Guacamole

I have only recently become a fan of guacamole, mostly because I eat Chipotle burritos once a week now that I live within five minutes of two of the chain locations. Anyway, I wanted to give making my own guac a shot and started searching for a clone of the Chipotle version. After finding the actual recipe and paring it down to a simple double batch, as well as adding my own touches, this is what I came up with. When all was said and done, it turned out almost as good as the freshly made Chipotle guac. If you like spicier or less spicy guacamole, simply adjust the amount of jalapeno peppers you include.

4 Hass avocados

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 medium red onion, diced

3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

3/4 tsp. orange juice

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. celery seed

Halve the avocados and remove the pit. Dig out all the good stuff and put it in a large mixing bowl. Mash the avocados. You don't have to get it to the final consistency, but it's easier if they're at least partially mashed at this point. Add the remaining ingredients and mash until smooth. When you go to store the guacamole, put a layer of plastic wrap directly on the guac and squeeze the air out, then put another layer of plastic over whatever container you're using. This will help keep the guac from oxidizing and turning all brown. Depending on how long you keep it in the fridge, the top might turn brown anyway. Simply skim off the top layer before serving.

Beer-B-Q Sauce

Being home brewers, we have a lot of beer - both of the leftover and unfermented variety and the finished product - in the house at all times. Not surprisingly, when I cook, I incorporate beer into a lot of recipes (beer cheese dip, stews, bread, etc.). One of the best things we ever tried was creating our own barbecue sauce with it. Using a Guinness recipe we found online and altering it to fit our tastes and needs, this is the recipe we came up with. Whether it’s slathered on baby back ribs, mixed into pulled pork or used as a dip for chicken fingers, this is without a doubt, the most delicious barbecue sauce I have ever had. It’s spicy and sweet all at the same time and you can even taste the beer in it (one of the reasons using a stout for this is highly recommended). We love it so much, we’ve even decided to try our hand at a honey beer-b-q sauce (recipe coming soon).

3 Tbsp. butter

3 small onions, minced

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup molasses

1-1/2 cups Irish stout

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1-1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 cups brown sugar

12 oz. can tomato paste

In a medium saucepan, sauté onions and garlic in butter until tender and beginning to caramelize. Add the molasses, beer, vinegars, salt, peppers and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Allow to cook at a rolling boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste and whisk until no longer lumpy. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Puree the sauce in a blender until smooth. Serve with your favorite barbecue foods.

Mango Salsa

I recently became a huge fan of flavored salsas; whether it be peach, pineapple, mango or tequila lime, I’ve tried them all. So, thinking back to making regular old plain salsa with vegetables out of the garden, I thought it would be fun to try to make my own mango salsa. What makes this great is that it’s relatively Paleo-friendly. What I also discovered is that this variety, like most salsas, tastes even better when it sits in the fridge a few days and the fruit soaks up all the flavors. Also, if you don’t like too much spiciness, you can cut back on the jalapeño. This summer, I plan on experimenting more with fruit-flavored salsas. Living on the coast, I have found that they care the perfect implement to broiled or baked salmon or swordfish (or any fish in general, for that matter).

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1-1/2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced 

1 medium red onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

6 Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

6 Tbsp. lime juice (about 1-1/2 limes)

2 Tbsp. coconut milk

sea salt and black pepper to taste

If you have a food processor, I would recommend using it to dice and combine the first six ingredients to save time. Otherwise, dice them all by hand and combine them in a large bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate before serving.

Baconnaise

Who doesn’t love mayonnaise? It’s used in everything from pasta salads and ranch dressing to your basic condiment on a turkey club. And what makes a turkey club? That’s right … bacon. It honestly wouldn’t be worth eating a turkey club if it didn’t come with those juicy, delicious slices of heaven. So, why not bring two of the best things in the culinary world together? That’s what I did here. Instead of using oil to make the mayonnaise, I substituted it with bacon grease. It’s literally one of the best creations I have ever made.

2 egg yolks

1 tsp. dijon mustard (optional)

3 tsp. lemon juice, divided

1 cup bacon grease

Put the yolks in a medium-sized bowl with the mustard (if you so choose) and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Start whisking vigorously while dripping the bacon grease very slowly, even drop by drop at the start, into the bowl (you are creating an emulsion, so you don’t want to add too much grease all at once or it will separate. At that point, you pretty much have to scrap the whole thing). Continue whisking non-stop. As you add more grease, the emulsion will form and the baconnaise will start to thicken. At this point, you can start to pour the grease faster while continuing to whisk. When all the grease is incorporated and the baconnaise is thick, add the rest of the lemon juice and taste. You can season to taste with salt and pepper, but I found the bacon grease adds just the right amount of saltiness. Refrigerate.