Mexican Fiesta Food Ideas
Mexico offers a range of flavors, foods, and techniques for making a variety of distinctive hors d'oeuvres for your Mexican Fiesta. Here are some of our selected recipes:
Veggie
Cherry Tomatoes with Corn Salad1
Advance prep: Morning of partyLast-minute prep: Fill tomatoes with corn mixture
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 40 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 40 red, firm cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup cooked corn kernals
- 2 Tbsp chopped basil
- 2 scallions, minced
- 2 Tbsp red bell pepper, chopped finely
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp hot chili oil
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Directions
- Wash and dry cherry tomatoes.
- Cut off the round bottom of each tomato.
- Remove the seeds and pulp with a small melon-ball scoop.
- Drain, cut-side down, on paper towels.
- Combine remaining ingredients.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, fill tomatoes with corn mixture.
Memelas with Queso Fresco & Charred Tomato Sauce
Mini-Mexican Pizzas
Advance prep: Sauce the day before; memelas 4 hours before partyLast-minute prep: Assemble & heat 3 to 5 minutes on hot griddle
Difficulty: More difficult
Yield: 24 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatoes (4 medium)
- 2 fresh serrano chiles or 1 jalapeño chile
- 2 tablespoons chopped white onion
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 cups masa harina ("masa mix") such as Maseca or Quaker
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
- 10 ounces queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese) or feta, crumbled (2 cups)
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Sauce
Prepare up to 1 day before
Directions
- Broil tomatoes and chiles in a foil-lined small shallow baking pan 2 to 3 inches from heat, turning frequently, until lightly charred on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes for chiles, 12 to 15 minutes for tomatoes (flesh should be soft).
- Remove cores and stems of tomatoes and chiles.
- Purée with onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste, in a blender until smooth.
- Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until just hot. Stir 1/2 cup tomato sauce into oil (this reduces spattering), then, when bubbling vigorously, add remaining sauce.
- Fry, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and chill in an air tight container until ready to serve.
- To serve stir in cilantro and salt to taste and spoon into memelas for heating.
Memelas
Prepare up to 4 hours before
Directions
- Stir together masa harina, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and water in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. Knead in bowl with heel of hand 1 to 2 minutes.
- Divide dough into 24 pieces and roll each into a 1-inch ball.
- Roll balls into 2-inch-long logs. Transfer logs as formed to a plastic-wrap–lined tray and cover with more plastic wrap.
- Heat a well-seasoned large cast-iron griddle or skillet over moderately high heat until hot.
- Use a tortilla press or rolling pin to flatten dough between squares of plastic.
- Remove plastic and cook oval on hot griddle until a skin forms and some small golden spots appear, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Make more ovals, cooking 3 or 4 at a time.
- Remove memelas from heat and, when cool enough to handle, form sides: Beginning 1/2 inch from edge of each memela and working all around it, push undercooked masa toward edge with your thumb and pinch up to form a 1/4-inch side. Then pinch up masa in center of memela in several places. If dough still seems very raw, cook memelas upside down on hot griddle 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Chill and store in an air tight container until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Sprinkle about 1-1/2 tablespoons cheese on each memela and top with 1 to 2
tablespoons tomato sauce.
- Heat filled memelas, 4 at a time, on hot griddle until bubbling, about 3 minutes. Serve hot.
Seafood
Scallop Ceviche Tomatoes
Advance prep: Day before partyLast-minute prep: Fill tomatoes
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 28 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound scallops
- Juice of 4 limes
- 2 jalapenos, seeded & diced finely
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
- Salt & cayenne pepper to taste
- 28 firm, red cherry tomatoes
Night Before Party
Directions
- Combine the lime juice, jalapenos, scallions, cilantro, salt, and cayenne in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
- Cut the scallops into 1/2 or smaller pieces.
- Toss scallops with the lime mixture.
- Cover, refrigerate and marinate overnight. The lime juice will cook the scallops.
Day of Party
Directions
- Wash and dry cherry tomatoes.
- Cut off the round bottom of each tomato.
- Remove the seeds and pulp with a small melon-ball scoop.
- Drain, cut-side down, on paper towels.
- To serve, fill each tomato with the scallop ceviche and serve cold
Grilled Camerones
Advance prep: Prepare day of partyLast-minute prep: Grill or broil 1-1/2 minutes each side
Special Equipment: 32 9-inch bamboo skewers
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 32 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Soak the skewers in cold water for 1 hour.
- Combine the lime juice, salt, jalapeno, and garlic in a glass or ceramic bowl.
- Whisk in the olive oil.
- Add shrimp, cover and marinate for 20 minutes.
- Place 1 shrimp on each skewer.
- Grill or broil shrimp for 1-1/2 minutes.
- Brush with marinade and turn over.
- Grill another 1-1/2 minutes until opaque.
Tequila-Glazed Shrimp
Advance prep: Day before party; avocado cream 4 hours beforeLast-minute prep: Grill & assemble hors d'oeuvres
Difficulty: Moderate
Yield: 24 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 24 large shrimp, peeled & deveined (day before party)
- Chopped cilantro
- 1/2 orange zest
Tequila Glaze
Day before party
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Key Lime juice
- 1/4 cup tequila
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp seeded and diced chipotle pepper
Directions
- In a heavy saucepan stir together lime juice, tequila, and honey.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook until mixture has reduced by half and is syrupy.
- Add chipotles and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Taste for heat and strain out peppers if glaze is too hot.
- Cook to the consistency of molasses, adding more honey or lime juice if necessary.
- Allow to cool
Avocado Cream
4 hours before party
Ingredients
- 1 medium Haas avocado
- 1/4 creme fraiche or sour cream
- Salt
- Key lime juice
Directions
- Puree avocados in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Scrape into a bowl and fold in creme fraiche or sour cream.
- Add salt & key lime juice to taste.
- Insert plastic wrap to cover avocado cream in an air tight container.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Griddle Cakes
Day before party
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina ("masa mix") such as Maseca or Quaker
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1-1/4 cups milk
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil for cooking
Directions
- Whisk together honey, eggs, milk, and melted butter.
- Add 2 cups of masa and mix.
- Use milk and mesa to create a dough consistency for forming small griddle cakes.
- Roll dough in small balls and press to make quarter to half-dollar size cakes
- Heat frying pan or griddle and add butter or vegetable oil, as needed.
- Drop formed cakes on griddle and cook over medium heat, turning once, until cakes are lightly browned on each side.
- Store at room temperature in an air tight container until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Prepare a charcoal grill or broiler and brush shrimp with tequila-glaze.
- Grill shrimp until pink, about 2-3 minutes.
- Dollop each griddle cake with Avocado Cream. Top with shrimp.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and orange zest.
- Serve immediately.
Chicken
Corn Cups with Green Chili1
Advance prep: 1-2 days before partyLast-minute prep: Heat the chili & fill corn cups
Special Equipment: Mini-muffin baking pan
Difficulty: More difficult
Yield: 32 Hors d'oeuvres
Chili Filling
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 20 green olives, pitted
- 6 green Italian frying peppers, seeded & chopped
- 1 green tomato
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 8 sprigs cilantro, chopped
Directions
- Chop the chicken breast into small pieces.
- Saute in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Puree olives, Italian peppers, and tomato until smooth.
- Add chicken, wine, garlic, cumin, salt, & pepper.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a pan and saute the jalapeno pepper, parsley, & cilantro over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Corn Cups
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- Salt
Directions
- Cream the butter and cream cheese with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal and a pinch of salt.
- Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the butter mixture, stirring constantly. Knead lightly.
- Divide the dough into 1-inch balls and press them into mini-muffin baking pans, using your thumbs to form the cups inside the mold. The dough should be even and come to the top of the tin.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Heat the chili filling.
- Fill each corn cup with chili.
Chicken Quesadilla
Advance prep: Day of partyLast-minute prep: Cook quesadillas about 4 minutes each
Special equipment (optional): Ridged grill pan
Difficulty: Moderate
Yield: 24 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups shredded cooked rotisserie chicken (from a 2 1/2-lb bird)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 5 oz coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (with or without hot peppers; 2 cups)
- 8 flour tortillas (7-inch)
- Toppings: sour cream; salsa; fresh cilantro sprigs
- Garnish: lime wedges
Directions
- Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Cook onion with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute, then transfer to a large bowl.
- Add chicken to onion mixture along with cheese.
- Put 1 tortilla on a cutting board and spread 1 cup chicken mixture over tortilla, then place a 2nd tortilla on top, pressing firmly. Assemble 3 more quesadillas in same manner.
- Heat lightly oiled grill pan over high heat until it begins to smoke, then reduce heat to moderate.
- Grill quesadillas, 1 at a time, turning over once, until cheese is melted and golden brown grill marks appear, about 4 minutes total.
- Transfer with a spatula to cutting board and use a pizza cutter to cut 6 wedges or smaller, if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Chicken-Lime Taquitos
Advance prep: Day before partyLast-minute prep: Bake about 10 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Yield: 48 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 cup oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, julienned
- 1/3 cup pasilla chile, julienned
- 1/4 cup yellow onion, julienned
- 1/3 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 18 small corn tortillas (6-inch or less)
- Vegetable oil to brush on taquitos
Directions
- Combine salt, chili powder, garlic powder, oil, and lime juice for marinade.
- Add chicken and marinate overnight.
- Drain chicken and grill (indoor or outdoor) until done.
- Allow to cool and shred chicken into small pieces.
- Place chicken in bowl and sprinkle with salt and minced garlic. Mix well.
- Add red pepper, pasilla, onion, cheese and 1/2 ounce lime juice. Mix thoroughly.
- To assemble, warm tortillas on griddle or microwave according to directions, until soft and pliable. If necessary, add a little oil to the pan to help soften the tortillas.
- Spoon 2 ounces of chicken filling down the center almost to each edge.
- Roll tightly and place on a foil-lined baking sheet with the seam sides down.
- Refrigerate in an air tight container, until ready to prepare and serve.
To Serve
- Brush the taquitos lightly with vegetable oil, then bake them until the filling is heated through and the tortillas are lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Cut each tortilla into 3 bite-sized pieces and insert a toothpick into each bite.
Beef & Pork
Albondigas2
Tender and tasty meatballs.
Advance prep: Day before partyLast-minute prep: Reheat and insert toothpick
Difficulty: Moderate
Yield: 62 Hors d'oeuvres
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup green pepper, minced
- 1 small carrot, peeled & minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp cooked white rice
- 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 6 cups beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a saute pan.
- Saute the minced green pepper, carrot, jalapeno, onion, and garlic on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- In a large saucepan, bring beef stock and bay leaves to simmer.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef, egg, rice, salt, pepper, parsley, and sauteed minced vegetables.
- Form gently into 1-1/4 inch balls.
- Drop half of the meatballs into beef stock and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon.
- Repeat for the remainder of meatballs.
- Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
- Strain stock through cheesecloth-lined sieve, reserve, and refrigerate separately.
To Serve
- Remove hardened fat from stock.
- Bring stock to a simmer in a large saucepan and heat meatballs through, 2 or 3 minutes.
- You may keep the meatballs warm by letting them sit in barely simmering broth until ready to serve.
- Insert a toothpick into each meatball and serve.
Shredded Pork Sopitas2
Miniature sopas.
Advance prep: Day before partyLast-minute prep: Assemble ingredients & garnish
Difficulty: More difficult
Yield: 48 Hors d'oeuvres
Pork
Up to 1 day before
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork shoulder or your preference
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
- Remove any skin and cut off from the bone.
- Cut into 2-inch pieces keeping the fat.
- Place in a large skillet and barely cover with water.
- Add salt and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
- Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until water evaporates (about 1-1/2 hours).
- When the water evaporates the pork will begin to fry. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until pork is very tender (about 1 hour).
- Let cool, then cut off fat and shred meat.
- Refrigerate in an air tight container until ready to serve.
Sopitas
Up to 6 hours before
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina ("masa mix") such as Maseca or Quaker
- 1 cup warm water
- Vegetable oil or butter for cooking
Directions
- Combine the masa and warm water in a mixing bowl. Add more water, if needed, so dough holds together well.
- Form into a ball and cover.
- Heat a griddle or skillet and add butter or vegetable oil, as needed.
- Pinch off dough and make a ball about 1-inch in diameter.
- Flatten to a circle about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
- Using your fingers, push up the sides of the circle to form a "retaining" wall. The sopita should be about 1-inch in diameter or bite-sized.
- Make 5 or 6 and place flat side down on the griddle.
- Cook until golden with brown spots, about 1 minute.
- Flip and cook 1 more minute.
- Remove to drain and cool on paper towels.
- Repeat until all dough is used.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
Salsa
Up to 4 hours before
Ingredients
- 1 large ripe tomato, chopped fine
- 1/3 cup white onion, chopped fine
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped fine
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- Cilantro leaves for garnish
Directions
- Stir together ingredients.
- Adjust seasoning.
To Serve
- Bring pork to room temperature or heat slightly.
- To reheat sopitas, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place a tiny amount of butter in the center of each sopita.
- Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for about 5 minutes.
- Place a small amount of shredded pork in the center of each sopita.
- Top with salsa.
- Garnish with a cilantro leaf.
1This recipe was modified from Martha Stewart's The Martha Stewart Cookbook.
2This recipe was modified from Leslie Brenner's The Art Of The Cocktail Party.