ROUSES_Fall2023_Magazine

Chip Off The Old Block By Ali Rouse Royster, 3 rd Generation I live by my calendars — yes, plural! I have a few, each with their own very unique purpose. They’re color-coded and I cannot deal without them. (Tell me you’re a firstborn child without telling me you’re a firstborn

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child… ). One of my very favorite routines of fall is blocking in Saints games on Sundays on the calendar. Home game or away game, we’ll be watching our Saints play! And as much as I love going to the Dome, I love watching games at home just as much. It’s a whole different experience — the Dome is electric, you’re so in the moment, and it feels like you’re practically a part of the team. At home, though, there’s a certain routine about a Saints Sunday. For us, it’s making sure we’ve already gone to Rouses to shop for the week ahead of time, then going

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to Mass at 9:30am (and seeing lots of the congregation in their Black & Gold gear), then heading home to make lunch and game-day grub. My favorite thing to make is guacamole, which should come as no surprise because my dad, Tommy Rouse, believes he is the king of guac (does this make me a princess?!). He makes it all the time, and has been known to have it out at Thanksgiving for a pre-turkey snack. It makes no sense, but we roll with it, because it’s delicious. I also make a mean guac, but — if you have on your pearls, get ready to clutch them — I don’t use my dad’s recipe. I use my own, and it’s delish, if I do say so myself. I won’t say it’s better, because I’m such a good daughter, but it’s definitely different. Like guac, I am

a bit extra, so I make it with a molcajete (like a mortar and pestle) and we eat it out of that with warmed Hola Nola Chips — yum! Tommy’s guac recipe is in our archives (www.rouses.com), but feel free to try out mine too and see which one you like best! Quite a few of my friends and cousins have adopted my recipe as their own, and even my 8-year-old approves. And, because I am nothing but my father’s daughter, I even made it for Easter last year.

ALI’S GUACAMOLE Serves 6 - 8

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 ripe tomato, deseeded and dejellied, and finely chopped 3 tablespoons diced white onion 2 serrano chilies, finely chopped (can substitute deseeded jalapeños, but Rouses usually has serrano chilies) Juice from half a lime (approximately 1-1.5 tablespoons) Heaping ½ teaspoon minced garlic Heaping ½ teaspoon sea salt (basically, to taste) 3 ripe Haas avocados 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

HOW TO PREP: Put the tomato, onion, chilies, lime juice, garlic and sea salt in a molcajete or small bowl, and smash with a pestle or fork into a coarse paste. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into the tomato mixture. Add the minced cilantro, and mix and mash, leaving some lumps. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt. Serve with Hola Nola restaurant style Tortilla Chips, warmed according to the instructions on the package.

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