Avocado, pureed tomatillos, garlic and kosher salt. The tomatillos add tang and keep the avocados from oxidizing.

In addition to using guacamole as a dip, I like to use it to sauce for mild fish.

I use avocados, fresh diced tomatoes, minced red onion, mince jalepeno as well as hot sauce, lime juice, I usually do not use cilantro, but my little twist is ground toasted cumin seed - adds a little smokiness.

Arin - I love the idea of the tomatillos. Brilliant.

Oh I forgot. I use garlic too.

I use the same recipe you give, sans the jalapeno (I'm a wimp). It's soooo good - you definitely need the lime. And the kosher salt. And now I must go make some...

i'm a less-is-more gal when it comes to guac: avocado, lime, salt. maybe a bit of onion, rarely garlic, never tomato. i don't put chile in because i like to use it to cool off after other spicy foods.

I like to add a tomato -- chopped but whole (seeds and all), salt to taste, and a tablespoon or so of sour cream for a smooth and yummy consistency.

Diana Kennedy's recipe is my gold standard. My family's 2002 Thanksgiving was seriously disrupted by an argument between me (no lime, cilantro) and my sister (lime, no cilantro) about what constitutes good guacamole. This is the version of D.K.'s recipe that I make from memory now; it's in at least her the Cuisines of Mexico and The Essential Cuisines of Mexico

Pound these into a paste in molcajete/mortar/suribachi:

3 Serranos (much better than jalapeños)
1/4-1/2 cup minced cilantro
1/2 onion minced
scant teaspoon salt

Then:

2 avocados, halved and pitted.

Mash the two avocados into the paste. Leave big chunks for texture and variation.

Add as much additional cilantro, chopped, as you can handle, and some of the remaining half of the onion, chopped. DK also adds chopped tomato but I've been phasing that out.

I think the serranos bring a lot of the Fabulous that you might find yourself compensating for by adding the apocalyptically anathema garlic. The only thing lime is good for is keeping it from turning brown, but plopping a whole pit in the guac is also somewhat helpful there (superstitiously, at least). And anyway my guacamole never goes uneaten long enough to turn brown.

Also, for chips, make them fresh from corn tortillas, cut into wedges, then pan fried in oil and salted to taste. I like making my own for the variation in crispness that I can get.

In the pro-garlic camp . . .
it's nice to mash your small amount of fresh garlic with salt in the molcajete, so it liquifies and mellows

Pro-garlic here, too ...

I try to keep it clean, but with punch--when I have time and all the ingredients handy, I use

avocados
lime
garlic (about one medium clove per 4 avocados)
minced jalapeno
white onion
a little cilantro
a few dashes of green Tabasco
salt and pepper

If I have it around, I'll use a little cumin, and I've been meaning to try out the chipotle Tabasco for some smokiness ... In a rush, avocados, onion, Tabasco, salt, and pepper usually do the trick ... but it has to be a guacamole emergency.

Dave --

The chipotle Tabasco sauce is AMAZING. I can hardly keep a bottle in the house, as it gets used up so quickly. I have to go out of my way to get chipotle peppers, so it's a quick and easy way to get that smoky, earthy spiciness into any dish.

Now, how are people siding in the chunky vs. creamy guacamole debate? I actually use both....

I don't put garlic in mine +I'd never use that much onion. I have my own preparation which has taken years to perfect to my liking. But here's a guacamole recipe from a Mexican site. I've translated it for you! It uses garlic :(

GUACAMOLE EN MOLCAJETE
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
6 tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 Tablespoons of cilantro
serrano peppers to taste
salt

Method:
Roast the peppers and the tomatoes. Grind the garlic with the salt and the peppers in the molcajete. Once well ground, add the tomatoes, the avocados and grind a bit more.

Decorate the guacamole by placing sliced onion on top and chopped cilantro.

MoM
Chunky-ish is my preference.. I mash avocado a bit with a fork.

It's all so similar. Any Guac is good guac in my book. I do think that lime ruins the taste and so does garlic. I also prefer green onions with a mix of the green stalk and white bulb. So....
1 avocado
1/2-1/3 good tomato
3 green onions
1/2 Jalepeno seeds and all
1st combine all ingredients except avocado with a little fresh ground salt
then add avocado and mix in a bowl with a pastry blender

My favorite (and always a crowd-pleaser) is Ina Garten's guac recipe:

4 avocados
1 sm red onion, diced
1 tomato, seeded + chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
Tabasco sauce (I've been using the chipotle Tabasco recently)
salt + pepper

I basically use the posted recipe, to consistent raves. I'll often use sweet onion, though, and probably lower the proportion of onion & tomato to avocado in the guac.

My other variation is, in a 2-avocado batch, to mash 1 1/2 avocados in with the rest of the ingredients, and then save the last 1/2 avocado, cubed, to mix in at the end to keep texture varied.

If you want the real Southwest Guac here's my way:

Avocados mashed w/ fork
Finely chopped white onion
Chopped pickled jalepenos to taste
1/4 cup pickled jalepeno juice (Critical!)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt & Pepper
1 clove garlic mashed

(NO CILANTRO!)

I say real Southwest way because I am in Texas.

Susan - thanks. Can you recommend any good Southwest cuisine food sites, or cookbooks?

How long will guacamole keep in the frig?

The best guacamole is simple, with subtle additions that can best highlight an aguacate's nuttiness and creamy texture without overpowering. For that reason, garlic never gets into my guacamole. Even if you use Diana Kennedy's or Rick Bayless's recipes, which both include garlic, it's important to note that Mexican garlic is very small and subtle, with a springy, green flavor, and a sweetness that is lacking in the garlic most commonly found in the U.S. That U.S. garlic is more suited to Italian or Chinese cuisine. In Mexico, guacamoles are as diverse as the recipes listed above, even more so when you start to think about avocado varietals (and here we are thinking the world begins and ends with the Haas!) Since I now consider guacamole as American as Apple pie, I will not bore you with "authentic" Mexican recipes, but suffice it to say I've seen everything from a dab of mayonesa, or olive oil, or roasted amarillo peppers, or red chile sauce added to guacamoles in Mexico. Don't balk at the mayonesa, homemade mayonaise is a work of art. But you always taste the aguacate. At my family get-togethers in Zacatecas, in central Mexico, the guacamole actually begins with 40 kilos of avocados! Once you get your mind around that, you can see that simpler is better. No tomatoes, just salt, key lime (sweeter than those large green limes so common here in the U.S.), pulverized fire-roasted serranos, and lots of chips(those are a very recent American introduction). Adding roasted and blended tomatillos creates another sauce entirely (in Mexico it's not considered guacamole anymore), it's salsa de tomatillo con aguacate, and it's perfect for open fire-grilled fish, or my favorite, carne asada or sinaloa-style mesquite slow-smoked chicken. Oh man, I have got to get back to Mexico!

Avocados need cilantro, always. I can't imagine guacamole without cilantro.