Contemplating how to show your boo you care on Valentine’s Day, but wary of going down the heart shaped balloons route? I hear ya. This year, why not partake in the international language of love, that is: tacos and guacamole. Yep, a little Mexican fiesta, all to yourselves… Perfect for two, three or ten people! Obviously the ultimate Galantines celebration. Cos who doesn’t like a Mexi-love-in?
To celebrate V day differently, I recently got together with Cointreau to put together a little taco party. Read on for our guide to doing it yourself.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN V DAY MEXICAN FIESTA
Decide your guest list
Maybe you met someone nice on tinder recently, have a long termer or perhaps you’d prefer your whole squad to come along, either way you’re going to want to pick the funnest people you know for this little Valentine’s celebration.
Pick your spot
Inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the place you pick has a nice cosy vibe and will lend itself to a) plenty of time to eat and drink and b) room for you to get creative. Being down under at the moment we were lucky to get to set up outside, but if you’re in a chilly part of the world, a simple dining room would work!
Go for colour
Nothing says ‘you’re sure to have a good time here’ than a touch of colour – we had an amazing set of chairs and tables that were just the right amount of colour, but if you’re working with a more simple canvas, colourful paper banners, rugs and throws work perfectly.
Create your floral arrangements
He doesn’t like flowers? Oh well. You do, right?! A mexican floral palette is really easily achieved by using the following colours: magenta pink, red, orange and a touch of yellow. Throw in a few different foliages like eucalyptus and ferns (pillage your back yard for this one!) and you’ve got the perfect arrangement. I don’t need to tell you that flowers instantly lift your table setting, to the point where you don’t have to do much else. If you like, throw a few succulents and chillis on the table and you’re good to go.
Lay the table
What I like most about a Mexican party is that you don’t have to be too pedantic about how you set the table – because it’s shared you can opt for something more casual, and literally pull together lots of different things from your house and tie them in. Go for texture and a worn in feeling here. We found a few woven place mats and lined them up in a diamond shape to create an impromptu table runner, added the flowers and some enamel plates and we were good to go. You can also use colourful tin cans to hold the cutlery.
Taco bout a party…
Finally, you’re going to want to create a seriously yummy menu. Another area in which it’s easy to succeed – tacos, guacamole and parmesan rubbed corn are simple and will have your dates (tinder or otherwise) declaring your love in a matter of moments. You’ll also want a few spicy drinks on hand (have you heard chilli is an aphrodisiac?), so scroll down for my spicy Cointreau Fizz recipe. To finish off, we splashed out on an ahhhhhmazzzzing cake, talk about true love.
Once you’ve done all this, the only thing left to do is have an amazing time. Who said that love doesn’t come in, small, taco sized pieces?
Spicy Cointreau Fizz
Ingredients
30 ml of Cointreau
Soda water
Lime Juice
Chilli Powder
Salt
Fresh Chilli
To make
1. Create a mixture of salt and chilli powder.
2. Rub the rim of the glass with lime juice and then dip the rim in the salt mixture to create a spicy salt rim.
3. Fill your cup with ice.
4. Add the Cointreau, lime juice and some pieces of fresh chilli to the glass.
5. Muddle/mix with a spoon.
6 . Top with soda water and add a garnish of chilli. If you can handle it!
Dear cake, will you be my Valentine?
Clearly I didn’t want to limit myself to just one boo for my Mexican fiesta, so instead I brought along all my girls! Hope you’ve got something lovely planned for the weekend, regardless of who you celebrate with.
This post is in collaboration with Cointreau. Photos by Ana Suntay-Tanedo. Thanks Sadhana Kitchen for the amazing cake!
