Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

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Cinco de Mayo is a wonderful celebration across the United States and Mexico, honoring the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, which resulted in the unlikely victory of Mexico over France in 1862.

 

In 1861, Mexico defaulted on a number of foreign debts that it owed to England, Spain, and France. All three countries invaded Mexico, but England and Spain retreated within a year. France, however, stayed in hopes of creating a monarchy in Mexico. When General Charles Latrille de Lorencez's 6,000 French soldiers met General Ignacio Zaragoza's far fewer — and poorly trained — Mexican troops, Zaragoza's forces triumphed. Close to 500 French soldiers were killed in the battle fought at Puebla, while the Mexicans lost less than 100 men.

 

Although the battle was small, it lent support to Mexico's resistance against the French, and no one has messed with them since. For more than 150 years, Cinco de Mayo has been honored, celebrating this great victory!

Not only do I love  this holiday so much because of the Mariachi bands,  tequila, cervezas and dancing, but also because it is a celebration for happy times and happy food too!  So  grab those maracas and let's shake it up today  with some delicious Cinco de Mustard Girl Pork and Pineapple Tacos!

 

 

Cinco De Mustard Girl Pork Pineapple Tacos

 

Ingredients

  • 1 large white onion, halved
  • 1 pineapple, peeled, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup guajillo chile powder
  • 3 garlic cloves, halved
  • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 large or 2 small chipotle chiles and 1 to 2 teaspoons adobo from canned chipotle chiles in adobo
  • 1 2 1/2-to 3-pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Soft corn tortillas
  • Lime wedges
  • ½ cup Mustard Girl Sweet n Spicey Honey
  • 1 tsp Brown Sugar
  • 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ¼ cayenne pepper
  • 1 avocado
  • Serve with a Smokey Salsa of your choice

Preparation

Coarsely chop 1 onion half. Coarsely chop 2 pineapple rounds, discarding core; cover and chill remaining pineapple. Place chopped onion and chopped pineapple in blender. Add ½ cup orange juice and the next 7 ingredients listed underneath the OJ and include ¼ cup  Mustard Girl Sweet N Spicey Honey.  Puree marinade until smooth. Place pork in large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade and seal bag, releasing excess air. Turn to coat. Chill at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill remaining pineapple until warm and slightly charred, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Grill pork with some marinade still clinging until slightly charred and cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer pineapple and pork to work surface; chop pineapple into 1/2-inch cubes, discarding cores. Chop pork. Transfer to platter.

Toss the pork with a dressing made from 3 Tablespoon Mustard Girl Sweet N Spicey Honey, 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 T Orange Juice, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper,  1 tsp Brown Sugar.

Meanwhile, finely chop remaining onion half and place in medium bowl. Add cilantro; toss to combine. Grill tortillas until warm and slightly charred, about 10 seconds per side.

Serve pork-pineapple mixture with onion-cilantro relish, your choice of smoky salsa, and lime wedges.  Serve with sliced avocados on the side.

Test-kitchen tip: To make your own guajillo chile powder, finely grind about 6 large dried seeded guajillo chiles in a spice mill to yield about 1/4 cup powder.

Felix Cinco De Mayo!

 

XO~MG