Guacamole

Guacamole is the cool, fatty counterweight to a hot, charred plate. Where the tri tip brings smoke and crust, ripe avocado brings richness and lime brings the acid to balance it, which is exactly why it belongs next to grilled beef and not just a bag of chips.

Ripe fruit is everything. A Hass avocado is ready when it gives slightly under gentle pressure; rock-hard fruit will not mash and overripe turns to string. Keep it chunky, season it hard with salt and lime, and go easy on the extras so the avocado stays the point.

Spoon it onto tri tip tacos and into burritos, or set a bowl out with the spread and let people help themselves. Lime keeps it green, but guacamole waits for no one, so make it close to when you plan to eat.

My connection to avocados goes back to when I was a kid. My father owned a nursery that sold citrus and avocado trees, and he spent his weekends grafting for growers around the tri counties. My brother and I came along, climbing into the truck before sunrise and wandering the orchards while Dad worked.

One place I still remember is the Righetti family ranch near San Luis Obispo. The avocado trees stretched across the hillside, and there was a big pond full of frogs that seemed enormous to us. At the time it was just another weekend following Dad from tree to tree. Now, whenever I make guacamole, it all comes back: the hills, the orchards, the frogs, and my father working with his hands.