Homemade Guacamole

A co-worker Sharon told me her sister was an amazing cook, and in the conversation, she mentioned that her guacamole recipe was fantastic and very similar to Chipotle's version (which in my mind, is THE BEST). In preparation for our Island Fever BBQ menu this weekend, I was looking for a light appetizer, and this was it! This guac is great on its own, or serve with tortilla chips or fresh vegetables for dipping. You can use it as a condiment/side for Mexican dishes as well. Our friend AJ asked us if we had put crack in it- it was so addicting. We couldn't stop munching.

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (use gloves and don't touch your eyes!)
3 ripe avocados, peeled and halved*
3 Tbsp FRESH lemon juice (must be fresh!)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (can use 1/2 cup salsa instead)
2 green onions, white plus 3-inches of green chopped
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1.5 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Drop garlic and jalapeno into your food processor with the motor running. Process until finely chopped.

2. Add half of the avocado and all of the lemon juice. Process until smooth.
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add remaining avocado. Mash with a spoon (but I leave mine pretty chunky).
4. Add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes through cilantro). Mix thoroughly with a fork.
5. Serve at room temperature within 1-2 hours. If you're going to store it, press plastic wrap all over the top to prevent it from browning.
6. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Tip: If you would like your guacamole to stay fresh and green, keep one of the pits from the avocado and slip it into the middle of the mixture.

Yield: 2.5 cups
Source: Sharon's sister

* The easiest method to cut an avocado:
1. Pick a ripe (but not overripe!) avocado: Haas avocados are known to have the best flavor. They are dark in color. A ripe avocado should have a little "give" when pressed with your thumb. If you can press down too easily, it's overripe.

2. Halve the avocado: The avocado has a pit in the middle. Cut the avocado length-wise from stem to bottom. Don't try to slice through the pit- guide the knife around the pit so the avocado is separated into 2 halves, each still stuck to the pit.
3. Twist the 2 halves apart; the pit will stick to one half.
4. Hold the half with the pit on the cutting board steady, and whack the knife down into the pit just hard enough so that the blade edge sticks to the pit.

5. Twist the knife to loosen the pit, which will detach cleanly from the flesh when you lift the knife.
6. Using a kitchen towel, remove the pit from the knife with the towel- this will help protect your fingers, and give you a grip on the slippery pit.
7. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado flesh. Dice, slice, or mash, as needed.