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06/28/2018 12:01 AMSummer entertaining is upon us. I assume your barbecue is open, cleaned of spider webs, and the grills are clean and ready to use. I also hope you have checked to make sure your propane has plenty of juice in it or that you have enough charcoal.
A couple of weeks ago I spent a week with my daughter, Darcy, and her husband in La Mirada, California. One evening they grilled a hanger steak and we had tacos with a buffet of cilantro, chopped onions, tomatoes, and sliced steak topped with salsa. A few days later, they made pizza from Darcy’s own dough with another buffet of vegetables (including pencil-thin asparagus), sausage and shrimp. Jeff grilled the pizza on an outside oven he designed and made for their patio. Soon I will share with you her own pizza dough, but here is her own salsa recipe and my own for guacamole, just in case your friends are hungry before the steak, burgers, hot dogs, and chicken are done.
Salsa
Adapted from Darcy White
½ onion (she uses yellow onions, I might use Vidalia)
⅓ bunch cilantro
1 bunch scallions (green onions), green and white parts
4 to 5 Roma tomatoes, 3 to 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, or
1 to 2 beefsteak tomatoes
1 small can Rotel original canned tomatoes
1 jalapeno (seeded) or half a can of El Paso Mexican hot style
tomato sauce
Coarsely chop the onions, cilantro, scallions, and fresh tomatoes. Place all ingredients, except the jalapeno or hot sauce, into a food processor or blender and pulse to desired consistency. Place in a medium-sized bowl, stir in the jalapeno or hot sauce (to your own taste) and mix. Serve as a dip for chips and/or mix a quarter cup of salsa into the guacamole as you make that.
Lee White’s Guacamole
Yield: serves 10 as an appetizer
2 medium-sized tomatoes
5 gorgeous, soft Hass avocados (not the green Florida ones)
¼ cup chopped sweet onions (I use Vidalia when in season)
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup good salsa (use Darcy’s recipe or use Newman’s Own,
medium hot)
1 medium-sized lime
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I use a lot of pepper)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
cayenne pepper (or hot sauce), to taste
On the cooktop, heat a small pot of water until boiling. Make a cross on the bottom of the tomatoes and drop them into the boiling water. Boil for maybe 15 seconds, then put pot and tomatoes in the sink under the faucet with cold water. When you can touch the tomatoes, remove the skin, core, and seeds, then chop them. (I know this sounds like a pain, but you don’t want your guac to be watery and you don’t want to eat the skin, either.)
Cut each avocado in half lengthwise. Very carefully, hit the pit with the sharp side of a knife, then turn the knife; the pit will come out. Hit the handle of the knife on the side of the skin and the pit will drop out. Use a spoon to take the “meat” of the avocado into a medium side bowl. Mash the avocado with a potato masher until medium chunky (unless you like it more like a purée).
Add the onions and garlic mix with the large spoon. Taste. Add salsa. Taste. Squeeze the lime over the guac. (The lime juice not only adds great taste, but keeps the guac from turning brown.) Taste. Now is the time to add salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt. Taste. Maybe you think it needs more; if so, add more. (Trust me here, the pepper is key here.) When you think it tastes good, add the chopped cilantro. If you want a little cayenne (and I always do), add some, a pinch at a time. Taste.