At this time of year, we receive nonstop recipes for tequila cocktails in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo, May 5th.

Personally, we love Margaritas—plain and flavored with fruit purée. We prefer to focus on other celebratory ideas—like a Taco Party.

The renowned master of Mexican cuisine, Chef Rick Bayless tells us that the name for a taco party is a taquisa.

He suggests offering several taco fillings, baskets of steaming hot fresh tortillas, a variety of toppings including cheeses, chopped cilantro, and a selection of salsas.

> January 5th is National Fish Taco Day.

> March 21st is National Crunchy Taco Day.

> October 4th is National Taco Day.

> The history of tacos.
 
 
TACO PARTY MENU

Spread everything out on a table for a DIY taco bar. While we go for warm, flat tortillas, buy shells if that’s your preference.

Also consider a salsa bar, with not just tortilla chips but a selection of crudités (the healthy eaters and calorie-counters will thank you).

There are so many different types of salsa, from salsa verde made with green tomatillos, to corn and black bean salsa, to fruit flavors such as peach and mango.

And of course, different heat levels. If you don’t know the heat preferences of your guests, opt for mild and medium heat.

You can pick up a selection of favorites at a specialty food store. Or, for people who ask “What can I bring,” anyone can make a good salsa.

Another great task to delegate: putting together a festive music mix.
 
Taco Bar Ingredients

Make a selection from these ingredients. If we’ve left out any of your favorites, please let us know!

 
For Special Diets

 
Plus:

 
Dessert

 
Beverages

 
 
THE HISTORY OF CINCO DE MAYO

Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the May 5, 1862 The Battle Of Puebla, the victory of a small and poorly-equipped Mexican militia over a much larger French army. It temporarily stopped the French invasion of the country.

Today, Cinco de Mayo is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla. The city of Puebla, where the momentous battle took place, celebrates liberty and freedom with a big fair, replete with music, games and of course, food.

Fancy: duck (shown) or steak tacos (photo © Art De Fete).

[3] Grilled chicken, avocado, fresh cilantro and sliced radishes. The spicy heat of the radishes makes it an ideal taco topping (photo © Heather Christo).

[4] Taco bar fixings (photo: eBay).

Many Americans look forward to celebrating Cinco de Mayo each spring.

In addition to food and music, some communities have cook-offs of Tex-Mex and Mexican favorites, burrito eating contests, and other competitions.

You may not want to host a menudo cook-off in your backyard, but how about a best guacamole or best homemade salsa challenge?
 
 
Mexican Independence Day

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day.

That honor goes September 16th, known as Grito de Dolores (The Cry of Dolores, the town where the battle began). It’s the most popular holiday in Mexico.

Here’s the scoop on Mexican Independence Day, commemorating the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1810.

As with America’s Independence Day, the Mexican National Day of Independence is a patriotic holiday, with celebratory drinks, food, and fireworks.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[2] A new classic cookie: Birthday Cake.

[3] Red Velvet and cream cheese.

[4] A terrific party favor or stocking stuffer: Molten Cookie In A Jar.

Have you ever had “the best cookie ever?”

It’s not hyperbole; in any individual flavor there may be a bevy of “best cookies ever.”

What puts a cookie in a group described as the “best?”

For picky palates, it’s when your first taste informs you that you have an outstanding bite of food. It’s when you know that it doesn’t get better than this.

This was our reaction to Gooey On The Inside cookies, a brand of handcrafted, baked-to-order cookies that was born when a career public servant in the New York City government decided to embark on her second career.

Kafi Dublin started to develop a “perfect” cookie recipe—crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside—in a tiny Manhattan apartment kitchen.

After countless rounds of recipe-tweaking, her line, Gooey on the Inside, was launched.

Her flavors are classics, with some fresh takes on old favorites. They are irresistible, they engender happiness, they are splendid.

They are chunky-thick, sink-your-teeth-into cookies, layered with flavor and chock full of so many ingredients—chips, marshmallows, whatever—that satiety is guaranteed. The ingredients are the best: Callebaut and Valrhona chocolate chocolate chips and chunks, for example.

They’re ready to eat when they arrive, but 10-15 seconds in the microwave (or 2-3 minutes in a 350° oven) turns out warm, gooey cookies.

The line currently includes:

 
Each cookie is approximately 3″ round (5.5 ounces), serves 1-2 people, and costs $5.00.

They are individually vacuum sealed and what you can’t eat in three days, you can freeze (fat chance!).

Hungry yet? There’s more:

This is the best treat or gift you can give or get.
 
 
GET YOUR COOKIES AT GOOEYONTHEINSIDE.COM.
  

We love the Brazilian churrascaria Fogo de Châo (locations nationwide), not just because of the delicious meats hand-carved at your table, but for the seemingly endless Market Table.

Laden with everything healthy—fruits, vegetables, salads, charcuterie and more—you could make a meal of the Market Table alone (and in fact, vegetarians are happy to do so).

We enjoyed this Market Table seasonal salad so much that we asked for the recipe. It couldn’t be easier.

 
RECIPE: SPRING PEA & ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH CHIMICHURRI DRESSING

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Chimichurri Dressing

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dressing: Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse 5 times.

2. PLACE the arugula in a salad bowl. Add the asparagus, peas and goat cheese. Toss as desired.

3. POUR the dressing over the salad and top with the lemon zest. Pour the lemon juice over the salad.

4. SEASON with salt and pepper to taste.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING

This dressing can be prepared a day ahead, covered and refrigerated.
 
Ingredients For 1/2 cup

[2] Spring peas, fresh from The Chef’s Garden.

[3] Fresh asparagus from Baldor Specialty Foods.

1. COMBINE the ingredients in small bowl and whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
________________

*We don’t like sweet salad dressings, although more and more recipes include a substantial amount of sweetener. Our mom always advised, “Use a pinch” of sugar.

Mark your calendars for The Kids Food Festival, an annual event that teaches kids and their parents the art of healthy eating in a fun, non-preachy way.

Given the growth of Americans’ girth, we can never have enough opportunities to re-enforce how to make balanced food choices and create good lifelong eating habits.

When kids are immersed in enjoyable activities, they absorb information more effectively. Families will cook, laugh and taste their way to making balanced food choices!

Festivities include hands-on cooking classes in collaboration with the James Beard Foundation, family-friendly entertainment and activities, and lots of tastings. It’s a great outing.
 
 
WHEN & WHERE

Head to the World Trade Center the weekend of May 12th and 13th.

May 13th is Mother’s Day; what would please Mom more than a lively way for the family to learn better food choices?

Get your forks ready for a weekend full of flavorful fun!

General admission is free; hands-on cooking classes are $25.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT KIDSFOODFESTIVAL.COM.

The Kids Food Festival supports the American Heart Association and their initiatives to improve kids’ health.
 
 
WANT TO VOLUNTEER?

The Kids Food Festival is seeking volunteers and interns for culinary and administrative assignments.

Opportunities include assisting chefs during cooking demonstrations, assisting children during hands-on cooking classes, prep work, general event production and more.

Email VolunteerOutreach@KidsFoodFestival.com.

[2] Hugh Jackman’s Laughing Man Coffee (photo courtesy Green Mountain).

[3] Green Mountain’s Kenya Highlands single origin coffee (photo courtesy Green Mountain).

[4] and [5] Javamelts flavored sugar tablets, individually wrapped for easy portability, in 24-packs or this gift box (photos courtesy Javamelts).

It’s “coffee week” at THE NIBBLE. We have a new coffee brewer, new K-cups, new flavored sugars, and delight in all of them.
 
 
1. KEURIG K-ELITE SINGLE SERVE COFFEE BREWER

Our brother, who doesn’t drink coffee and needs it only for an occasional visitor, watched me make a cup with my Keurig single-cup brewer.

“Should I get one of these,” he, who serves guests instant coffee, asked?

Sold! Or actually, given: I gave him my two-year-old Keurig and traded up to the latest model, the Keurig K-Elite (photo #1).

It has all the features of the last model, with new options such as a Strong Brew setting and an extra brew size, 12 ounces, for travel mugs.

You can adjust the temperature to make the water hotter; and on the other end of the spectrum, there’s an Iced Setting for people who want to direct-brew iced coffee. It brews to a strength that doesn’t get diluted when you add ice.

We spent many years grinding and brewing our own beans, even though we only drank one or two cups of coffee. With all the K-cup options available today, we’re Keurig converts!

Check out the details and buy it online.
 
 
2. LAUGHING MAN COFFEE

Actor Hugh Jackman likes coffee, and also likes social missions. As co-founder of Laughing Man Coffee (photo #2), his mission to deliver premium coffee and give back to the farmers who produce it.

The Fair Trade-certified brand was founded in 2011 following a trip to Ethiopia where Jackman met a young coffee farmer named Dukale. Inspired by his perseverance and optimism in what is a hard life, Jackman moved to help improve the lives of coffee farmers.

He developed the Laughing Man brand with Keurig Green Mountain, and contributes 100% of his profits to the Laughing Man Foundation, an organization that supports coffee farming communities with programs that abet healthcare, education and housing for coffee farmers and their families.

The coffee is available bagged and in K-cups, which are in recyclable plastic. All four varieties are made from premium 100% Fair Trade Certified arabica coffee that is carefully harvested by hand.

 
Now it’s your turn, to make every cup you drink contribute to social good. Get Laughing Man at Keurig.com, and consider buying some as gifts for your Hugh Jackman-loving friends.

Who doesn’t love Hugh Jackman?

The line is certified kosher by OU.
 
 
3. GREEN MOUNTAIN SINGLE ORIGIN KENYA HIGHLANDS COFFEE

We’ve been enjoying a box of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Single Origin Kenya Highlands Coffee (photo #3), which we received to sample.

Kenyan coffee is often described as bold, big and juicy, with excellent acidity. Some tasters find notes of blackcurrant, or call it winey (both excellent flavors).

Green Mountain’s Single Origin cooperatives and farms employ progressive farm management principles, and have a direct supply chain relationship with Green Mountain Coffee (i.e., no middlemen cutting into the farmers’ profits).

The coffee is also Fair Trade Certified, meaning that small farmers are paid a fair price for their beans, enabling them to invest in the quality of their coffee and quality of life for their families and communities.

It’s the most socially-conscious way to buy Kenyan coffee: While the volcanic-soil highlands yield some of the best coffee in the world, Kenya’s coffee farmers are among the poorest (source).

You can find the Kenya Highlands coffee on Amazon and Costco Online.

If you like flavored coffee, you can carry it with you at all times—in the form of Javamelts, individually-wrapped flavored sugar cubes (actually, they’re rectangles—photos #4 and #5).

They’re an innovative and convenient new way to flavor and sweeten coffee (or tea), in four flavors:

 
A Javamelt turns any plain cup of coffee into flavored, sweetened coffee with just a few more calories than a level teaspoon of table sugar: 20 calories apiece.

They’re gluten-free, dairy free, and very giftable to anyone who likes flavored coffee. We’re giving them as party favors for Mother’s Day.

You can buy samplers, assorted flavors and gift boxes (photo #5), at Javamelts.com.