From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Subscribe (for whatever you think it's worth to you) and get access to all our recipes, reviews, top-ten lists, and other information. Every weekday, I write at least five new articles in a daily newsletter sent by e-mail and posted on the web, with news about restaurants, cooking, and eating in New Orleans. For more information about The New Orleans Menu Daily, click here. Guacamole This is a little more complicated than most guacamole recipes, and probably not authentic, but it sure tastes good. If you have fresh chili peppers available, chop about two tablespoons' worth and substitute it for some or all of the Tabasco jalapeno. Don't cut the avocados until absolutely everything else is chopped and combined. Doing this will prevent the avocados from browning. The hard part is getting avocados at the perfect point of ripeness. That would be when the little button at the top, left over from the stem, pops off with light finger pressure. At this point, I'd like to apologize for the green ketchup. But blind tasting doesn't lie: the ketchup adds a nice little something, and the green makes it greener. 1 medium white onion 10 sprigs cilantro, leaves only Juice of one small lime 1 Tbs. olive oil 1 large clove garlic 3 Tbs. Tabasco jalapeno pepper sauce 3 large, very ripe tomatoes, seeds and pulp removed 1/2 tsp. salt 1 Tbs. ketchup (preferably green ketchup) 4-6 Haas avocados (depending on size) 1. Put the onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and jalapeno pepper sauce into a food processor and chop finely, but don't let it become a slush. Put this into a plastic or china bowl.   2. Chop the tomatoes coarsely and add to the bowl. Add the salt and ketchup. 3. Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pits. With a spoon, scoop out the flesh into the bowl, avoiding any discolored or stringy parts. 4. With a large wire whisk, mash and mix everything together. The guacamole should be on the chunky side, not a puree. Add salt and more Tabasco to taste. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves ten to fifteen. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com