"Know that I’m with you the only way that I can be. Until you’re in my arms again. Remember me."
- Héctor Rivera
Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor, the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
The Coco Moovie-menu was especially created for the Sherman Heights Community Center as part of their “26th Annual Día de Los Muertos” celebration. The month-long celebration that runs from Oct. 9- Nov. 2, 2020, is the center’s main fundraising event of the year. Due to COVID-19 the “26th Annual Día de Los Muertos”was re-imagined allowing for celebration to continue. Check out the Center’s website for information on their fun, family-friendly programming and help support this Center that does so much for the community. ---> ShermanHeightscc.org
If you enjoyed my Coco Moovie-menu and would like to donate to the Center click here. Any and all amounts are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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#sd_diadelosmuertos
THE MENU
Ofrenda de Fruta, Arroz de Muerto and "Remember Me" Hot Coco
Ofrenda de Fruta
There is no day of the dead without the altar. As you'll see in the movie the altar is a huge part of this beautiful celebration so I wanted to incorporate this into our meal and what better way then to light a candle and then eat it! This fruit altar, believe it or not is pretty simple, yes it will make a mess but I had a lot of fun decorating it. You can choose to only make one candle instead of the three, either way it will make a stunning centerpiece and your family and friends will be wowed!
NOTE: The ingredients above is what you'll need to make a 3 candle altar like the one I'm showcasing but you might need more depending on how many your doing.
Jicama: Is a Mexican yam bean. (shown on image above)
Saladitos: Are plums which are dried and salted. (shown on image above)
Tajin: A unique blend of mild chilli peppers, lemon and sea salt. (shown on image above)
Peel the jicama and cut circular pieces as shown in image #1.
From one of the circular pieces cut out a rectangular shape (get it as tall as you can).
Cut bottom of jicama as leveled as you can then curve the top as shown in picture above (remember your trying to make it look like a candle). Place toothpick at bottom of jicama (you might have to cut toothpick in half) and set aside for now or repeat depending on how many candles your going to make.
NOTE: The jicama is a root so it can be a little tough to cut. Also, because there's a lot of cutting I don't recommend this for little kids. They will however enjoy eating it!
4. Cut the ends of the cucumber and set aside (we'll use these parts later).
5. Slice cucumber in half as shown above then set aside.
6. Cut your mango. Try and get a big chunk of it without cutting into the bone of the fruit, remember we don't need that much just enough for the flame of the candle.
7. Once you got your piece remove the skin of the mango with your knife, it should glide right through like butter.
8. Cut out your flame, give it a diamond like shape.
9. Pour some Tajin into a small bowl.
10. Dip your mango flame into the Tajin as shown above and set aside.
11. Now to assemble! Grab the long half piece of the cucumber and place face down on your plate. Grab your jicama candle and attach it to the cucumber with the toothpick you inserted earlier.
12. Insert another toothpick at the top of your candle (you will have to cut the toothpick in half). One of the reasons I choose black toothpicks was to make it look like the wick, it's subtle but it does the trick.
13. Place you Tajin dipped mango flame on to the top of your candle and voila!!
14. You can add pretty much any fruit you'd like, get creative with it. In the picture above I have mandarin with sprinkled Tajin and a saladito in the center, a kiwi with a half of grape, strawberries, lime slices and remember those cucumber pieces you set aside earlier? Try and get two very thin slices and you can shape them and make them look like flowers. For a video tutorial on how to cut the mandarins and kiwis click here. I didn't do this myself but you can also cut out the strawberries into roses, for a video tutorial click here.
Please share your beautiful creations on #foodie_moovies
Arroz de Muerto
The calavera, or sugar skull, is a staple of Day of the Dead celebrations. You'll see for yourself throughout the movie how important this is to the living and the dead. The skull is traditionally created with sugar but I wanted to do something a little different so I decide to deconstruct a SPAM musubi, which my kids LOVE! You'll end up with a beautiful sugar skull look-alike along with dinner that's going to be a hit with the family!
NOTE: Before starting this your going to need to purchase a skeleton mold. I purchased mine at Amazon. As for the squeeze bottle you might not even need it. It just depends on how your going to eat your arroz de muerto so it's optional.
Put 1 cup of rice to cook. I like to add 1/2 cup of sushi rice and 1/2 cup of jasmine rice I do this to make sure the rice is nice and sticky so that the decorations stick to it nicely. While the rice is cooking chop up your SPAM and fry it. SPAM is safe to eat out of the can so just fry it to your liking.
While your rice and SPAM are cooking, chop your bell peppers. Depending on your decorations will depend on the size, my recommendation is to keep the pieces small, it will stick better to the rice.
Once your rice is cooked give it about 10-15 minutes to slightly cool (do not refrigerate to speed the cooling process up, it might dry out your rice). Add the rice into your mold and make sure you push it in the mold as much as you can. Let is sit for about 5 minutes. Then transfer it to you serving dish.
NOTE: for your serving dish I recommend something round. The dish I'm using is about 12.5 inches, you can definitely use a smaller one it just depends if your going to make a SPAM flower crown.
4. Once your rice mold is on the plate cut out circles for your eyes and stripes for the teeth out of the seaweed sushi sheets The seaweed should soften, mold and stick to the rice.
5. Start decorating your calavera! cut, size, chop again and resize if needed. This is the part where you get creative and have some fun. Slightly push the peppers into the rice for a better hold.
NOTE: The cilantro should easily stick but if it doesn't feel free to use those toothpicks, just give your family/friends a heads up if there's toothpicks in there before they dig in and eat.
6. Once your calavera is decorated add the spam around the top of the head to look like a flower crown. Top them off with some peppers or cilantro for added color. Take some pictures and enjoy your work of art before it's gone! and please share your beautiful creations on #foodie_moovies
NOTE: My family used the seaweed sheets like tortillas and filled it like a tacos with peppers, spam, and cilantro. Don't forget to top it off with that sweet delicious teriyaki sauce.
"Remember Me" Hot Coco
Throughout the movie I can't remember when you didn't see those beautiful orange marigold flowers. The reason why this flower in particular is so important in the movie and to this celebration is because It's believed that the marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and pungent scent. So for our dessert we'll be having marigold marshmallows floating on top of some delicious Mexican hot chocolate with of course a side of pan muerto (day of the dead bread) or pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) dealers choice! I'll be having both!
NOTE: My 10 year old twins had a lot of fun time making these, it was easy for them and very little cleaning for me, yay!
Grab a jumbo marshmallow and cut in half as shown in picture
Turn sticky side of Marshmallow up and set aside
Grab a couple of the miniature marshmallows and cut them in a diagonal. Depending on how many flowers you make will depend on how many minis you'll need. It's usually 10-13 pieces per flower so they'll be plenty of leftovers.
4. Pour orange sanding sugar on a plate
5. Grab a sliced miniature using the sticky side push down on the sugar
6. The sugar should stick and should look like so
7. Grab you jumbo marshmallow (sticky side up) and start sticking your petals. Start around the outside and work your way to the middle.
8. You might have to reinforce some of the petals but it should stick pretty easily.
9. Make your Chocolate Ibarra before, after, or while your making your marigolds.
10. Grab a mug, pour your hot Coco, place your marigold on top and enjoy! (they will stay afloat for a while!) Please share your beautiful creations on #foodie_moovies
Q&A with the kids
1. You magically get sent to the other side, who do you go looking for?
2. Have you lost someone special to you? Tell me a happy memory you have of them.
3. What would you like people to remember about you when you pass over?