Guacamole, Plain and Simple

This looks about right--maybe needs one more serrano.

     Perhaps I skipped over the guacamole too quickly in the Enchilada article.  The method I outlined, just avocado, salt and pepper, was called “Butter of the Poor” in my favorite Mexican cookbook—one called, “The El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook,” by W. Park Kerr and his mom, Norma.  A friend, Carlos Vacquero, gave it to me many years ago and I have used it almost religiously since.  I do not, however, prefer their guacamole recipe, which contains, yuck, Miracle Whip.  I evolved my own recipe, using theirs as a base.  I do it this way:

    Peel and seed three or four ripe avocados and cube them into ½” cubes, and put them in the bottom of a mixing/serving bowl.  Peel three cloves of garlic and squeeze them into the bowl with a garlic press.  Throw in a third of a cup of finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Stem, seed, and finely chop two Serrano peppers and throw them in.  Squeeze in the juice of one lime and mix everything with a fork until it is uniform.  Mash some of the avocado with the fork as you stir.  If you like tomato in your guacamole, and most people do, peel, seed and finely chop a small ripe tomato and add it last, so it doesn’t break up too much with the mixing process.  Taste and adjust seasonings—you might want to add a third Serrano chile, perhaps some lime zest, or more salt.  Check the texture also.  Some people like to mash the guacamole into a smooth paste.  I like mine chunky.

      Take a generous piece of Saran wrap and push and smooth it down on top of the Guacamole and up the sides of the bowl, carefully sealing the dip from any chance of exposure to air.  Throw the pit away, or put toothpicks in it, suspend it in a glass of water, and grow an avocado tree.  Do not plop it down in the middle of the guacamole, because it will not keep the mixture from turning brown, no matter what your mother said.  Chill the dip for no more that a few hours, stir to freshen and serve with drinks and tortilla chips, or as a side salad with enchiladas.

     I know old habits are hard to break, so put a pit in the middle of some left-over guacamole and put it into the fridge overnight.  By morning, the only green part left will be under the seed, where the air didn’t get to it.  As my friend,  Ken Black says, “Stick with me, kid.  I’ll put you under the Big Top.”

Lubbock classmates from Class Of 1955 at Buddy Holly Show last summer.  From left, back row:  Paul Sikes, Jim McLaughlin, Tom Stoner (American School of Mexico City, sometime early in this century).  Seated, from left: Bev Sikes,(Odessa High school, class of '87) Ann Humphries Ratisseau, Pat Stanley Stoner, Wayne Ratisseau.  Note: We all have on a pair of Buddy Holly glasses, the style he copied from me during our junior year.  This picture has nothing to do with the story, except to show that we have a lot of fun--at our age, we better.  In the background, from the far left, I see Tommy Davis, Frank Williamson, Chuck Key, and Roy Turner.  There are two lovely unidentified ladies there also, but they appear much too young to be in our class.