Accidental Hedonist

This is one of the easiest recipes to make, and quite possibly one of the oldest on the planet. The Aztecs referred to guacamole as ahuaca-mulli which translates roughly to avocado sauce or avocado mixture. So points off for creativity in the naming of guacamole.

There are as many ways to make guacamole as there are ways to make salsa. If you get the “mash the heck out of Avocados” down, you’re well on your way to making a decent recipe. Some folks enjoy salt in their guacamole, others sugar, and still others do both. Count me in on the salt side of the equation.

One quick note here: There’s little to no reason why you can’t make your own guacamole. If you feel the need to buy pre-made guac, please, please, please, smack yourself out of it.

• 2 medium Hass Avocados, cut in half and seeded
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• zest from 1/2 lime
• 2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/8 cup cilantro, minced

Place the meat of the avocados in a medium mixing bowl. Using a potato masher (or barring that, a fork), mash the avocados into a paste.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Serves 4-6

Technorati Tags: Food and Drink, Recipes, Guacamole,

When it comes to me and vegetables, I am often a petulant child. Both Tara and my doctors shake their head when I mention my aversion to vegetables, and they give me stern looks. As I get older, I see the wisdom in their words, but it’s difficult for me to regularly put their suggestions of eating more vegetables into actions.

But here…here’s the perfect way to eat vegetables. Dunked in a hot olive oil/butter dip. Sign me up for hours of this.

Here’s a decent Piemonte recipe for you and your friends. Think fondue, but with olive oil instead of cheese. Have your skewers at the ready and make sure the oil is hot when you serve it.

• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 2oz tin of anchovies, finely chopped

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium sized frying pan. Add your garlic and fry over medium heat until the garlic just starts to turn brown. Remove from heat.

Add remaining olive oil, butter, and anchovies. Mix well. Return to heat.

Pour oil into individual serving dishes (like those picture above). Skewer fresh veggies or bread and dunk ’til your heart’s content.

Makes 2 cups

If you’re a fan of both olives AND olive oil, a tapenade is a perfect recipe for you. Not only do you taste the olives, but if you choose an upper tier olive oil, the flavor of the oil stands out as well.

There’s truly not much to this recipe, which makes it a convenient dish to make for parties. This recipe also begs to be altered, and there are many variations besides the ingredients I list below. Think of it this way…any food item that has been stuffed into an olive on a commerical basis can be put in a tapenade. Pimentoes, anchovies, garlic, even parsley all make wonderful additions to this dish.

Also, avoid the canned olives for this recipe. Canned olives seem to have less taste than bottled.

• 2 cups of pitted black olives.
• 1/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Capers

Place the olives in a food processor. Pulse a second or two at a time until you have a thorough but coarse “paste”. You don’t want the cut of the olives to be too thin, although I’ve known a person or two who actually prefers their tapenades this way.

Place olives into a small mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and combine slowly with a spatula. Add the capers and mix in as well.

Serve on bread, crackers, or any other item that works well with spreads.

That’s it. Pretty simple, huh?