Guacamole

Whenever I invite anyone over for a gathering the first question they usually ask is "Can I bring anything?".  Without hesitation my response is usually 'no thank you, just bring you."  However, there is one person for whom I usually say yes to and that would be my sister, as she is the wine connoisseur in the family and is always willing to share her incredible wine and port finds.

Keeping in mind this singular exception, there was a day years back it was a very busy week and I wasn't exactly certain I could get all of the appetizers made for a cocktail gathering for some of my staff.  One of my staff members must have caught me in a moment of weakness because I uncharacteristically said 'that would be great' to the question.

To this day I am eternally grateful that I loosened up a bit because the guacamole brought by this male guest turned out to be incredible. In the first bite, I immediately knew I had to have the recipe.  So I asked 'where did you get this great guacamole recipe?'  When he said it came from an old Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, my response was 'seriously?'.  He must have read my mind because he said he too was surprised at how good it was when it first made it, but that it had become his signature appetizer for the past twenty-five years.  When you are the recipient of someone's treasured recipe, you feel as if you have been given a priceless gift.

 
His recipe called for the addition of one medium tomato chopped and added to the guacamole.  Because you can only get really good tomatoes in the summer I will either omit this ingredient completely or use chopped grape tomatoes because they are perfect all year round.  Either with or without the tomatoes this is one killer guacamole.

There is a little store in my town that has a basket of perfectly ripe avocados year round.  They don't last long on the store's counter, so as long as I can stop there in the morning on my way to work I can always make up a batch of fresh guacamole when I get home.  If you are not lucky enough to have a store that carries ripe avocados, it usually takes a day or two for the firmer avocados you buy at the grocery store to ripen.

When you slice an avocado in half lengthwise it is easy to scoop out the flesh. I take a tablespoon to separate the avocado from the skin.  And with just a spoon you can remove the entire avocado half and place into a bowl.  Once all of the avocados are in a bowl you immediately add the freshly squeezed lemon juice.  The lemon juice not only adds flavor it helps to keep the avocado from turning brown.  I mash the avocados with a fork.  I like my guacamole chunky but if you prefer a smoother guacamole, this will the time for you to mash it to the consistency you prefer.

Red onions are my favorite onion of choice in this guacamole.  You only need a half of a medium red onion minced for this recipe.

What makes this guacamole recipe different from most others is the addition of the chopped mild green chilies.  Sometimes I buy the can of already chopped chilies, but I usually like to buy the can of whole green chilies so I can decide on the size of dice.  Whole chilies can minced to a small dice or they can be a more medium sized dice.  Again, the size of the dice will all depend on the guacamole texture you like.

Once the avocados are mashed and combined with the lemon juice, you add all of the other ingredients. Remember to use Kosher salt in this recipe.  Table salt and Kosher salt are not the same thing and in this recipe one cannot be substituted for the other.

Of course either mojitos or margaritas are my beverage of choice when serving guacamole.  But if you aren't a rum or tequila drinker, serve this guacamole with your favorite iced cold beer. You might want to make sure you have extra ingredients on hand as once your guests start eating this guacamole, it won't last long.

Recipe
Guacamole (adapted from the recipe appearing in a Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook)
Photos updated February 2024

Ingredients
4 medium-sized  ripe avocados
3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 four ounce can of mild green chiles, drained and chopped or 1 four ounce can of chopped mild green chilies
Optional:  1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes or 1 medium ripe tomato seeded and chopped

Directions
1. Slice each avocado in half lengthwise, remove seed, and scoop into a bowl.
2. Mash avocado with lemon juice.  Leave chunky.
3. Stir in salt, minced onion, minced garlic and chopped chilies.
4. If adding tomatoes, stir into mixture.
5. Spoon into a bowl.  (Cover with plastic wrap if not serving immediately.)
6. Serve with your favorite chips.

It is hard to believe that it was just a week ago that we had a power outage creating blizzard here on the east coast.  It snowed again mid-week, only this time the snow was soft, fluffy and melted from the heat of the sun.  The landscape of freshly fallen snow at sunrise is breathtaking.  On my way to work I stopped to take some photos to try to capture the light as it came up from the horizon.  When you have heat, power and water, the winter landscape is truly beautiful.

 
Even though the winter can be wicked at times, I would never want to miss out on being able to take in this season.  I could certainly do without the blizzard experience, but there is nothing more mesmerizing that looking a beautiful winter sky, winter landscape. As much as I love warm weather, there is something about experiencing all four seasons that can be energizing.  This is one guacamole recipe that tastes great any season.  It might even be one that helps you get through those seasons that have a few less than pleasant days.