Holy Guacamole

Here is my simple yet delicious guacamole recipe:

*1 avocado - not too ripe, you want it a little firm or it changes the taste
*1 TBS mayo (you can substitute sour cream if you are allergic to soy or dislike mayo)
*salt, pepper, and granulated garlic powder to taste
*diced tomato optional (great to add if you need to stretch it out)
*diced onion (I like sweet yellow) optional if you have a crowd that craves crunch

To keep it from turning brown, keep the pits in it if you need to store it overnight. Saran wrap pushed down to the top of the guacamole to eliminate air exposure also helps reduce browning. Occasionally I add a little lemon juice to help slow browning as well, but I prefer the taste without it. For every avocado add a TBS of your mayo or sour cream and more spices. Also, I keep my avocados in the fridge, it slows their ripening and when you make the guac, everything is cold and it tastes better. I used to labor over the firm avocados with a fork, to achieve the chunky texture that you lose if you blend it in the blender. I recently had the idea to try chopping the avocado with my Pampered Chef chopper; it worked amazingly well and took me seconds to smash as opposed to minutes with the fork. Here is the link for the product: http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=240&categoryCode=CE. I was fortunate to receive this as a gift, but $29.50 seems like a reasonable splurge if you're going to be making guacamole as often as I do. Also, and I love this part, it is dishwasher safe and super easy to clean.

I often have taco night just so I can make this. I also have quesadillas for lunch, buy chips to have something to eat it on, and offer to "clean up" so I can eat the leftover scrapings. Most recently I have been buying the avocados at Sam's Club, they're usually cheaper and have been good quality lately. Picking out good avocados is an art form; it takes time to be able to recognize the good from the bad and ugly, but it is a skill worth learning for the perfect guacamole. Happy eating everybody!