Guacamole

People love my guacamole. Having said that, I can tell you it's not mine and it's secret comes from a bottle. Lisa Gibbles, a local legend in the cooking world...well at least, in my cooking world tipped me off to Frank's Hot sauce. In the past, I would seed the jalapenos or serranos, and then when removing my contacts later that night, curse the fact that I hadn't worn latex gloves while seeding. Ouch! But really, are there any latex gloves in your kitchen? So save yourself a little work (or worse, pain) and don't fret if you're fresh out of jalapenos, just keep a big ol' bottle of Frank's in your fridge and you're ready to go.


Guacamole:
serves 4 to 6

1/2 red onion
1 small bunch cilantro, thoroughly washed
kosher salt
4 to 6 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh store-bought salsa, (or 1 seeded and diced tomato)
Frank's Hot sauce, to taste

Chop the onion and soak in cold water for 1 minute. Rinse and pat dry, set aside. Roughly chop cilantro, add red onion to chopped cilantro, sprinkle with salt and continue to chop, not too fine. (If you own a mortar and pestle, by all means do this step using the mortar, gently crushing the onion and cilantro with a sprinkling of salt). Transfer cilantro mixture to a large bowl. Halve avocados, remove the pit and scoop out the flesh. Place avocado flesh in the bowl with cilantro mixture. Squeeze the juice from 1 lime over the avocados, add salsa (or diced tomato) and then season with Frank's Hot sauce and additional salt. Gently mash with a potato masher. I prefer big chunks of avocado, but find most people like it on the smooth side. Taste with chips to determine how much more seasoning, if any, is needed.