It’s a month long celebration of  the culture, traditions and achievements of Americans who trace their roots back to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

To plan your own Hispanic Heritage celebration tap in to the lively songs, vibrant art, traditional dances and delicious Hispanic recipes and drinks. Think of the culture and the people to help you create a party loaded with authentic fun.

Start with these easy cocktail recipes.

Korbel Sangria de Alegria

• 1/2 cup Korbel California Brandy
• 1 bottle Kenwood Vineyards Red Table Wine
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 liter club soda
• 20 slices of fruit (oranges, lemons and limes)

Combine Korbel Brandy, Kenwood Red Table Wine, triple sec, sugar and fruit slices. Refrigerate for four or more hours.
Add club soda, stir and serve.

Korbel Brandy ‘Rita

• 1 oz. of Korbel California Brandy
• 1 oz. Tuaca
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 3 oz. sweet and sour mix
• squeeze of lime

Combine ingredients over ice in a margarita glass or blend for a frozen version. Salt or sugar on the rim is optional. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Don’t forget to celebrate responsibly!

Image: Newscom

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They’ve included some great tips for decorating, food, and drink ideas.

Some Cinco De Mayo party planning highlights include:

• Use bright colors
• Make some paper flowers
• Floating flower centerpieces
• Salsa-tinis~ A salad in a drink glass
• Spiked iced chocolate
• You gotta have margaritas!

My favorite part of Cinco De Mayo celebrations are the bright vibrant color schemes. I love the simple ideas they presented here.

Image via sxc.hu

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Cinco De Mayo Recipes:

• Strawberry Margaritas and Margarita Fruit Salad

• Mexican Flag Dip

• Mexican Ice Cream With Cinnamon Chocolate Sauce

• Citrus Infused Cinco De Mayo Recipes

Check out these Cinco De Mayo party invitations from Pingg. These were my favorites. I liked the margaritas…

and the hats.

Decorating Ideas:

• Southwest blankets and sombreros make great decorations
• Make a pinata
  
• Break out the chili peppers, for your recipes and your party decorations! There are chili pepper lights, plates, and other party decor available from many party supply stores.

Break out the salsa and put it in this festive condiment bowl from pinatas.com.

Don’t have time to make a pinata? These cute little donkey pinatas, will do the trick.

Do you have Cinco De Mayo plans? Do you plan to sip a margarita?

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Want to make green beer for your St. Patrick’s Day party? There’s nothing to it. Simply add 1 to 3 drops of green food coloring to a mugful of beer.

Some tips:

• Lighter shades of green work best. You don’t want a brown shad of green as it’s unappealing.
• Dying beer works best with light colored beers. Darker beers won’t turn very green.
• Mix a drop at a time until you find the formula that works.

Image via stock.xchnge

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For some, St. Patrick’s Day party fare means dying cookies and punch green, for others it means corned beef and cabbage and other Irish favorites. Since Guinness is the Irish stout of choice, it makes sense recipes featuring Guinness are front and center at St.Paddy’s Day parties.  I give you: 

10 Recipes Featuring Guinness

1. Guinness Mustard – Makes a wonderful glaze for corned beef.
2. Guinness Stout Ginger Cake
3. Guinness Stout Ice Cream
4. Chocolate Guinness Goodness
5. Beef and Guinness Pie
6. Irish Stout Fondue
7. Guinness Stew
8. Irish Beef Stew with Guinness
9. Guinness Stout Brownies
10. The Guinness Collector’s Club has a wonderful assortment of Guinness recipes.

Image via Morgue File

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Looking for something fun to do for your St. Patrick’s Day Party? Try some of these St.Patrick’s Day Party games from party411.com. Some of these are clearly geared towards children but adults can have fun too!

Image via stock.xchnge

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What will you be playing for your St.Patrick’s Day Party? There are bunch of great traditional songs. Or you can stock up on Irish musicians and bands such as The Coors, U2 and The Chieftans.  At TheBards.net, there’s a page dedicated to St. Patrick’s Day music downloads. Here you’ll find such great Irish tunes as Finnegan’s Wake, The Unicorn Song and Whiskey in the Jar among others.

Enjoy!

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So we already established you can’t have a St.Patrick’s Day Party without Irish Coffee. You’ll also want to consider serving your coffee in the correct mugs. Now, it’s not mandatory – I’ve seen Irish Coffee served in wine glasses or regular coffee mugs. If you want to really get into the spirit of things, here are a few suggestions for Irish Coffee glasses:

• Here’s a traditional Irish Coffee mug from Crate and Barrel.
• This Irish Coffee mug from Our Olde Stuff is made from crystal but at $8.00 a pop it might be too much to get one for all your guests.
• Party for two? Try these made from fine Galway crystal at Amazon.

There are plenty of places across the web where you can buy Irish Coffee glasses in bulk – this is recommended over paying an individual price for each mug you buy. Restaurant supply houses are great for buying in bulk and sometimes you can get amazing deals on discontinued items.

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Every year my Hungarian grandmother made corned beef and cabbage for my Irish grandfather for St. Patrick’s Day . At first it was just the two of them, but when my sister and I were living on our own and close to my grandmother, we’d join the tradition. Even after Grandpa passed away, my grandmother made corned beef and cabbage (well, for her it was Hungarian cabbage noodles) for my mom, sister and I and our families each year. Grandma’s no longer with us, but I still make corned beef and cabbage every year too. Last year I made a dinner party out of it, and this year I’m doing the same for my mother’s birthday.

This corned beef and cabbage recipe comes courtesy of a food blog I maintain along with some friends called Cookerati. One of those friends shared this recipe with me a couple of years ago and it’s the same one I make for my family. We can’t get enough! Now I do make a modification – the mustard powder is too much for my kindergartener so I leave it out. Still, the glaze makes the meal and this is the best corned beef and cabbage dinner you’ll ever have.

Buff’s Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner

Ingredients:

• 4.5 to 5 pound corned beef brisket, trimmed of fat
• 1 whole garlic clove
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 or so carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 8 or so potatoes, cubed – I leave the skin on
• 1 large Vidalia onion, quartered
• 1 head cabbage, cut into wedges
• butter
• parsley

Mustard Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

1. In a large pot, cover brisket with water.  Over high heat, bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Skim junk off top.  Add garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Simmer covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
2. Add carrots, potatoes and onions.  Cook until almost tender (20-25 minutes).  Add cabbage and cook until all vegetables are tender.
3. Do this step while the vegetables are cooking:  Make mustard glaze – combine Dijon mustard and brown sugar to make a paste.  Whisk in the rest of the mustard glaze ingredients.
4. Do this step while the cabbage is cooking:   Remove brisket before putting cabbage in the pot.  Preheat broiler.  Place brisket fat side up on a rack over a broiler pan.   Brush top of brisket with some of the mustard glaze.  Put the brisket in the broiler so that the top of the brisket is about 6 inches from the heat.  Broil 10 minutes, brushing meat several times with the glaze until the meat is shiny.  Transfer meat to a cutting board and pour leftover glaze in serving board.
5. Slice brisket and arrange on large serving platter.  Using a slotted spoon to scoop out of the pot, place cabbage carrots and onions on the platter.  Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot.  Toss potatoes with butter and parsley and place on platter.  [or you can just put all the vegetables in a serving bowl and let your guests do the butter and parsley thing].

Image by Anita Patterson via Morgue File.

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Recently, I showed you how my Irish co-worker made an Irish coffee. Here’s how a bartender makes one. Choose your favorite version for your St. Patrick’s Day party.

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