Cinco De Mayo Recipes from Hotels Around the World

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner! Find inspiration from your favorite hotels and resorts and craft these recipes at home to celebrate:

Fairmont El San Juan Hotel’s Pepino Margarita 

Ingredients:

• ​​​1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila
• 3/4 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz lime juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 4 mint springs
• 3 cucumber slices
• Garnish: ½ salt rim if desired and cucumber on skewer

​​Prep glass with half salted rim. Measure ingredients into a pint mixing glass. Fill with ice and shake. Strain into glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish.

Fairmont El San Juan Hotel’s Tamarindo Lindo Margarita 

Ingredients:

• 5 oz house tequila
• .50 Lime Juice
• 2 oz Tamarind Pulp
• .50 Cointreau
• .50 agave
• Garnish: ½ tajin, chili and salt border and Dehydrated lime wheel

Prep glass with ½ salted rim. Measure ingredients into a pint mixing glass.Fill with ice and shake. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish.

Serena Moxy South Beach’s Serena Margarita 

Ingredients: 

• ​1.5 oz Dobel Maestro Tequila
• .75 oz Lime Juice
• .25 oz Cointreau
• .5 oz Damiana liqueur
• .25 oz Agave syrup
• Dehydrated lime wheel
• Black sea salt

​Add all ingredients into tin, add ice, shake. Double strain into glass, garnish.

Moxy South Beach’s Enchiladas Con Pollo en Salsa Verde

For the chicken:

• ​1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 small onion peeled and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 whole black peppercorns
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 1 gallon water or enough to cover

In a medium-sized stock pot, add the water and all other ingredients except the chicken. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat then reduce to a slow simmer. Add the chicken and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes. Let the chicken cool in the liquid. Remove the chicken and strain the remaining liquid, reserve the liquid for upcoming sauce recipe. Remove the skin from the chicken and carefully pull the meat from the bone. Pull the chicken into pieces and reserve.

Salsa Verde:

• ​4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, peeled and rough chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 pounds tomatillos, peeled and cut into quarters
• 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers with stems removed, roughly chopped
• chicken cooking liquid, enough to cover
• ½ cup cilantro leaves

Place a medium-sized sauce pot over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and the onions and cook until the onions soften and become translucent. Add the garlic, jalapeno and tomatillo; add enough chicken broth to cover and bring to a simmer. Cook the ingredients for approximately 10 minutes until the tomatillos are very soft. In batches, pour the ingredients into the jar of an electric blender, add cilantro leaves and puree until smooth. Next, heat a large skillet over high heat then add the remaining oil to the pan and add the sauce to “refry.” When the sauce comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Reserve the sauce.

Cheese mix:

• ​1 cup queso Oaxaca shredded or mozzarella
• 1 cup queso Chihuahua shredded, or Monterey jack
• 1 cup queso quesadilla shredded, or white cheddar

Grate all cheeses, mix together and reserve.

For the enchiladas:

• ​​1 dozen 6-inch corn tortillas
• 2 pounds cooked shredded chicken
• 2 quarts salsa verde
• 3 cups shredded mixed cheese
• 1 cup lime-cured onions
• 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 1 cup grated cotija cheese
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Begin by tossing the shredded chicken in enough of the salsa Verde to coat. In a dry skillet heat each tortilla until it becomes soft and pliable. Place about ½ cup of chicken in the center of each tortilla and then roll them into enchiladas. Place the enchiladas in a large baking dish, sprinkle with the mixed cheese, cover with aluminum foil and place the dish in the oven. Bake until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are warmed through about 20 minutes. Warm the sauce in a medium-sized sauce pan. Remove the pan from the oven and ladle enough sauce to cover, sprinkle with cotija cheese, drizzle with crema and garnish with the lime-cured onions and chopped cilantro.