Recipe: Guasacaca - a delicious Venezuelan twist on Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 Avocados, peeled and seeded
1 small onion, minced
1/2 Red pepper minced
1/2 Green pepper minced
2 or 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Tobasco sauce
3 big sprigs of parsley and cilantro
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Olive oil -- 1/2 cup
Vinegar -- 1/4 cup

Method:

Chop all three avocados but put 2 in to a blender with the onion, garlic, red and green peppers, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, parsley and cilantro, turn on the blender for 10 or 15 sec and move the content until it gets slightly chunky (you can add some water).

Put it in a bowl and mix with last the avocado using a spoon, adjust seasoning and Tobasco and serve.

Variations:

Add 1 Large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
Reserve (skip the blender) some or all of the onion or peppers and mix it with the last avocado.

Guests for meat and a hilariously named avocado sauce.

I had to dash last Thursday afternoon and didn't manage to get anything posted to the blog. Also I forget everything that happened. There were no disasters, I remember that.

This week, we had guests from Laser Focus World. They enjoyed meat, especially the charred maple breakfast sausage.

Rick brought in his tomatillo salsa once again, and it was as popular as before. A real hit.

Steve brought balls - but I didn't manage to score any. I was too distracted by the empenadas with guasacaca (tee-hee!) that Jesus brought. The guasacaca is frickin' delicious stuff. Kinda like guacamole, but better. He has provided the recipe, which is already here on the blog.

Other contributions included a fruit tray (always welcome), various sausages (one in an apple syrup), chips and crackers. Jakub's egg rolls - lovely - but I think I will score some sweeter dip for next week. The soy sauce is a little much for me.

Pictures from this week are from JH's iPhone, so only two and a little blurry

Nice going Nick.

Everything was going so well.

We had a nice selection of sausage, hot dogs in buns, cheese and bread, some more Venezuelan fried plantains (con queso), even a shrimp ring. We were about half-way through this morning's spread when Nick's face exploded mid-chew with a sneeze. He had time to "kinda" get his hand in front of his face, but a chunky mist escaped onto the plates of meat in front of him.

A plate of cut-up sausage and hot dogs was immediately written off. Remi watched as bits of sneeze debris landed on the plate.

The hot dogs in buns weren't officially declared contaminated, but they became less popular after the incident.

Thankfully, the other table (presumably uncontaminated) featured Rick's kick-ass salsa (recipe has been promised for this blog), cookies, the shrimp ring, and several other plates of sausage .

Indoors today. We could have gone outdoors but Shane and Harry are sensitive thought it would be too cold.

No Steve, so no balls.

Chile de uña - Tomatillo Salad with Chipotle Chiles

Rick left this recipe on Tom's table, so I scored it to put up on the blog.

10 tomatillos, peeled, washed well and diced
1 small onion, minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
salt if needed
sugar if needed
Corn chips or totadas to serve

In medium bowl, combine tomatillos, onion, and chipotles. Mix well. Add feta cheese and mix gently. Check your seasonings and add salt if necessary. If salad is too acidic, add a pinch of sugar.

Serve with chips or tostadas, or if desired, serve on a lettuce cup, along with a slice of fresh cheese.

Tequeños. Meat? No. Fried and Delicious? Yes.

With a brightly coloured and flavoured mustard sauce, Jesus's Tequeños were an immediate hit today. Not greasy - but I'm sure greasy is possible if he tries harder next time.

We were outdoors again today. Who knows how long that will last. I think we had a bit of an informal pool on that subject last year (pick the last outdoor Thursday of the year). Maybe we'll repeat that this Fall.

Rick's beefy egg-rolls were very good. Kind of Chexican. We discussed how good the jarred VH plum sauce was.

There was the usual range of sausages. I think one had cheese inside.

Steve's balls, Lydia's tostitos and salsa, some cheese from Fred (who got it from an old Italian man), a Dr.Oekter pizza. All good.

Among non-meats (aside from the cheeses), Gary brought tomatoes and JH brought Dragon fruit from Farm Boy, which we all agreed was good. Not fried cheese good, but refreshing.

The Meaty Tostito Scoops Go Fast

We welcomed September 2011 with a nice spread. Rick, as usual, had a popular offering. Tostito "scoop " chips with a ground beef filling. He laid out some extra home-made salsa and the balance of the chips. Delightful as always. Unfortunately they went too quickly for pictures.

No fruit today, unless you count Gary's tomatoes - a consistent favorite at this time of year.

Shane brought his neighbour's cured pork that "never goes bad". Delicious again this week. We should set aside a portion for September 2020.

Steve was absent, so no balls. CW brought london broil filling. This sparked a brief dissertation about the economics of being a butcher. We feigned interest.

Jesus brought bacon that clung to little potatoes. Very good, but even better if you zapped them in the microwave (Rick snuck back into the kitchen to try that).