Monday, January 01, 2007

Chipotle-esque Guacamole

CHIPOTLE is LIKE CRACK to me.

Don't believe me? Here's my fan-club subscription to ChipotleLovers.com and I just wrote a tribute to Chipotle on my other blog that you can stop in to read. I emailed the link to Chipotle and begged for burrito bucks and a T-shirt, too. A girl can dream, can't she?

I loooooooove me some Chipotle. I have driven for hours to eat there. Sadly, the state I now live in is void of the lovely little restaurant chain. While in Texas on our Christmas vacation, we dined there four times (in less than 2 weeks). It is one place I could go daily and never tire of the food. Good quality ingredients, fresh produce, insanely addictive marinades, made while you watch, and plenty of hip urban atmosphere. Yumm! In case you haven't heard of them or have just not taken the time to pop in for your first burrito bol (yes, they leave the W out intentionally, just like they leave the tortilla out intentionally if you choose)... here's a little history on Chipotle that makes for interesting reading (especially for us sold-out junkies who have already downloaded the screensavers from their website). Don't let the fact that McDonalds owns 90% of their stock scare you off. This chain has nothing to do with fast food grease. They use organic ingredients whenever they can, and there's nothing deep fried on the menu. About the only thing Micky-D's has in common with their Chipotle buddies is their choice of carbonated beverages.

After I got back from Texas on this latest holiday trip, I was lamenting about how it would be six months or so before we could go eat there again (HINT to the McDonalds stockholders to PUT ONE IN ARKANSAS!). So, I looked up 'Chipotle Guacamole Recipe' on Google and came up with a few interesting sites and recipes from the other brainwashed fans out there who love them as much as I do. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who dreams of their cilantro rice and heavenly guac.

Speaking of guac... I tried this recipe tonight (the below is my mildly altered copy of the chipotlefan.com's version). This guacamole is very similar to the real Chipotle deal. My mouth has the faint flavor of cilantro-and-lime-laced avocado right now - and if I zone out a little, I could imagine that I had eaten at Chipotle earlier this evening. Except that I didn't, and the nearest Chipotle is five or six hours away from here. Don't get me started!

I had this guac TONIGHT in my own apartment... and now I can mix up another batch any time I get the munchies! This may be a bad recipe to start off the New Year with... aren't avocados supposed to be fattening? Oh, well.

I can't wait to look up the chicken marinade and the cilantro-lime rice recipe! Oh, this is going to be one difficult year for keeping my New Years resolutions.

Chipotle-esque Guacamole

INGREDIENTS...

3 really ripe avocados, peeled and pitted (bad spots left out)
3 teaspoons fresh lime juice (or lime juice from the squirty bottle)
2-3 tablespoons fresh finely chopped cilantro leaves (leave out the stems)
1/4 cup finely chopped purple/red onion
2 cloves garlic (minced as fine as you can get it - fresh is best!)
1 serrano chili, seeded/chopped (if you HAVE to, you can sub pickled jalapeƱo)
1/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt if you don't use garlic - or if you just love garlic salt like me)

INSTRUCTIONS...

Mash up avocado with fork or electric mixer.

Note to Masher: I had to cut bad spots off of all three of my really ripe avocados, so if you have a really nice, clean, GREEN, ripe one... the original recipe only calls for one.

Add lime juice. Whip with fork to blend well. Stir in all other ingredients. Serve with ultra thin restaurant style tortilla chips (lightly salted).

Note to Server: My only beef with Chipotle is that they use a chip that is too thick and WAY too salty. I enjoyed eating this guac with my favorite chips! Serve with water & lemon wedges or whatever carbonated beverage you would get at the Chipotle fountain drink spout. Enjoy (and of course, that is an under-statement!).


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