A festive blog with lots of ideas on how to make a party great, or keep it from going south. Themes, recipes, do's and don'ts, and any other helpful information I've stumbled across and thought you readers might appreciate.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Simply Super Guacamole

Simply Super Guacamole

by PartyFan


Guacamole is a Super Bowl party favorite, but it makes a great addition to the eats at any event. Here's a simple recipe for it that always gets rave reviews when I make it.

Cut avocados in half, lengthwise. You can't go through the large pit in the middle, so just spin the avocado against the knife blade until you have cut all the way around it, to the depth of the pit. Now twist the two half's slightly in opposite directions, and you should be able to pull them apart easily. The pit will most likely still be stuck in one half. You can scoop it out with a spoon, but the more common method of removal is to lightly tap the pit with your knife, like you were trying to chop it in half, which will stick the blade into the pit. Now keeping the knife in the same orientation, move the handle to one side or the other to spin the pit in place, using the same motion you did to twist the two half's apart, and the pit should stay stuck to the blade and pop right out.

Scoop all of the insides out into a bowl, leaving just the rind behind. Once you have all of the avocados pitted and rind less in your bowl, you need to mash them. The best tool for this is a mortar and pestle, like the restaurants use for table side guacamole, but I don't have one of those. Next best is a tool I do have, a potato masher. If you don't have one of those, either, a fork will do. Use the masher or your fork to mash the avocados thoroughly. Make sure to stir and scrape the corners, so you don't leave any major lumps hiding. You don't need to completely eliminate all the tiny lumps, but you don't want any sizable ones, so mash, mash, mash.

Once you've gotten to the well mashed stage, you add whatever flavorful goodies you want to enhance the guacamole, and stir them in well. Here's where my simple trick comes in. For every three avocados, I add one small can (7 oz.) of Herdez Salsa Casera. I normally avoid brand names, but in this case I think the product is superior to anything else I've tried. I prefer using the mild, but the medium or hot will work just as nicely if you prefer to add a little more heat. Make sure it is the Casera type, you want the chunks. If you have a favorite salsa, or are making do with what you have in the fridge, you can substitute 6 to 8 oz. of any chunky garden salsa (make sure it is chunky style, with tomatoes). Stir it in well. Now add two tablespoons of lemon or lime juice. This is to help prevent the guacamole from turning brown.

That's it. Simple, huh? If you are feeling fancy, you can garnish with a little bit of chopped cilantro, but don't overdo it.

A few extra tips:

You want to start with ripe avocados. If they are too firm, they won't mash up easily, and the consistency of the guacamole suffers. Overripe ones can mostly still be used, but will have bad spots (any dark, discolored area) you will need to avoid when you are scooping the rinds clean or trim off once you've gotten the material in your bowl. Be picky when selecting your avocados. They should be dark in color, not bright. Give them a squeeze, they should yield but not feel like mush. Too firm, not ripe yet. Too mushy, and they are overripe. If you already have avocados that aren't ripe yet, leave them out on your counter somewhere for a few days to ripen.

Don't forget the lemon juice. It really does help prevent the guacamole from turning brown. It still will turn, but it will take longer with the acid of the juice added.

Make the guacamole as close to the time you will serve it as you can. It is best fresh, and really doesn't keep well, even with the lemon juice added.

Enjoy!

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