This... is the 20 unripe avocados that I bought last Monday at the produce mart.
Why 20?
Well, sometimes the ones at the produce mart ripen and aren't good. I've learned my lessons. I was asked to bring quacamole to the hubby's nephew's birthday party, and I figured I'd be ultra safe an buy more avocados than I needed, especially since I wanted to make my regular guac and also try Nigella Lawson's Roquamole recipe. Also, at the produce mart, the are dirt cheap. At the major chain grocery store, avocados cost about $1.50. These were 60 cents a piece.
And on Friday... the 20 ripe avocados......
Mmmm.... avocado-y......
When I cut into them, I only had one bad avocado.
I think we're gonna need a bigger bowl...
So, I did the two guacs. My usual guac with a little improvement... I had some garlic confit to use so I used that rather than garlic powder (raw garlic tends to be a little too strong to the majority, although I don't mind it), a couple glugs of salsa, salt, a little lime, and some chili powder. My favorite tool for mixing guac is actually a whisk, and I managed to have a rare stroke of brilliance and actually mixed both in the Kitchen Aid mixer (I love that thing). Did my regular guac first, then the Roquamole.
A former friend of mine ((deleting rant about why she is a former friend and will always be one) once taught me how she was told to make quac while she was an exchange student in Mexico - mash avocados, and then on the big holes of your box grater, grate and onion and a tomato and then mix it up. Nice, but I still like mine better.
And it's likely the store-bought salsa I add, but even my mother in law remarked (since I left the leftover guac from Father's Day with them) that it didn't brown as quickly as other stuff she's had.... but it does tend to "stay" a bit longer. Even when I don't add the lime.
I easily had 4-5 cups of each guac that I made. I basically had lunch just sampling them and figuring out what they needed (the regular quac could have used more salt in the end, my sis in law's chips were not as salty as the Frontera ones I had). The regular guac, other than what I thought was a lack of salt, was one of the better batches I have made. And I've made it alot. Early in my cooking years, my family was impressed with my guac skillz, and from about the age of 12 on, I was always the one who made the guac.
The Roquamole? That stuff is DEADLY if you are a blue cheese person. I just used a good, local-ish blue cheese, and it was knock-outta-the-park (which, apparently, my White Sox cannot do this weekend.... sigh) fantastic. Several people told me I need to figure out how to bottle that (and I wouldn't... because "bottled" usually means a lack of quality and jebus, it's easy enough to make if you're willing to dirty a cutting board). But yeah.... good thing the hubsy don't like stinky cheese. I don't need an excuse to make that often.
The best part?? The Man Of The Hour, the two-year old b-day boy.... they started him out with the regular guac, but soon after he was sitting in a chair right by both of them, and happily dipping in to the Roqamole. Oh yeah. That was awesomness.
Someone remind me to plant a big ole kiss on Nigella Lawson if I'm ever lucky enough to meet her. Her recipes just rock.
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