George IV's Favorite Guacamole

From Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook, again, a prized gift of a book from a very sweet and dear friend.

Here's the "story" Paula puts in front of the recipe. I like these almost as much as the recipes themselves.

George Ort is my Aunt Peggy's oldest. He was always smart growing up, and because I was five years older, I thought he was quite a little know-it-all. I remember once when I was sixteen and didn't know squat except how to dress for a date and do my cheer, we had a little incident in the car.
You, see, I had this old convertible. It was my first car that my daddy had given me, and for some reason I had George, his brother, Paul, and my brother in the car with me and I wasn't happy about it. Well, when little George in his smart way said, "I could drive this car better than you, " I turned around and said, "You think so, you little smart alleck?" Then I pulled over and said, "Okay, drive it, big boy."
Oh, my God! He got behind that wheel and he was all over the road and up on the curb and remember just dying laughing. Back then things were so innocent, you know---you would never to that today. But that was the beauty of the small town, I just laughed and laughed and said, "Obviously you can't drive as good as I can." I remember the two younger boys just screaming! They just knew we would be killed. I was full of devilment back then. So I got back behind the wheel and never did tell none of the adults what I had done.
Well, now George is a successful executive and his wife, Kelley, is one of those perfect mothers and wives. I've never seen her without makeup, and I've never seen her without the perfect meal on the table. She's just one of those girls that you aspire to be like, and she's a fabulous cook. And now, it turns out, so are her teenage sons, George IV and T.J. Don't you just love it when good things run in the family?

Kelley says: George IV perfected this recipe after watching a friend demonstrate how easy it is to make this super-fresh dip. He went on to win the "guacamole throw-down" contest at a recent Super Bowl party.

Makes 1 Quart guacamole.

5 ripe Avocados, pitted and peeled (I used 2 of the larger Florida variety Avocaodos)
1 Large tomato, chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (about 2 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
Tortilla chips, for dipping, or lettuce, for salad

Mash the avocados in a large bowl. Stir in the tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice and zest, garlic, jalapeno, and salt. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour to bring out the flavor. Serve with tortilla chips or on top of lettuce as a salad.

This is hands down one of the best guacamole recipes I've ever tried. I didn't add a picture, simply because guacamole looks like guacamole...it's green, mushy and got chunks of tomato and onion going on. I think I've found the recipe I shall use from here on out. I swear, I'm an avocado freak to begin with, this is a given, but I could sit and just eat this as a sort of avocado thick soup. The chips are merely a vessel to get the guac to my mouth, hahahaha.

Some parts of my avocados weren't ripe enough for my tastes, so I took what I call my "motorboat", or stick blender and used it to mash up the avocados, smoothing out some and chunking up some still.

Paula's Brussels Sprouts

Ok, first off, I must apologize as these little morsels did not sit around long enough to get a camera near them, much less get pictures. This gives you a hint as to our review, right? This "recipe" is so simple and basic that I hesitate to call it an actual recipe, I would think it more of a cooking method, but anyhow, here's the details.

From: Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook, a cookbook I recently recieved as a gift from a very dear friend.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lots O' Butter

Honey, even Brussels sprouts get sexy when you know how to butter them up! A lot of people say they don't like Brussels sprouts, but I think they've just never tasted them slathered with butter roasted until crisp around the edges like these. And if this recipe doesn't change their minds, let me tell you, nothing will.

Serves 4

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted (I used about 3 1/2 T)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the Brussels sprouts with the butter, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and golden. Serve hot.


These are truly delicious and yet so very simple. The smell is that of fresh buttered popcorn when you open the oven door. Butter is a divine smell anyhow.