May 2, 2026

WEEKLY MENU 05.03.26

CINCO DE MAYO SAYS HOLA DURING THE WEEKLY MENU 05.03.26!

The Weekly Menu 05.03.26 includes the ever-popular Cinco de Mayo! Around here, Mexican food vies with Italian food as the family favorite. Certainly, it takes the lead in late-night eating. (Shout out to Taco Bell!) (Affiliate links follow. See Disclaimer Page for Details.) We’ve been celebrating Cinco de Mayo for years, and you can check out a variety of menus and plans for the big day here:

CINCO DE MAYO

Cinco De Mayo is celebrated every year on May 5 to commemorate the victory of the Mexicans over the French in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. The term ‘Cinco De Mayo’ is a Spanish phrase that translates to “the fifth of May”. The day has become more popular in the United States than in Mexico, and it serves as a commemoration of Mexican culture in America.

Did you know that more than 37.2 million Hispanics of Mexican origin are living in the United States currently? It was around mid 20th century that Mexican immigrants in the United States started celebrating Cinco De Mayo with much fervour.

However, alcohol manufacturers and brewing companies were the one who further boosted the popularity of Cinco De Mayo through various lucrative ad campaigns.

The commemoration of this day in the US began in California in 1863 at the hands of Mexican miners who were residing here and wanted to celebrate the victory. Cinco De Mayo became known all over the country in the 1940s during the Chicano movement. However, it became really popular in the 1980s.
Calendarr

As a complete aside, while doing ‘research”, I realized that we are all completely missing out on another, possibly better, “fusion holiday”.

Cinco de Marcho

Next Cinco de Marcho Wednesday, 5 March 2027

All drinkers assemble as Cinco De Marcho (Not Cinco De Mayo!) will be celebrated on Sunday, March 5 next year. It is the ultimate fusion festival that celebrates Mexican and Irish cultures- Cinco De Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day.

Cinco De Marcho is celebrated to train you and your liver for all the drinking to be done twelve days later on St. Patrick’s Day. This light-hearted made-up holiday is the perfect occasion to lighten your mood, embrace diversity, and go out drinking with your buddies.
Calendarr

It sounds a little like State Patrick’s Day that Baby Boy celebrated at the Pennsylvania State University every year.

STATE COLLEGE — From Friday, Feb. 23, to Sunday, Feb. 25, students flooded the streets of downtown State College to partake in the student-created holiday, State Patty’s Day. The Penn State tradition was created in 2007 when St. Patrick’s Day fell during Penn State’s spring break, stopping the students from celebrating the popular drinking holiday. In response, the drinking marathon was created.
Center County Gazette

We’re purists around here, of course, so we’ll celebrate all four of these “holidays” on their respective days. Ahem.

Weekly Menu 05.03.26

We won’t be imbibing (damn stents really knocked out my enjoyment of tequila), but certainly recommend starting out this most auspicious holiday with my favorite drink: The Paloma Cocktail. We’re purists here too – nothing too frou-frou is involved. This is classic Mexican goodness with a decent tequila and grapefruit soda. I like Fresca, but Squirt or Jarritos Grapefruit Soda work too, if you can find them. I’m holding back on the tequila but going full in on lime and thin slices of jalapeno in my pop. Yum.

The salsa link below is a dead-on copycat for the best of the Chipotle salsas.

The recipe takes a little bit of work, but it’s worth it. Any good salsa can sub in, of course. And I don’t know how your grocery store is, but we have a consistent problem finding good, fresh avocados, so I usually buy Wholly Guacamole Minis from the produce section. Not all the boysies eat guac, so the small size works perfect for me.

We’re going with a classic Mexican dish for the Weekly Menu 05.03.26: Chicken Enchiladas Suizas. The Chipotle salsa will be served with a couple of other salsas (gotta love a trio) and corn chips for a simple side. Every dinner doesn’t have to have three components.

If I’m feeling saucy, I’ll make up some cinnamon ice cream for dessert. I’ll add powdered cinnamon to a slightly softened bowl of vanilla ice cream and stir it vigorously. Super refreshing, no frying required.

The grill is back in play, so Bert will cook up some nice steaks for the “Black and Blue” Steak salad. Some will have cajun seasoning to make them “blackened”, but he’s really good with outside cooking, so they won’t actually be black. We’re doing a multi-pork sammie on Friday. The real star of the show is the hoagie spread with mayo that tops it off. Easy and filling for a happy hour Friday night.