Get ready, you guys. This weekend we have the Kentucky Derby and Cinco De Mayo. So many ways to get your party on, all in one short weekend. While you may prefer to run the horses, I prefer to stuff myself with Mexican food. This is true, of course, on any given weekend. And luckily, so much in the Mexican food oeuvre is naturally gluten-free, so there’s that.

I’ve never, however, made tostadas before so this was a good frying time. Other than cooking up your corn tortillas, and turning pintos into refried, the most work in this recipe comes from making a lovely spicy sauce for the chicken. But even that is pretty simple, as you chop up these vegetables —

Roast them, puree them, and voila! Or ¡presente — which seems more appropriate.

So you throw all of this stuff together, top it with your favorite accoutrements (I know, some of you hate cilantro, so ditch it and pretend I never mentioned it) and you’ve got a delicious celebration in your mouth. This is how good these tostadas are: My daughter stopped mid-bite to demand a show of hands, “Who thinks mommy is the best cook in the world?” Let the record show that no hands remained in laps. That’s right, people.

Here’s how you can get people to raise hands over the deliciousness of your cooking!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, ya’ll.

Gluten-Free Chicken Tostadas

adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

1 medium white onion
1 pound tomatoes, quartered
2 large garlic cloves
1 or 2 fresh serrano chiles, stemmed
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (4 cups)
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Refried beans (see recipe)
1 avocado, halved, pitted, and peeled
1/4 cup crumbled queso añjo (aged white cheese, also called cotija)

1.  Preheat broiler. Cut half of onion into 3/4-inch wedges, then chop remainder. Toss onion wedges, tomatoes, garlic, and whole chiles with 2 tablespoons oil in a 4-sided sheet pan, spreading in 1 layer. Broil about 4 inches from heat until softened and charred, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Let vegetables cool slightly, and prepare refried beans.

3. While beans are cooking, heat vegetable oil to fry tortillas over medium-high heat.

4. Fry tortillas, 1 at a time, turning once or twice and pressing with tongs to immerse, until golden brown, 45 to 60 seconds per tortilla. Drain briefly on paper towels, then transfer to plates.

5. Assemble tostadas with refried beans, chicken, and top with cotija cheese, avocado, onions, and cilantro.

Makes: 6 servings