Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and n-Layer Dip

Just because I don't care about the Super Bowl, especially this year, doesn't mean I can't enjoy Super Bowl food, right? Right.



I took the opportunity that this fine American tradition afforded to make something I've been too intimidated to make before (though in retrospect, I have no idea why): pico de gallo. Maybe it was all the chopping involved that I thought I wasn't up to; I don't know.



But it actually didn't take that long, and the best thing about pico de gallo, other than it being quite delicious on its own, is that it can be easily used in two other delicious items: guacamole, and what I'm calling n-layer dip.



Pico de gallo is a simple combination of tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro, and lime juice. Take that combination and mix it with some buttery avocado and you've got guacamole. And my friends -- there is absolutely nothing like homemade guacamole.



Or if you're really in Super Bowl mode, make an n-layer dip (n because you can add or subtract as many as you like from the traditional 7-layers).



This one has 10 layers.  Really!  Doesn't really look like there's 10 layers in there, does it? It can be easily cut in half and will be delicious just the same. Just make sure you eat it with sturdy tortilla chips that won't break apart when you're scooping up the dip.



There's no hard and fast rule about the order in which you layer, but some would argue that order matters, that when done properly it makes a significant textural (and aesthetic) difference.  You decide what works best for you.  My preferred order is listed below.

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

• 5 firm Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2-1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• salt, to taste

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Enjoy the same day; pico de gallo doesn't keep very well.

Gucamole

Ingredients

• avocados
• pico de gallo
• lime juice
• salt

Method

1. Mash up your desired quantity of avocados.  Mix in a generous amount of pico de gallo.
2. Add another tbsp of lime juice for every 2 avocados you use.  Add salt to taste.

n-Layer Dip (based on the one photographed above)

Ingredients (ordered from bottom to top)

1. refried beans
2. thin layer of shredded cheese
3. sour cream
4. thinly shredded lettuce
5. sliced black olives
6. chopped cilantro
7. pico de gallo or salsa
8. guacamole
9. shredded cheese
10. thinly sliced scallions

The Citrus Season

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not a winter person. Just like I'm not a morning person. I wish I could be a bear, so I could just sleep through it.



One of the few good things about this winter is the abundance of citrus -- I'm not exactly sure why, as I think oranges are mainly spring fruits (at least from the limited research I did), but I'm not complaining.



My favorite citrus is probably the honey tangerine; I can't resist its oh-so-sweet tartness. Last week I had the joy of experiencing the sweetest, juiciest red ruby grapefruit I've ever had in my life. I've also had some beautiful -- but sour and dry -- Moro oranges (pictured), run-of-the-mill Navels, bright Cara Caras (also pictured), and Minneolas that have had the most wonderful scent on their peels and whose flesh was juicy, but not very sweet.



For the first time, I attempted to make candied orange (and lime) peels and homemade marmalade. Neither went very well, unfortunately. The candied peels were OK, but I made the mistake of slicing them too thin. The marmalade was a disaster. Practically every recipe I found online for marmalade used the Seville orange, which seems like the only variety of orange I haven't seen this season. I tried to use Moro oranges (since they didn't taste very good, I thought they might make a gorgeous-looking marmalade) and some other type, possibly Navel, and less sugar (seriously, making marmalade uses an appalling amount of sugar -- necessary, as it turns out, because all the peel and pith makes the mixture very bitter). The result was a bitter, goopy mass that didn't resemble lovely orange preserves at all. Oh, the other problem was that the oranges I used didn't have many pips (until last week, I didn't know that was what you called orange seeds), which meant that there wasn't a whole lot of natural gelatin, and I didn't have the powdered kind. So, all in all, one of my more disastrous attempts. I had a lot of fun though, and learned a lot, and plan to try again someday -- maybe when I find Seville oranges.

I have some shots of the attempt at candied citrus peels, which I think would have gone much better had I not sliced them too thinly. It took a really, really long time from the pithing to the slicing to the coating each strand with sugar afterward, so when I attempt this again I'm definitely going to err on the side of thick slices!

The citrus I used:



Sectioning off the peels:



Using a paring knife to get as much pith off as possible:



Gorgeous de-pithed peels:



Thinly sliced and into the pot with just water or possibly water and sugar together; can't remember now:



The peels after they've been boiling in sugared water for awhile:



Cooling on a rack after they've been dusted with sugar: