minute to soften. Add rice and stir frequently until the grains of rice turn from translucent to milky-white – don’t worry if some of them brown.
- Pour sauteed rice mixture into rice cooker pot.
- Add the salsa, chicken broth, chilis, ½ tsp salt and cumin. Set to cook.
- Fluff the rice and mix in the peas. Adjust the salt to taste, then serve
Yep, an entire avocado in each order of toast…
Do not miss the 
Next, Butternut Squash and Kale Fried Rice. The sweetness of the squash meshed well with the saltiness of the bacon and the slight bite of the kale. Surprisingly good and easy to make. Feel free to use any kind of rice, use a mix of green onions and yellow onions and season to taste with soy sauce. DON’T SKIP THE EGG.
