appetizing Avocado Hummus!

Isn't hummus getting a little bit played as an appetizer? I mean I like it as much as the next person, that creamy garlicky bite is actually pretty damn delicious. And if you need something a hurry, it is about the easiest starter to whip up. Maybe five minutes and you're done. But still, you can only pull it out so often. So when I read this recipe (and for the life of me I have zero idea where I first saw it, so if someone is not getting the credit they deserve, please accept my apology) it immediately grabbed my attention. First, all the elements of hummus...lemon juice, tahini, and garlic, plus the sensual delight that is contained within the leathery skinned avocado. This has to be good. So the other night when we had friends over I finally got around to making it and it absolutely rocked! Besides salivating all over it, everyone was like "I know this is like hummus, but what exactly is it?" See, the avocado doesn't immediately leap out at you. Instead in kind of sneaks up on your palate. Like stealth hummus and to everyone there every bit as good as the garbanzo bean classic, if not better. Plus as it should be, stupidly easy. When you make this just set it out and watch the reactions. Don't worry, they'll all be positive!
*** *** *** *** ***
Avocado Hummus
adapted from "Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean" by Ana Sortun

6 servings

ingredients:
Flesh of 2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped (about 2+ teaspoons)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Juice from 1 large lemon, (about 3 tablespoons)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt

method:
Combine the avocado, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, oil and salt to taste in a food processor or blender; process for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is as smooth as sour cream.

Transfer to a container. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic lays directly on the surface of the hummus (to keep it from discoloring). Refrigerate until ready to serve; taste and adjust seasoning as needed before serving.

I am a tool, use me!

Sometimes I feel like such a tool. Kevin from the Garden State Cart here in Portland (Sellwood neighborhood specifically) wanders across the street to the wine shack and tells me about some new creation, and my Pavlovian response after eating it is "Must...tell...others". Classic example this morning. He just got a 30# box of baby artichokes, which he trimmed, then poached in olive oil and grilled, then served with a few salad greens and aioli, plus a cute little Calabrian pepper. FOR THREE DOLLARS!! If this was a ten dollar app at a restaurant I'd be thrilled. I tried it, and just as he knew I'm sure, I loved it. Auto-response kicked in,so here it is. I swear if it wasn't so good you wouldn't hear a peep. If you are near him today, this is something you have to try. The cart food in this town continues to fucking blow me away!

The Power of the Deviled Egg

You can't not eat the deviled egg. The deviled egg beckons you like a beacon from your childhood, reminding you of all things comforting. The deviled egg, with it's multitude of variations (like this), calls out to your creative side. Your friends also like the deviled egg. It is always welcomed like a long lost relative. People will have two, but they really want four. They say they don't want the last one, but they're lying. That is the power of the deviled egg. And it is not to be feared, but devoured!
*** *** *** *** ***
Deviled Eggs a la France
ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
2 or 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or more to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped capers
Salt and freshly ground pepper

method:
Cut eggs in half, carefully removing yolks into a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients to bowl with egg yolks, mixing to combine. Adjust salt and pepper. Spoon carefully into egg white halves, arrange artfully on a plate, get your share!

Caponata: Sicilian seasonality!

You want to be a hip, trendy, very now cook? Do using the words "local", "seasonal", and "organic" when you cook make you feel better about yourself? Do you care about where your food comes from? Do you even know what the "Bush Doctrine" is....oh, wait scratch that question. I mean if our possible president-in-waiting doesn't care enough to know, why should we?! If the answers to the first three of those questions are yes, then get your eco-responsible bodies down to your local farmer's market, because the recipe below for that Sicilian wonder known as caponata uses produce ingredients that should be all over the market stalls right now. I found this recipe on the New York Times site a few weeks ago, and it is absolute money! Caponata is the Sicilian version of ratatouille, with the perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors, every ingredient seeming to compliment the other. It tastes fabulous, and is also a great appetizer for those whiney vegan friends we all have none of. Perfect as a spread with crostini, you can also, as w and I did, put it on top of rice for a main course. Very easy to throw together once all the prep is done, this particular recipe makes a large amount, so your effort will be rewarded over several days!
And in case your going "wow, that is a pretty good picture", it isn't mine. I nabbed it from the NYT site because my picture, frankly, didn't look too appetizing.
*** *** *** *** ***
Caponata
By Martha Rose Shulman

from the NYT: "Caponata is a sweet-and-sour Sicilian version of ratatouille. Because eggplant readily absorbs other flavors, it’s particularly good in such a pungent dish. Caponata should be served at room temperature, but it’s good cold and tastes even better if left overnight. Caponata makes a great topping for bruschetta."

ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds eggplant (1 large), roasted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, from the tender inner stalks, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
Salt to taste
1 pound ripe tomatoes, preferably Romas, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (in puree)
3 heaped tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted green olives
2 tablespoons sugar, plus a pinch
3 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar, or sherry vinegar (more to taste)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

method:
1. Roast the eggplant, then allow to cool. Chop coarsely.

2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet, then add the onion and celery. Stir until the onion softens, about five minutes, and add the garlic. Cook together for a minute, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant, and add the peppers and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir until just tender, about eight minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil and the eggplant, and stir together for another five minutes, until the vegetables are tender. The eggplant will fall apart, which is fine. Season to taste.

3. Add the tomatoes to the pan with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often, for five to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and smell fragrant. Add the capers, olives, remaining sugar and vinegar. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and the mixture is quite thick, sweet and fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: Serves six to eight
Advance preparation: Caponata will keep for three to five days in the refrigerator.

Your next dinner party: part 1- Appetizers

You might want to get your guest lists together for dinner this weekend, because by Friday you'll have a kick ass dinner party to thrown down that will garner you much love and appreciation. How do I know? Because I did this just last Sunday, and it was an absolute home run!

Apps, entrée, salad, dessert, and boatloads of wine. All the ingredients for a successful soirée, don't you think? There wasn't really a theme for the dinner. Just things I like and wanted to share. I can say everything worked together fantastically. Today I'll start with the appetizers which I've mentioned before in previous posts over the last couple of years, but since I have hundreds more readers, they both bear repeating because the are both so freakishly good and way easy.
First up is the best, easiest guacamole you will ever have! No shit, it really is that good. I've pulled this out several times over the past year or so, and every time people do the classic one bite, eyes go wide, then the "Oh, that's really good" comment always follows up without fail. The recipe is from Saveur Magazine. The one thing I think is indispensable here is a good mortar and pestle (here's the one i have. a serious piece of equipment that i LOVE!) to grind the initial onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and salt together which makes the paste that is the flavor base and is the key to the depth of flavor here. Also leaving the avocado in chunks is really a nice textural thing, so their innate creaminess and flavor really makes its full impact. Scooped out with my new favorite tortilla chips,, the Kettle Chips Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (I wonder if they'll send me a coupon for a free bag for mentioning them?!), these will disappear instantly!

Also on the table were my summer snack addiction I discovered last year at the Portland Farmer's Market. These little Pimientos de Padron are simply too good. It's spicy, salty food crack. I just spotted them at Viridian Farms booth last week, and my heart instantly started beating faster, my hands got sweaty, my eyes got a little wild, and I'm sure I looked like some meth addict when I handed them my money with shaking hands, scurrying off with my three little boxes. That first bite before dinner, when I hadn't had them for a year, was sublime. Use the stems for a little handle, and eat away. I don't know if you have these wherever you are, but if you don't they are worth seeing if you can have them shipped. The more addicts I have around me the better I feel about my "problem"!

The best things about both of these is you can make them last minute (in fact you want to plate the peppers hot right out of the sauté pan when your guests are there) in less than 20 minutes. We washed these down with a bottle of my favorite prosecco rosé and a couple of crisply delicious bottles of white.
* * * * * *

The World's Greatest Guacamole
adapted from Saveur Magazine

ingredients:
3 medium hass avocados (firmly ripe)
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons packed chopped cilantro
4 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno
1 teaspoon salt

method:
1-In large mortar and pestle or molcajete, grind salt, one tablespoon onion, one tablespoon cilantro, and jalapeno into a paste.
2-Half avocados, carefully remove pit, and score each half four times both directions being careful not to cut through peel. Then scoop out meat from each half into mortar and carefully fold into paste, keeping avocado as intact as possible.
3-Fold in remaining ingredients, mix well, season with more salt of necessary, and serve!
- - - - - - - -
Sautéed Pimientos de Padron

ingredients:
1 dozen, more or less, pimientos de padron
olive oil
coarse sea salt (available at most markets. I get mine at Trader Joe's- BB)

method:
Pour olive oil to barely coat bottom of nonstick sauté pan, then add a smidge more. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add peppers, toss some sea salt on top, and sauté until brown and white marks appear, about four or five minutes. Serve immediately, using the stems as convenient little handles.
Cooks not: the coarse sea salt is essential. It's worth huntng down!

Go to your room and play with your toy!!!

Can I please? Can I, can I??? Especially when my room is the kitchen and my new toy is this gorgeous Cuisinart BRK-200 Brick Oven Deluxe toaster oven. "Toaster oven"...it seems kind of demeaning to call this a mere toaster oven. Before this when I thought of toaster ovens I pictured those grimy little Oster numbers that litter garage sales across America. No, the BRK-200 is a serious piece of kitchen fun. Lined on the inside with pizza stone, equipped with a convection setting, heating to 500*. It kicks ass! How did I come to posses this stainless clad bit of inspiration? I have to thank Eric Ripert.

Most of you foodie types have hard of chef Eric Ripert. 4-star Chef at NYC's Le Bernardin. An incredible cooking talent who also happens to be tall, good looking, and with that damn charming French accent. Like the British accent that always has this innate authority (those BBC radio guys could say "The interior ministry has decreed that everyone should eat more dirt" and I'd probably be out in the garden shoveling handfuls in my mouth), the French accent has this lilting, sing-song, je ne sais quoi quality that makes everything sound romantically fabulous, including my new BRK-200. See, I just found Ripert's blog "Avec Eric" and he's had a series of posts about cooking things in his Cuisinart oven (they are also one of the sponsors of his blog). Avec Eric is a really great site, where Ripert posts recipes and videos of simple, delicious (so far) recipes that everyone can make. After seeing him whipping fish, tomatoes, and other delectable looking edibles in and out of his own countertop oven, I, being weak of mind, just HAD TO HAVE AN OVEN OF MY OWN. I'm like that junkie who needs the quick hookup. So w, in her great understanding of my kitchen gadget fetish, acquiesced to my desire to use our leftover credit from our recent wedding at PDX cookware store Kitchen Kaboodle. So the next day off I went, and home I came with my new toy, and it has been a blast! We've done fish, toasted bread for garden fresh tomato BLT's, and last night replicated ER's recipe for Tomatoes Provençal, which were an awesome pre-dinner treat. Sure, you could do these under the broiler in your regular oven, but don't you NEED one of these too? Yeah, I thought so. Happy shopping!!
*** *** ***
Eric Ripert's Tomatoes Provençal
feeds 2

ingredients:
2 tomatoes, sliced into thirds
1 ½ teaspoons herbes de Provence
¼ cup olive oil
1 small clove garlic, sliced thin
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh basil

method:
1. Heat toaster oven to broil.
2. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on a toaster oven tray, season with herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, and olive oil and garlic
3. Broil for about 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes are tender and a little caramelized.
4. Serve with fresh basil, making sure to pour the excess oil from the tray over the top.

Dip into this Summer Bagna Cauda!

C'mon...you can do better than ranch dip with those perfect little veggies at your farmer's markets can't you? Don't they deserve a little more respect than that? Don't your guests deserve something a little more creative?? I thought so. And with this amazingly easy take on bagna cauda, that classic Mediterranean dipping sauce that is usually thought of as a fall and winter dish and served warm, this version which is served at room temp is perfect right now! Butter, garlic, olive oil, anchovies....are you freaking kidding me? If that doesn't get your pleasure receptors fired up then perhaps you'd be better off at the model railroaders blog or maybe starwarslosers.com

The rest of you, make your plans for a farmers market visit this weekend, then invite a few friends over, pop the corks on a few bottles of icy cold dry rosé, which is the perfect accompaniment to this treat, and spread some pungent summer love.*** *** ***
Summer Bagna Cauda With Vegetables
from the New York Times
recipe adapted from “Biba’s Northern Italian Cooking.”
Serves 4

From the NYT: "In Italy, bagna cauda, or hot anchovy dip, is usually served during the winter months. But it’s also delicious eaten at room temperature with fresh summer vegetables."

For the bagna cauda:
¼ cup butter
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish:
½ pound asparagus, trimmed and blanched
1 bunch small radishes, cleaned and trimmed
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise and seeded
1 bunch baby carrots, peeled and trimmed
1 sweet potato, sliced and roasted
1 small bunch celery, cleaned, stalks separated
1 endive, leaves separated.

1. Prepare the bagna cauda: in a small saucepan melt the butter in the oil. When the butter foams, add the garlic and cook over medium heat until the garlic just begins to color. Add the anchovies, reduce the heat to very low and stir until the anchovies have dissolved. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Just before serving, arrange the trimmed vegetables on a large platter and serve with the anchovy dip.

Cooks note: The NYT article listed the veggies above, but feel free to sub at will. I used peppers, baby carrots, French radishes, and roasted sweet potato (which was a big hit by the way). Next time I do it I'll also serve some crusty bread alongside.

The Hour for Happyness on the cheap!

After Sunday's outdoor adventure hiking in the gorge (see previous post), a nice early morning run, and to take advantage of a rare holiday Monday off together, w and I opted for some afternoon indoor activity...and NO, not THAT kind of indoor activity! We had in mind a visit to one of our favorite late afternoon happy hour destinations here in PDX, Ten-01. Their happy hour menu (served 3-6pm) has to be one of the best in town as far as the quality of the discounted grub. Plus barman Kelly has a rocking cocktail list that begs for my attention.

Settling into our seats at the bar, we knew coming in we had to order some fresh shucked oysters, especially at a mere dollar each. Plus an order of their salty, satisfying truffle oil fries (below). While we waited for our appetizing appetizers, we ordered some refreshing adult beverages. w had their Henry II, a mix of bubbly, Clear Creek pear brandy, and a salted almond floating on top. I had the intriguingly named Alaska (above), which I would estimate was about 2.5 ounces gin, maybe 1/2 oz. yellow chartreuse, and a dash or two of Regan's orange bitters (see pic below) served up. w was so-so on hers (after tasting it, I had to agree. Seemed a little heavy on the brandy.). I really liked my libation though, especially that eye-pleasing green tinged color and pleasantly biting bitterness. Our fries and brine-a-licious oysters followed soon after, and both hit it just right. Looking over the happy hour menu, I was also intrigued by the Daily Charcuterie Plate at $6. I know they cure all their own meats, having seen several different chubs curing in their wine room on a previous visit, and our waitress told us it was a great deal, considering that on their dinner menu it is about $15 (with an added slice of pâté). Loving all things porky and, I was all in on that one, so we ordered it up, and what a freaking great deal! Five different samplings of their wares, all really delicious. Definitely put this on your list of future indulgences!

The Daily Charcuterie Plate of all things porky and good!




ADD Ten-01: While we were enjoying our afternoon treats, we noticed a flyer for a new lunch deal they instituted a couple of weeks ago. Monday through Saturday they serve a three course $15 dollar lunch that looks like an amazing bargain. An appetizer, entrée, and dessert for fifteen bones is a steal, especially considering the food quality these guys seem to be pumping out of the kitchen! I'd love to hear from anyone who's experienced it.

The Ten-01 bitters lined up on the bar. Can you say "we take our mixology seriously!"

Hummus as cliché? I think not!

They are food clichés for a reason. The reason usually being that they taste really good, everyone and their grandmother starts making it, it's everywhere, and then clichéism rears its mocking head. It might be played and mock away, but you throw a bowl of garlicky hummus in front of me for an appetizer, and I could dip my way through a whole baguette in short order. Last Sunday before dinner, to keep hunger at bay while simultaneously soaking up the alcohol being consumed by friends while the game was on, I whipped up a quick bowl, sprinkled some smoky Spanish paprika on top with a drizzle of olive oil, and didn't see one eye roll coming my way. Of course everyone was too busy stuffing their grills and swilling drinks, so eye rolling would have meant too much multitasking anyway.

The good thing about hummus, besides how freaking easy it is, is you can throw almost anything into the mix and it works. Roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, olives, some feta, whatever works for you. Quick, cheap, and delicious...three adjectives I can get with anytime!
*** *** ***

Hummus

ingredients:
2 cans chickpeas
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup sesame oil from top of tahini container
2 cloves garlic
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste1 tablespoon ground cumin
Juice of one lemon, or more as needed
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika

method:
In a food processor, blend first six ingredients together. Add water as needed to make a smooth puree. Taste and add more garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper as needed. Turn into serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and paprika. Serve with sliced baguette/rustic bread, pita, crackers, or vegetables.

Feeling Crabby

Not to rub it in, but I feel for all of you poor, hungry eaters who live in other parts of the country, because every year about this time I get pretty fucking smug about the fact that I can buy one of the greatest treats in the entire food world, something that is so sweet, succulent, and entirely too delicious for a mere $3.99 a pound at our local markets. What could it possible be, that envelopes me in feelings of peace, joy, and gustatory well-being? The only possible answer is Dungeness Crab season here in the NW.

w and I live for this time of year. She get positively giddy at the prospect of breaking apart their reddish -pink boiled little bodies to get at the sweetly satisfying meat inside. Crab eaters fall into two camps. w and I happen to personify this dichotomous eating style. There are your crab cleaners who eat as they go (w), who can't wait for that first bite. Then there are your crab cleaners who have just enough self control who don't eat as they go (bb) so they end with a nice big pile of crab at the end that they can shovel into their mouths at will.

Whichever flavor of crab eater you are, make sure you leave enough crab at the end to make these absolutely wonderful crab cakes from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". Unlike most restaurant crab cakes that rely on fillers where it's like eating bread with a minute bit of crab, these are almost pure, unadulterated crab eating joyfulness, with just a bit of chopped seasonings, mayo, a tiny bit of bread crumbs, and egg as binder to hold them together. With some gentle handling through the cooking process, you'll end up with some crispy, perfect rounds of seasonal seafood perfection.********************

Crab Cakes
adapted from How to Cook Everything
time: 20 minutes plus refrigeration time

ingredients:
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat (make sure all cartilage is removed)
1 egg
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/2 cup scallion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs, or as needed
about 1 cup flour for dredging
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
2 tablespoons peanut, olive, or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter (or use all oil)
lemon wedges for garnish

method:
1-Mix together crabmeat, egg, bell pepper, scallion, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add sufficient bread crumbs to bind the mixture just enough to form into cakes. Start with two tablespoons and use more if you need it.

2-Refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to use it (it will be easier to shape if you refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more, but is ready to go when you finish mixing)

3-Season flour with salt, pepper (and curry if you like). Preheat a large skillet, preferably non-stick, over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oil and butter and heat until the butter foam subsides. Shape the crabmeat into six cakes, carefully dredge each in the flour, and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary and turning once (very gently), until golden brown on both sides. Total cooking time will be about ten minutes. Seve with lemon wedges.

Like an addiction is a bad thing.....

Like any good addiction, it built slowly. First, one box bought at my local farmer's market was enough. Then, by mid week I was jonesing again, and found myself walking away from the Viridian Farms stand with two boxes. Last Saturday, on my way to the market, I was actually starting to sweat, feeling a little panicky that they might be out by the time I got there and I wouldn't get my fix. I jumped out of the car, practically running to the Viridian Farms stand, only feeling relief upon seeing box after box of the cute, wrinkly little green gems known as pimientos de padron lined up on their counter. Knowing others were coming for dinner, I bought the largest box they had, my sense of well being intact as I wandered around the rest of the market, feeling its reassuring weight in my shopping bag.

I'm telling you, one taste of these late summer miracles will have you anticipating your next hook up as much as I do. This is the easiest, tastiest, most crowd pleasing appetizer you could ever serve. If they're not in your local market, well, I can only feel for your half empty lives. Me, I'm feeling pretty smug, as the folks at Viridian said they'd be around until the first frost. Imagine, WEEKS of satisfaction ahead!

If you're reading this in PDX, you can get them at the Viridian Farms stand at the downtown Saturday and Wednesday markets. If you're reading this and you live elsewhere, maybe they can overnight you some. It's worth it, I promise!!

The finished product, awaiting consumption!














******************

Sautéed Pimientos de Padron

ingredients:
1 dozen, more or less, pimientos de padron
olive oil
coarse sea salt (available at most markets. I get mine at Trader Joe's- BB)

method:
Pour olive oil to barely coat bottom of nonstick sauté pan, then add a smidge more. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add peppers, toss some sea salt on top, and sauté until brown and white marks appear, about four or five minutes. Serve immediately, using the stems as convenient little handles.

A spicy start and sweet finish!

Okay...enough being selfish and self-indulgent. The blog-vacation is over! It's time to get some new food news up here at Eat.Drink.Think., because it's not like I've been going hungry these past couple of weeks. Last night was case in point. Mom's birthday dinner (btw- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM...I love you!), where the main course was my famously perfect rotisserie roast chicken, along with a side of chopped Caprese salad, and a decadent creamy polenta with mascarpone which is as rich and wonderfully sinful as it sounds!
But my sharing moment today has to do with our pre-dinner cocktail snack and our dessert, both of which were awesome uses of some of the seasons best fresh produce. For our app, we had a great guacamole, which was one of the best versions of this standard dish I've ever had. Inspired by a recipe from Saveur Magazine, this is, as they called it, the World's Best Guacamole. Instead of mushing up the avocado this recipe preserves it in a more chunky form, making it much more interesting texturally. Plus it gives me a chance to use my heavyweight mortar and pestle (I bought the 9" by the way...size matters!), which if you don't have one is a must, not only for your kitchen, but for your own peace of mind.
Then after all the wonderful flavors that were mom's birthday feast, we finished with w's now signature seasonal treat, blueberries and peaches in a balsamic syrup. Fabulous fresh flavors, and this never fails to get raves, I promise. Both these recipes are way too easy, and will absolutely rock your next dinner party!

********************

The World's Greatest Guacamole
adapted from Saveur Magazine

Ingredients
3 medium hass avocados (firmly ripe)
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons packed chopped cilantro
4 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
1 tablesppon chopped jalapeno
1 teaspoon salt

1-In large mortar or molcajete, grind salt, one tablespoon onion, one tablespoon cilantro, and jalapeno into a paste.
2-Half avocados, carefully remove pit, and score each half four times both directions being careful not to cut through peel. Then scoop out meat from each half into mortar and carefully fold into paste, keeping avocado as intact as possible.
3-Fold in remaining ingredients, mix well, season with more salt of necessary, and serve! ********************
Balsamic Blueberries and Peaches
adapted from epicurious

Ingredients
3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cups blueberries (about 1 lb)
1 lb peaches or nectarines, sliced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (optional)

Boil 3 tablespoons sugar with vinegar, and 1 cup blueberries in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Combine remaining 2 cups blueberries with peach slices in a large bowl. Toss with hot blueberry syrup and black pepper, then add sugar to taste. Let stand, tossing occasionally, 30 minutes.
*Cooks note: Vary sugar depending how sweet and ripe your fruit is.
Makes 4 servings.