Vincent Price’s Guacamole (aka Avocado Spread)

For those of you, of un âge certain, like the Accidental Locavore, the fact that Vincent Price authored a cookbook and a really good one, won’t come as a surprise. The rest of you may have seen him in old Batman episodes or one of the many horror flicks he was known for, but did you know that he wrote one of the first celebrity cookbooks, A Treasury of Great Recipes?

Someone in my family, perhaps my grandmother, Olive, had a copy of it and along with Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls, they’re really the only cookbooks I can still visualize from my childhood. There were recipes I probably cooked with my grandmother, but sadly, have no idea what they were. So I was happy to learn that they’ve released a 50^th anniversary edition of the book and happier still when The Daily Meal gave me the chance to try one of the recipes and win a copy. This makes 2 cups and I’ve adapted the recipe for clarity:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small jalapeno or Serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
• ½ garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander (a large pinch)
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional and more to taste)

Peel and seed the avocados. Rinse off the best-looking pit and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl mash the avocados with a fork. Add all the other ingredients and mix to combine. Taste, and add salt and cayenne as needed.

Leave the pit in the center of the guac to prevent discoloration. Serve with chips and enjoy!

My verdict:

Along with the fact that there were a couple of ripe avocados in my fridge, my competitive juices started flowing, since I’ve always been told that I make the best guac. This one seemed a bit odd, but in 1965 it was probably light years ahead of its time. I expected it to be awful but it was really tasty! It’s not the guacamole for those who like it hot — adding more chiles or cayenne would take care of that, and with the addition of the mayo, even my homemade, it was a little sweet and much smoother than my usual. Vincent says, “if you like a very smooth guacamole, remove the seeds and put mixture into a blender container and blend on high for about 8 seconds before you are ready to serve it.” Next time, I might swap lime juice for lemon and chop up some fresh cilantro (which was probably not easily found in the sixties), just to see how it turns out. But no peas!