Tuesday 15 July 2014

Recipe Review: Alton Brown's Guacamole

For a really long time, I HATED guacamole.

I mean, my opinion on this dip pretty much just changed within the last year. Now I'm addicted to it.

But I have a problem.

I have, to put it very simply, a genetic mutation in which cilantro tastes and smells like soap to me. (Clicking that link there will lead you to a New York Times article in which they talk briefly about this phenomenon.) And cilantro is in like, 99% of guacamole that you can buy.

Mmmmm, a side of soap with my guac please.

Sometimes I'll just grin and hope I don't pick up that soapy flavour and scent, but it's ALWAYS there. And it's always foul to me. I've asked a lot of people to describe what cilantro REALLY tastes like, but they usually leave me with an unsatisfying "I can't describe it" type of statement. Ah well. That's a shame.

So the other day, before I went grocery shopping, I decided to try making homemade guac for the first time. I could easily leave out the cilantro! Hurray! And now I'm on this weird mission to try all sorts of guacamole recipes.

I love Alton Brown. I love the Food Network. (I'm addicted, oh mannnnn.) So I figured for my first guacamole attempt, I'd use his recipe.

I am actually... really disappointed. Surprised and disappointed. But let us move on, and perhaps this is just me!


(Yes, I apparently have to clarify that guacamole is vegan - people apparently like to put sour cream and mayonnaise in guac? Uhhh, okay then.)

So, if you want to try Alton Brown's recipe, just give us a click then! I'll post my reasons for not liking this at the end, but I'll show you my process first.


Check out these cute little ingredients! (I used sun dried tomatoes instead of Romas, and I only used a tiny little jalapeno from our garden because I am a wuss with spicy food.)


Also I had to stop and show you guys this goofy straw I got from 7-11 the other day; hi, I'm Ned Flanders!


I got a little distracted at times while making this because I felt this urge to rewatch Orange is the New Black for the fourth time. Whoops.


Mashin' up those avocados.



Now, here's an easy way to juice limes/lemons/etc. without wanting to rip off your entire arm in the process.



It's also an easy way to ruin some tongs. Whoops.


Mmmm, a plate of colours.



Look at how itty bitty that jalapeno is!



Now, unless you're Iron Man or Thor or some other superhero, you should really wear gloves when cutting and handling jalapenos. Otherwise, you're gonna have a bad time. I had no gloves, so whoops hi plastic bag. (I really don't recommend this method - it mainly got in the way and I was five seconds away from cutting myself open.)



The recipe says to let it sit at room temperature for an hour before eating it, so I covered it with the remainder of the lime juice, pushed plastic wrap on top of it (to prevent browning) and I waited.

And I just... did not care for it.

While it had a nice texture, I found that the cumin was so overwhelming that all I could think of were samosas while I was eating this. It was just not my cup of tea. I even found the lime juice to be a tad much, but MAN that cumin really hit me. I'd recommend either lowering the amount to 1/4 of a teaspoon, or cutting it out entirely. I will probably not be making this recipe again. Ugh, I can't stop thinking about that cumin.

If you have a guacamole recipe that you'd like me to try, link it in a comment below or send me an email!

Who wants some guac?

xo, Kate

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