Holy Guacamole

In anticipation of the football frenzy that will fill our living rooms this Sunday, February 3, I am sure many of you are hosting gatherings and looking for suitable goodies to serve. Who doesn’t love dip? My favorites are the ones that can be enjoyed by those who favor chips, crackers and crudités alike. One splendiferous dish perfect for such variety - and as a Texan, a favorite of mine - is that of guacamole. Super easy to pull together and scrumptious.  Shaped by the good old, nutrient and healthy fat packed green stuff.  Ripe avocados just make everything better.

Simplify your life and take care of the prep work early in the day. You can do your chopping, dicing, squeezing and pinching in advance. Throw it all into one large bowl, cover in plastic and put in the fridge. Avocados brown easily so best not to mix too far in advance. I then encourage you to scoop out the avocado as folks are parking and about to approach the front door.  If you are anal-retentive like me and this is unacceptable, an hour or so before you serve is in order.

To add further authenticity to your grub, do yourself a favor and buy tortilla chips at your local Mexican haunt. They look better, taste better and are usually the same price as the processed stuff from the store. Chop up some carrot sticks as well as celery and zucchini. Put out some gluten free or rice crackers on a plate. Wishing you a fantastic Superbowl Sunday and may the best team – perhaps your favorite – win!

Below you will find my sister’s guacamole recipe that has made a name for itself from the southern tip of Manhattan along the eastern seaboard to that of the Queen City. It is the business.

MJB’s Famous Guacamole

Y’all will need

5 avocados - I like to buy mine hard four days in advance and let them ripen on my counter

5 medium sized tomatoes  - Cut in half

½ white or purple onion

3 garlic cloves

1 bunch of cilantro

½ jalapeño

6 green onions

Kosher salt

The juice of 3 limes

1 TBS olive oil

How To

1. In your Cuisinart pulse the onion, garlic, cilantro and jalapeno until diced. Throw in a large bowl.  Now add your tomatoes and pulse. If the mixture yields too much juice, you can strain and separate the meaty chunks. Throw in the large bowl. Hand chop your green onions and add them to the bowl. Now squeeze in the juice of 2 limes and some pinches of salt. Give everything a generous mix.

2. Cut your avocados in half and remove the pit. With a spoon, scoop out the greens of the avocado and add them to the big bowl. Add the juice of the remaining lime and more salt. Once you are done, give everything a robust stir with a large spoon until all is uniformly mixed. I like mine chunky but you can certainly mix until creamy. Whatever wets your whistle on Superbowl Sunday.

3. Now is a good time to give everything a taste and if need be, add more lime juice as well as salt. I really think more is more in the salt department with guacamole.

4. Serve in a large bowl, drizzled with olive oil. You can also add roasted corn to this medley should you wish.