Holy Guacamole!

It is Super Bowl weekend and I know my Massachusetts friends will be fully engaged in massive Super Bowl parties (cheering on the Patriots, of course).  Food will be plentiful.  After Thanksgiving dinner, Super Bowl is the biggest food day of the year for Americans.  Chicken wings are at the top of the food chain at Super Bowl parties… in fact, Americans will be consuming over a billion chicken wings this Sunday!  In an effort to save some of those poor little chickens, I will humanely release my guacamole recipe (plus some guac tips to keep the dip fresh).

For years, whenever there was a party, my friends would ask me if I could bring my guacamole.  I have to admit, it is a really good recipe (which I learned from a family friend when I was 19 years old).  People have asked me for the recipe throughout the years and I have obliged (a little begrudgingly because I want to be known as the one who makes the best guacamole).   However, since I am no longer in-State, and there are big parties planned for Sunday, I feel the time is right to happily reveal all.
Tips:

1.       Buy Hass avocados only.  They are the best.  The large green avocados have too much water content and do not have the same creaminess that the smaller avocados possess. 

2.       Shop in advance just in case you can’t find ripe avocados.  I have been known to go to three different stores in a fruitless search for ripe avocados.  If you can’t find any ripe avocados (they should been dark in color and have a little give), then put them in a paper bag in the pantry with a banana or an apple.   They should ripen up within a day or two as the apples and bananas release gasses that ripen avocados.

3.       Don’t prepare your guacamole too far in advance as it will brown and also, I’ve noticed, flavor can be lost. 

4.   Putting a pit in your guacamole does not prevent it from turning brown.  To keep your guacamole from turning brown make sure to include lime juice in your recipe and also put plastic wrap directly on the top of the finished guacamole.  It will prevent air from discoloring the dip.

5.       The beauty of guacamole is that it is very flexible.  You can add or remove ingredients to suit your own pallet.  I don’t use cilantro any longer because my husband doesn’t like cilantro – others may love cilantro and want to add double the recommended amount.   When my sister Ellie comes to visit, I don’t add in onions as she hates onions.   If you have fresh ingredients and, most importantly, ripe avocados, you really cannot go wrong.

Ingredients (dip will serve six):

3 ripe Hass avocados (mashed… leave a few little lumps)

1 lime (juiced – about two table spoons of lime juice)

½ cup of cilantro (roughly chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (finely diced)

½ a jalapeno (finely diced)

½ a red onion (finely diced)

½ a green pepper (diced)

2 plum tomatoes (remove seeds and dice)

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive

½ tablespoon of Kosher salt (adjust to taste)

½ tablespoon of ground pepper (adjust to taste)

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

And now for the big reveal!  The secret ingredient that I believe has had life-long haters of guacamole convert is:  ½ cup of sour cream (lite or full fat).  It just adds that extra umph to the recipe and makes it even creamier.

Take all of the ingredients (the day of the party) and mix them together very well.  You will want to chill the dip ahead of time and serve it with Tostitos Scoops (best chips I’ve yet found for this dip). 

Happy game day everyone!  And, remember, don’t forget to cheer for the Pats!