Over the weekend I had a little Day of the Dead dinner party.  And at the last hour, I decided that I had just enough time to carve the pumpkin and have it at the front door to greet my guests. 

 

When everyone arrived, I offered mini shots of tequila out of my etched skull glasses.

Over the years I have accumulated Day of the Dead candelabras, some that I have bought and some that my parents had given me.  The Picasso-esqe dinner plates are from Dolores Hidalgo, a town known for it ceramics only half an hour from San Miguel de Allende.

 Ceramic candelabras mixed in with tin ones along with ceramic prickly pear cacti. 

 I had made these stuffed jalapenos before but with shrimp.  This time I used the same cheese (Gouda and cream cheese) but added fried chorizo and sliced scallions.  Excellent.

As another hors d'oeuvre, I made Bloody Mary Shrimp served in Chinese soup spoons.  I just love the little bowl with the pinata motif on the inside that had I bought at Gorky Gonzales's studio this last trip over in Guanajuato.  Another winner.  

Once everyone was seated, I served a Cream of Cilantro soup that had strips of fried corn tortiallas and Crumbled Queso Fresco in the bowl.  So very light.
For our main course, I made a tossed salad with mangoes and julienned jicama dressed with a cilantro vinaigrette.  And a Chicken dish with salsa verde, Chihuahua cheese, fried corn tortillas and strips of roasted poblano peppers.

Then for dessert, an Avocado Ice Cream that I had drizzled Amaretto  over it along with a sprinkling of toasted slivered almonds.  Mmmm, so good. 

AVOCADO ICE CREAM

       1  tablespoon vanilla
       3  avocados
1 1/2  cups honey
       6  cups heavy cream

           Amaretto
           Toasted slivered almonds

Heat 2 cups of cream with the honey.  In a food processor, blend the avocados.  Add the honey and cream.   Add the rest of the cream and vanilla.  Pour into a container and freeze.

Half an hour before serving, move container to the refrigerator.  Scoop into serving bowls and top with the Amaretto and almonds.

Buen Provecho!