This weekend we invited family and friends over for tacos, tequila, pan dulce and coffee.

My birthday is on Halloween. Instead of tie up everyone's Halloween plans, we hosted a late Sunday brunch.

On the menu:
Flour Tortillas
Corn Tortillas
Refried Black Beans
Refried Pinto Beans
Roasted Golden Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sauteed Nopales and Mushrooms
Sauteed bell pepper and onion
Guacamole
Chipotle Salsa
Salsa Verde
Pickled Red Onion
Cashew Lime Crema
Pineapple Empanadas
Pumpkin Empanadas
Mexican Wedding Cookies

We made pitchers of:
Sangria
La Condesa's Alma Blanca (with habanero infused tequila)
Fresh Squeezed Agave Margaritas

We used colorful plates & glasses found at West Elm and Anthropologie. We found weaved colorful tortilla warmers at a local Hispanic market.

You can prep everything the night before. The day of, I made fresh guacamole, salsa and potatoes and put everything out on the table for people to assemble their tacos. Chris made pitchers of fresh-squeezed margaritas and the alma blanca. Our friend came over early to make another pitcher of fruity sangria.

As everyone arrived, we served them drinks and I threw some tortillas on the comal before piling them in the tortilla warmers. We brewed a big pot of coffee and everyone devoured the empanadas and cookies.

Easy, stylish, colorful and simple to host - especially if you have amazing friends who will come over the night before and help you dice onions. I'm looking at you, Coffey's.

Recently for my brunch, I tried out a Rick Bayless guacamole recipe. Guacamole is great because everyone loves it; and you can make a million riffs on it with the simplest changes. If you don't know where to start with any Mexican recipe, start with Rick Bayless.

I love to garnish my guacamole with pomegranate seeds. It's pretty and simple.

Filled with pumpkin or pineapple, empanadas are a hit. You'll always find empanadas on the shelf at panaderias.

For my recent brunch, we made a ton of empanadas. We made fillings from scratch and used frozen premade vegan dough. We rolled out the dough, cut out circles, spooned filling in the center, folded each one in half and crimped it shut using a fork.

You can find the pineapple filling recipe here. Allow it to cool before filling your empanadas. (Note: If you use canned pineapple, omit the water and follow everything else)

For the pumpkin filling, mix together:

• 1 can Pumpkin
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 4 tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon Molasses
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Taste and adjust as needed. It shouldn't be too wet to scoop into the center of the dough circles.

Bake at 350° until golden and toss them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture while the empanadas are still warm.

I think if you can make a perfect pitcher of margaritas, using fresh squeezed lime juice and agave; you're truly prepared for any situation. This is my husband's recipe and it is amazing. Don't bother making these if you're using bottled lime juice. You can tell instantly if it isn't fresh squeezed. It's so worth the squeeze.

Make a big pitcher, line glasses with an exotic salt mix, and pour over ice.

3 cups tequila (100% Blue Agave Tequila)
2 cups Fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 cup Cointreau

I've been vegan for almost 7 years now. I don't know why it took me so long to make cashew cream. Anyway, this isn't just a vegan thing, it's a foodie thing. It's impressive, luscious and gourmet.

You can soak raw cashews in water overnight (water should be 1" above cashews), in your refrigerator. By morning, they'll be plump and swollen. Drain the cashew water into another bowl or cup (you may need it) and blend the stuff out of your cashews. The more you blend, the fluffier it gets. You may need to add a little of the reserved cashew water to the blender if it's too thick. It'll make a rich cream, similar to sour cream. It tastes like pure cashew, so you can add anything to brighten it up.

My lime crema has the juice of 1-2 limes, 1 jalapeno (deseeded) and 1 avocado.

Taste as you go, and flavor it for whatever you're eating.

Some of my favorite riffs:

• Chipotle Cashew Crema (add in canned chipotle chiles in adobo)
• Habanero Cashew Crema (add in 1 roasted habanero)
• Lemon-berry Cashew Crema (add in fresh berries, lemon juice)