Saturday, November 5, 2011

Guacamole & Strawberry Riesling Slushy

I LOVE Guacamole.
I LOVE Wine.

This could be one of my favorite entries!

Guacamole.
For a long time I was convinced I didn't like guacamole. Growing up in FL for whatever reason we didn't have it very much. In Texas, however, Guacamole is pretty common at any of the Mexican & Tex-Mex restaurants around here.

The first time I had it & liked it was at my BFF, Lori's, house. Then we had it at Cantina Laredo. Hot Diggity! It was amazing! They made it tableside so I watched carefully & took mental notes & we replicate the snack several times a month at our house.

Guacamole Cantina Laredo Style

2 ripe avocados
1/2 lime
garlic salt
tomato, diced
cilantro, diced
red onion, diced
jalapeno, seeds removed, diced

1. Cut your avocados in 1/2, remove pit. Use your knife to score the inside - you'll be creating big X marks throughout the avocado. Scoop out the light green fruit from the skin, place in bowl. Discard skin & pits.
2. Squeeze juice from one lime. Add garlic salt. Fold in the juice & GS into avocado. The trick is to try not to crush the avocado too much, you want to keep it pretty chunky.
3. Add diced tomato, red onion, jalapeno, & cilantro. Again, fold into avocado.
4. Serve w/ chips &/or tortillas. Awesome on fajitas & tacos!



But, Alison! You didn't give me measurements! How much Garlic Salt? How much of everything else???
This is one of those recipes where you mix it, taste it, add a little more of something, & go with it.
Generally, I use 1/2 a tomato or 1 roma tomato; 1 slice from the onion & dice it; maybe 1/2 T garlic salt, & 1/3 jalapeno. I've had to reduce the limeyness for husband's tastes & I prefer lots of tomato, especially if my avocados aren't quite ripe & are a little bland. But, just be brave & try it!

A note about your ingredients- The ripeness of your avocados & tomato, juciness of your lime, spicyness of your jalapeno make a big impact on your guac.
Here's a tip for choosing a ripe avocado- Look for an avocado that has a dark skin. It should be slightly firm when you press it & give just a little. If you think it's ready you can sneak a peak at it's color by removing the stem nub. When you cut it open it should be a bright vibrant green. If it's yellow, toss it. It shouldn't have too many lines or roots growint through the fruit. If it does you should probably toss it but we have been known to fish out those lines when it's the only avocado left & we have a craving.

Strawberry Riesling Slushy

Oh! I forgot! In the list of things that I LOVE I have to include Pinterest.
I. Love. Pinterest. Love it! Like, seriously, rediculous amount of love for pinterest.

What is pinterest?
It's crack! And I love it!

I saw this recipe on pinterest. I pinned it. I made it. And now I'm going to blog about it. (and ramble about it apparently. sorry!)

This recipe was originally taken from the blog With Style & Grace. And I must say, her pictures are far prettier than mine. Here is the link http://withstyle.me/2011/09/15/riesling-strawberry-slushies-recipe/

Strawberry Reisling Slushy
2 Cups hulled Strawberries
1 bottle dry riesling
1 T fresh Lime Juice
2 T sugar

Directions
1. Reserve 1 cup riesling- cover & place in the fridge to chill.
2. In a food processor, puree strawberries with the remaining wine, lime juice, & sugar. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays & freeze until solid. When you're ready to serve, puree the ice cubes with the remaining wine in your blender.
Enjoy!

Simple enough.

One problem- my food processor is small.
I put the strawberries in, looked at the wine bottle & had to "Make it work," as Tim Gunn would say.
I pureed what I could & mixed the wine w/ the pureed strawberry slush w/ a slotted spoon in a big mixing bowl. May not be the way the pros would do it but it worked.
I also didn't have ice cube trays so I froze the concoction in 2 quart sized ziploc bags.

After everything was frozen I was ready to blend some for my husband & I. I could tell immediately that my excitement was way more than his. SO I just scooped some out of the baggie & ate it as is.
It's really good, more tart than I expected. An adequate substitute for Strawberry Daiquiris.




 Guacamole & Strawberry Riesling Slushies. Perfect.

~ Alison
 
  

1 comment: