I’ll take any reason to gather around food, especially if it’s themed. So Cinco de Mayo was as good an excuse as any to do a taco night. Considering that we started floating the idea around late Wednesday night for a Friday party, it came together quite nicely. We had five different taco fillings, and a multitude of toppings including red and green salsa, tomatillo sauce, onion, tomato, cotija cheese, sour cream, pimiento olives, pickled jalapeño, lime, cilantro, lettuce, avocado, and crema. That allows for quite the variety of taco combos, and we ate our way through as many as we could. Plus some great Mexican sides, drinks, and dessert!

Taco Fillings

Anthony made a ground beef taco filling with his own homemade mixture of Mexican spices.

I made a coffee pork taco filling (check out my Guessipe).

Sheana made a fish taco filling, specifically tilapia.

Cindy brought carnitas rojas (pork in red sauce).

Cindy also brought carnitas verde (pork in green sauce).

Sides

Heather made tortilla chips – yes, she seasoned and fried those herself! To accompany the chips, she made a peach and apricot salsa, and guac with sun-dried tomatoes and cotija cheese.

Ye Ye made a salad with corn, tomatoes, beans, onions, and cilantro.

A Cinco de Mayo party wouldn’t be complete without drinks. Sheana came through with mango margaritas.

Dessert

Dessert is always a must with this crowd. Anthony home made anise ice cream. I’ve eaten a lot of ice cream in my day, but anise-flavored was a first for me. I think he might regret having fed this to me, as I’ll definitely be wanting more in the future and I don’t know anywhere to get it other than Casa Antonio.

Fiona brought this gorgeous tres leches cake.