Stinque Recipe Challenge

I need to comment on this. I know Americans have their own version of guacamole, which is quite Americanized. However, if what you want is TRUE Mexican guacamole, you need to change the following:

1. No lemon juice, use limes.
2. You really need to add finely chopped tomato. As fine as you can chop it.
3. Last but not least, guacamole isn’t guacamole without cilantro; you should chop a sprig or five in there, too. It really adds to the flavor.
4. (optional) finely chopped Mexican chili peppers (serrano or chile de arbol works best) – note: no canned chili peppers, just fresh, raw chili peppers.

Yum!

@rmadrazo: Thanks – I will try that next time. And sure – we have Americanized versions of everything, but I always want to try the real deal. Cilantro? Meh … tastes like old underwear if you use too much, but in moderation I can take it.

What’s with the deal making guacamole in a stone bowl cutting the avocados into a cream with small knives? Is that an LA adaptation or real?

I love cilantro. And had best Mexican food so far in Tucson.

Dinner looks delicious, as ever.

@rmadrazo: Jesus Fucking Christ on a Bicycle, yes, finally a civilized culinary artist shows up, yes, the stuff is made with LIME! Get thee with LIME!

@Tony Blair Witch Project: Best Mexican food variant I had was in Albuquerque at the Native American museum. The restaurant there had a mix of Tex-Mex cuisine with fry bread that I thought was amazing.

@FlyingChainSaw: I was wondering about the lemon…yes, for guac I use a lime probably two, I would also add freshly ground cumin, cracked black pepper, cilantro, VERY minced garlic and jalapenos and half of a tomato.

@blogenfreude: I’m with you on the onions – red onions in the guac.

OK – the whole thing is done and, for the most part, consumed. The refritos were to die for, and the rest of it was acceptable or better. I might do one or two adjustments on this recipe, but try it.

@blogenfreude: Mexican oregano. I realized when I was trying to figure out my taco meat recipe for you that it is the secret seasoning I put in everything. This is not the oregano you get at the store or that is on your pizza. It’s a very special dried herb that you can only find at Mexican markets. It has a terrific flavor to it, and when you mix it with fresh cracked black pepper, hand crushed cumin, a variety of jalapeno/poblano/habanero/patron peppers, chopped onions, chili powder, garlic, a squirt of lime, cilantro, and a pinch of salt, and you basically have the spice mix that I use for everything. Figure out the quantity of each based upon your taste buds.

Also – I don’t have a tamales recipe for you. Tamales are such a pain in the ass to make (Mr SFL didn’t believe me and tried to make them once – it took about 10 hours for him) that it’s much more efficient and economical to go to west side of San Antonio in late November/early December and buy 10 dozen of them from a couple of abuelitas for 50 bucks. Or I buy them from the Tamale Lady who stands outside the SOMA Trader Joe’s every Saturday selling them from her bicycle. I will give you the tamales recipe that Mr Lefty used in his first and only try making them – they turned out great but he was exhausted and on top of the prep time had spent hours going around the Mission trying to find the right type of lard.

Lemon?

ETA: Oops. Apparently, I’m late to that party.

You make your guac however you want, bloggie. I’ll pass on avocado in any form so it don’t make no nevermind to me.

@Lefty: I’m with you on the Xmas tamale run. You gotta find your abuela and stick with her. It took me three years out here before I found my dealer at a little farmer’s market in Guadalupe.

Just come over and try mine. Words don’t work. I suffer from officicially diagnosed low-self-esteem. I suck, I really doI am not worthy of anything good, I subconsciousnly sabotage everything in my life to make sure the outcome is what I deserve, failure. I have no friends, everyone hates me, and thats what I deserve.

But I know how to make guac, motherfuckers. The things I think are key are. 1, tomato, guac is half tomato, half avocado, so the quality of the tomato is important. 2. Onion. Some very finely diced onion is essential. Not a lot, a tablespoon for each two cups. 3. Garlic. Do you know how to mash garlic cloves with salt to a paste? If not, don’t bother. 5. Lime juice. Fresh squeezd lime juice. Lime juice is so essential.
6. Salt. Salt, its the salt of life. Don’t let health PC make you shy about salting your homemade dishes. Please keep this in mind, industtrial prepared foods are over-salted to make up for their lack of genuine flavor. You would be appalled at how much salt you would have to add to a homemade dish to equal the amount in a prepared version. The amount of salt that would would appall you, if I told you to add it to a dish, is always gonna be less then half whats in prepared oods you eat all the time.

Wolf Brand over chips w/Tillamook cheddar, 4 mins in the microwave. Fast and easy.

@redmanlaw: well then it wouldn’t be a recipe “challenge”, would it? I try to avoid using the microwave for anything but timing stuff in the oven, but once in a while I have to use it. Haven’t had Tillamook in a long time, but it’s wonderful.

And seriously folks – that Goya spice mix I used made the beans magical. It’s the key, in my humble opinion.