Coco Themed Dinner

This week, we prepared traditional Mexican dishes for our Coco Themed Dinner in honor of the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

Dia de los Muertos plays a central role in the movie, Coco.  It is a traditional Mexican holiday in which people gather to remember, celebrate, and connect with the spirits of their loved ones who have passed.  It is a beautiful tradition in Mexican culture, and I feel Coco does a great job of representing the holiday.   

I had two goals in mind with our Coco Themed Dinner.  First, I wanted to expose the kids to Mexican cuisine they had not experienced before (we don’t see much authentic Mexican food this far north!).  Second, I wanted to educate the kids as best I could about the traditions of Dia de los Muertos, considering the holiday is often misunderstood in this area.  

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Some Facts About Dia de los Muertos

As a child, I was always fascinated by the seemingly ominous holiday I shared my birthday with.  Because Day of the Dead occurs so close to Halloween, I thought it must be related.  It wasn’t until I was studying Spanish in high school, that I learned what Dia de los Muertos truly celebrates. 

To help educate the kids about Dia de los Muertos, I did some reading over at the official Day of the Dead webpage. Here are some of the things we discussed! 

Facts About Day of the Dead

1. Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1^st and 2^nd, a time in which the veil between the land of the living and the land of the dead is the thinnest. 
2. Day of the Dead is NOT part of Halloween!
3. During Day of the Dead, deceased loved ones return to the land of the living to enjoy life’s pleasures once again such as food, music, and dance.
4. The holiday is not a time of mourning; it is a time to celebrate the lives of departed loved ones.
5. Ofrendas are altars adorned with photos, candles, and personal belongings of loved ones who have passed.  Ofrendas also contain offerings dedicated to the individuals being honored, such as a favorite food, drink, or toy.
6. Marigold flowers are commonly placed on ofrendas and gravesites during this time.  These flowers are believed to guide spirits to their altars.
7. Calaveras are decorative sugar skulls which are also placed on the ofrenda as a symbol of remembrance.  Many people will also paint the calavera skull design on their faces during the festivities.

These are only a few facts about the history and traditions of Dia de los Muertos.  To learn even more, head over to the official Day of the Dead webpage HERE!

The Menu

For our Coco Themed Dinner menu, I took inspiration from the film as well as popular Mexican dishes to enjoy during Dia de los Muertos. 

Adult Beverage

To kick off our evening, I wanted to serve a cocktail for the adults that incorporated the popular Mexican spirit, tequila!

My mind immediately went to the Mexico Pavilion in EPCOT’s World Showcase.  On our last visit, we enjoyed the famous Avocado Margarita found at La Cava del Tequila.  This cocktail was the first stop on our Eating and Drinking Around the World tour (read more about it HERE!) and it was better than I could have imagined!

Using my knowledge from past bartending experience, I decided to recreate the cocktail for our Coco Themed Dinner.  I even special ordered some hibiscus salt for the rim to get it as close to the original as possible. 

I’d say the recipe was pretty spot on!  It definitely brought back memories from our last trip.  You can check out my Copycat Avocado Margarita Recipe HERE!

You can order the hibiscus rim salt from Amazon HERE!

Main Entrée

There was no doubt in my mind that our main entrée HAD to be tamales.  Tamales are a traditional Mexican food enjoyed year-round but are especially popular during Day of the Dead festivities.  The dish even makes an appearance in Coco, as Miguel’s Abuelita INSISTS he fills up on plenty of tamales at dinner. 

What Are Tamales?

Tamales are made with masa (a corn-based dough) as well as a variety of fillings such as meats, cheeses, vegetables, and even sweets.  The masa and filling are combined in a corn husk or banana leaf wrapping and steamed until the dough is cooked through.

In Mexico, families and friends gather to make large batches of tamales to enjoy for holidays and special occasions.  These gatherings are called tamaladas, essentially tamale making parties!

I had my heart set on making this dish, but there were a couple problems.  One, I had NO IDEA how to make tamales!  Two, our local stores don’t carry a lot of the necessary ingredients to make them.  But knowing how popular they are during Dia de los Muertos and in the film, could I REALLY claim to host a Coco Themed Dinner without them?! 

How To Make Tamales

Looking through the various tamale recipes I could find online, I was intimidated to say the least!  It was clear to me that tamale-making is a labor of love.  But I decided this pork tamale recipe from CD Kitchen seemed the most straight forward for this beginner tamale-maker.  With my fingers crossed for success, I got busy in the kitchen! 

None of the stores in town carried the corn husks and chile pods I needed for the recipe, so I searched online to place an order.  While I did find everything I needed on Amazon, the two ingredients were actually cheaper to order from Walmart, so that’s what I did! 

I made my pork filling and masa dough the night before our Coco Themed Dinner.  I also soaked my corn husks overnight so they would be pliable enough to wrap the tamales the next day.

As intimidating as it was, wrapping the tamales was actually a lot of fun!  I put on some traditional mariachi music and found my flow.  Once wrapped, they were ready to be steamed and enjoyed.

I ordered a steamer basket from Amazon to cook the tamales. It worked like a charm! I look forward to using it again for new cooking products.

I’m happy (and relieved) to say, the tamales were a hit with the family.  My five-year-old even stole more tamales off the plate when I wasn’t looking! 

Mexican Sides

For our Mexican side dishes, I decided to serve up some traditional rice and beans.  These two dishes are popular throughout Mexico and have many variations.   

Black Beans

For our Coco Themed Dinner, I wanted to make some black beans with traditional Mexican spices.  To help save time and stove space in the kitchen, I was hoping I’d be able to make the beans in my crockpot.  Lucky for me, I found this great recipe for Slow Cooker Black Beans from Sweet Life. 

These stewed beans simmer in the crockpot with garlic and cumin until tender.  They made the house smell AMAZING!  Topped with plenty of queso fresco and cilantro, they were the perfect accompaniment to our tamales.

Mexican Rice

The Mexican Rice recipe I used comes from Tastes Better from Scratch.  The author learned how to make this rice from locals while living in Puebla, Mexico.  This recipe was very simple to put together because you only need a few ingredients, and it comes together very quickly!

The recipe suggests cooking the rice with one or two whole serrano peppers to add extra flavor, but not spice.  I decided to give it a try and toss in one serrano pepper, hoping that this rice wouldn’t become too spicy for my youngest kiddos.  Just as the recipe stated, it created a deeper and more complex flavor, but was NOT spicy.  The whole family enjoyed this dish; even my 9-month-old gobbled it up!

Churros and Mexican Hot Chocolate

For our dessert offerings, I decided to serve churros with some Mexican hot chocolate.

Churros are very popular in Mexico and are made by frying dough and coating it with cinnamon sugar.  We see this popular dish make an appearance in Coco as an offering left for a deceased family member.

To make our churros, I used this recipe from Delish.  Again, I was out of my comfort zone here.  I’ve never made churros before, and my frying experience is limited to say the least.  However, this recipe was very easy to follow, and the churros came out great!

While the churros were frying, I got busy making our Mexican hot chocolate.  Mexican hot chocolate differs from your standard hot chocolate in that it is creamier, less sweet, and uses warm spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.  You can also add a pinch of chile powder or cayenne pepper for a spicy kick!

I followed this Mexican hot chocolate recipe from Taste of Home and made sure to add a spicy kick to my own serving which was delicious!  The hot chocolate and churros made the perfect pairing to end our Coco Themed Dinner!

I hope you have enjoyed our Coco Themed Dinner as a tribute to Dia de los Muertos! 

Do you celebrate The Day of the Dead with your family?  I’d love to hear about your traditions in the comments!

Looking for more Disney Themed Dinners?  Check out our Luca Themed Dinner HERE and our Ratatouille Themed Dinner HERE!

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