Famous Guacamole

I grew up as an Irish, Catholic kid from the oh-so-white suburbs of Boston. The likelihood of me ever coming in contact with an avocado, let alone making good guacamole, was slim to none. Fast forward 30 years and you'll find me reading an article about some guy named Rick Bayless. Do you know him? You should. He has revolutionized the American understanding of Mexican food. As with everything, I wanted to know more about him and his 'new' Mexican cuisine. Sadly, up to this point, I was not much of a Mexican food fan. Too greasy, too lumpy, just too fake everything. Fast forward another 5 years and you'll find me relocated to Chicago and eating in one of his restaurants. I bought one of Rick's cookbooks and started at the beginning. As mentioned above, avocados were a new thing to me, but his guacamole recipe looked easy enough (remember my motto, 'if you can read, you can cook'). A first try was successful. This encouraged me. I made a few modifications to accommodate my family's tastes and had what is now called our guacamole. (Sidebar...I had the great fortune of meeting Rick Bayless at a booksigning a few years ago. I believe that when you meet someone who is doing what God put them on this planet to do, you absolutely know it from the first moment. Rick Bayless is one of those people. If you ever have the opportunity to meet/see him - take it!)

Guacamole

1 tomato

1/2 onion (I use sweet onions - Rick uses red)

2 serrano chilies (I've used jalapeno also)

1/4 - 1/2 cup cilantro (Rick uses 10 sprigs)

3 avocados

juice of 1 lime

salt

Dice the tomato and squeeze the juice and seeds out of it (with your hands - this is def. a hands- on kind of recipe). Dice the onion. Dice the chilies. Chop the cilantro. Combine first four ingredients. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the flesh from the outer shells. Add the avocados to the tomato and onion mix. Using your hands, mash all ingredients together. Add the juice of the lime and stir together. Salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.

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