Epiphany Dinner

44

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

I hope you all had a great Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings or the Feast of the Epiphany). Our friends Lesley and Julio invited us over for an Epiphany dinner and I have to say that my amiga Lesley did an outstanding job with dinner and hosting.

Its funny because since starting our blog and cookbook journey my hubby and I are not invited to home dinners as often. Some friends have even confessed that they are intimidated to cook for me. Let me just say I am not a food critic. I love food, any and all food, especially food that is cooked for me. So bring on the invitations for 2012.

Lesley prepared caldo de res, a delicious Mexican beef and vegetable soup, which included chayote. Chayote is a type of squash that gave the soup a great mild flavor. She served the soup with warm corn tortillas, lime wedges, cilantro, and a salsa roja. I felt like I was sitting at mom’s kitchen table. It was the perfect comfort food for a chilly Colorado evening.



She also had some spicy tamales de puerco en chile colorado that Julio’s mother gave them from a tamaleria in Pharr, Texas located near McAllen and the Mexican border city of Reynosa. They were excelente! I hadn’t eaten tamales since our IMUSA tamale adventure and tamalada in El Paso in September (yes, shame on me), so I kinda devoured a couple.

She even had persimmons knowing that I love them so we just had to make persimmon margaritas.

For dessert we had my Rosca de Reyes, which turned out better than I had hoped. Although it was a tad over baked it was not noticed. I covered it in foil and reheated it in the oven, then drizzled some eggnog glaze all over it. Lesley and Julio also broke out a Venezuelan ponche crema, so I just had to add that to the glaze. The rosca turned out great and tasted like a cinnamon roll with a citrus twist. The citrus flavor in the dough and filling combined with the enduring holiday taste of the sweet eggnog glaze was the perfect dessert to end a wonderful Epiphany feast.

If all this wasn’t enough, Lesley also made Mexican hot chocolate with a splash of Kahlua, which complimented the rosca well.

Let’s recap the great drinks…We started off with some of my favorite Rioja Spanish wine before dinner, persimmon margaritas with dinner, the rosca had a Venezuelan kick, and finally a little Kahlua touch in our chocolate.

The kids even enjoyed a little bubbly with some non-alcoholic sparkling cider. It was a very cheerful evening to say the least as we all ate, drank, watched our children perform a “dance show”, and talked till midnight.

Thank you Lesley and Julio for hosting such a fabulous dinner and wanting to share the Dia de Los Reyes traditions with our children.

Salud! Here’s to 2012 and more dinner parties with family and friends.

And speaking of dinner parties – I will be hosting Dia de La Candelaria. Lesley’s daughter actually found the baby Jesus in her slice of bread, but I volunteered to host since they hosted Dia de Los Reyes. My plan is to open the invitation to a few other friends and make it a potluck style dinner.

I even invited some virtual friends to join us in on the potluck so stay tuned for some great recipes from some Latina blog amigas.

Will you be hosting or attending any festivities for Dia de La Candelaria?

Written by Yvette / Photos by Yvette

❤️ Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack is the founder of Muy Bueno and a leading authority on Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, she develops authentic Mexican recipes rooted in family tradition and personally tested in her Colorado kitchen. Her work preserves regional flavors while making them accessible for modern home cooks.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

44 Comments

  1. adri {FoodieBeFit} says:

    What a lovely evening! Just came back from eating my heart out in Mexico. Esas copas traen buenos recuerdos y el ponche de crema tambien de mis navidades venezolanas 🙂 That rosca looks amazing.

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Your blog had me salivating Adri! Looks like you had quite the culinary adventure. Good for you! You and your familia are beautiful.

  2. Andrea @ Fork Fingers Chopsticks says:

    It’s always nice to be the guest. I liked the friendly reminder to freinds that you’re open for invitations. I might have to follow your lead.

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Seems like 2011 I cooked and hosted many fiestas. I think I have a hosting addiction. I’m gonna try really hard to accept more invitations this year. Kinda funny though because I’m planning to host Dia de La Candelaria. LOL!

  3. Eliana Tardío Hurtado says:

    You have a wonderful friend, everything looks delicious and perfect!

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      I agree Eliana. Thank you!

  4. Vicki Challancin says:

    Persimmon margaritas???? Fabulous!

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      You need to try them Vicki! They are truly amazing!

  5. Comiendo en LA says:

    Nosotros no celebramos la fiesta de los Reyes, pero todo lo que es celebración lo adapto a mi cultura!

    La sopa se ve muy parecida a una sopa colombiana! Que bien que hayas disfrutados de las fiestas en compañía de los tuyos!

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Gracias Comiendo en LA!

  6. Bren @ Flanboyant Eats™ says:

    You know en Cuba, la tradicion de la rosca no se celebra, pero desde niña siempre hemos celebrado los reyes magos con una comida y mas regalos… desde que mi hermano menor se caso, el y la mujer (cubana pero vivio en Mexico por un tiempo) han cocinado y hecho la rosca para la familia entera… me lo he perdido como estoy en Atlanta… but I know they have such a great time every year! especially as they wait to see who gets the baby. Your rosca looks amazing and that soup looks JUST like my mom’s chicken soup! I love it!

    Happy new year to you and your entire family!

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Thank you Bren! I love how closely all us Latinas have similar traditions and memories. I’m Counting on you girl – we need a GOOD flan for our virtual potluck for Dia de La Candelaria. How ‘bout it?

  7. Rachel says:

    Wow! Your dinner looked very special and delicious!

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Thank you Rachel! I’m looking forward to February and another spread of yummy food.

  8. perudelights says:

    Everything looks delicious. What a lovely dinner, especially because you shared food and traditions, and had a great time all together. I love the idea of a virtual potluck.

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Thank you Perudelights. Hope you can join our virtual potluck!

  9. Just A Smidgen says:

    I can see why this day is called “Epiphany”.. this meal is incredible. I love the photos of your kids:)

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Thank you Just A Smidgen! It has fun being behind the camera.

  10. rsmacaalay says:

    I love how rustic that soup is! Yummy it looks like it packs a lot of flavour

    1. muybuenocookbook says:

      Thank you rsmacaalay! It was the perfect bowl of comfort food. My amiga really went all out!