Crab Stuffed Avocado

As I have said before, avocados are very good for you.  They are full of vitamin A and rich in B complex vitamins.  They are very high in protein and though they are high in fat it is the fat that is good for you.  The avocado was first discovered in Mexico over 7,000 years ago and wasn't commercially grown in California until the late 1800’s and in Florida until the turn of the century.  The avocado is technically a fruit but often treated as a vegetable.  Because it is a fruit it should never be place in the fridge. 

The crab in the salad can be replaced with boiled shrimp, lobster or baked/smoked fish.  Chicken could also be used.  If you want to make this more of a meal try placing the avocado on a bed of lettuce and adding some tomato and egg wedges.  The salad could also be used on crackers or on a sandwich with some fresh sliced tomatoes and lettuce.  On the piers in San Francisco you can get yummy little sandwiches with a crab or lobster salad on a sour dough roll, always with real mayonnaise. That is always a stop I have to make while there. 

1 ea............... Avocado

3 oz............... Crab Meat

2 Tbs............. Real Mayonnaise

1 Tbs............. Finely Diced Celery

1 Tbs............. Finely Diced Onion

¼ tsp............. Garlic Powder

¼ tsp............. Onion Powder

pinch............. White Pepper

1.    Combine all ingredients except avocado and mix well.

2.    Split avocado and remove seed and skin.

3.    Divide crab salad between avocado halves and serve.

  

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!

Cobb Salad

The Cobb salad was developed in the 1920’s at the Brown Derby in Hollywood, CA. Sense then there have been other ingredients added or subtracted. The blue cheese is sometimes replaced with cheddar but will never be right in my opinion. I do love blue cheese but if you don’t try going light on some Gorgonzola cheese. This is a milder type of blue-veined cheese. The flavors and textures are all perfectly balanced. If you just can’t do the blue cheese then try another strong cheese like feta.

It would seem that this wouldn't be the healthiest of salads because yes it is high in fat but the fat in this is the really good kind. The dressing made with olive oil and the olives and avocado are all polyunsaturated fats that help control cholesterol.

1 head...... Romaine Lettuce

1 ea........... Avocado

2 ea........... Tomato

¼ c............ Green Onions

½ c............ Sliced Black Olives

½ lb........... Bacon

2 ea........... Boneless Chicken Breasts

4 ea........... Hard Boiled Egg

½ c............ Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Dressing

4 Tbs........ Red Wine Vinegar

½ c............ Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbs........ Dijon Mustard

1 ea........... Garlic Cloves

to taste...... Salt and Pepper

1. Mix dressing ingredients together and chill.

2. Grill Chicken then cool and dice.

3. Cut cleaned and chilled lettuce into 1” pieces and place in a bowl.

4. Chop bacon into ½” pieces and cook until crispy.

5. Dice avocado, tomato and egg into ½” pieces.

6. Chop green onions into ¼” pieces.

7. Place everything in a bowl with dressing and toss thoroughly.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!

Corn and avocado relish- Truly SUPER Superbowl food!

Corn and Avocado Relish

4 ea............... Diced Avocados 

½ c................. Diced Red Onions

1 c.................. Corn

2 ea............... Diced Tomato

½ c................. Diced Green Chilies

¼ c................. Chopped Cilantro

1 tsp............... Ground Cumin

1 tsp............... Oregano

1 tsp............... Garlic Powder

2 tsp............... Onion Powder

½ tsp.............. Tabasco

1½ tsp........... Kosher salt

½ c................. Olive Oil

1.      Place all of the ingredients, except avocados, in a bowl and mix well.

2.      Add avocados last and mix gently without smashing the avocado.

This relish is great with corn chips but you can try it on a cheeseburger with bacon, or anything you might put salsa on. You can cheat and use frozen corn but you can also try roasting your corn on the grill when you roast your green chilies to add a nice roasted flavor. 

When you are picking out avocados,  get ones that are darker in color and that slightly give when pressed with your finger. Avocados are too ripe when they already have indentations or when pressed they make an indentation.  Avoid avocados that are too green and hard unless you don’t plan to use them for a few days. Avocados generally take three to five days to ripen at room temperature. Avocados are truly fruit so they should never be refrigerated before they are cut into.  Refrigerating unripe avocados will actually halt the ripening process completely, and no one wants a hard unripe avocado in their dips!     

Many people avoid avocados because they are high in fat, but avocados are actually chock-ful of the good fats!, One avocado has three grams of monounsaturated fat along with thirteen important vitamins.  

This relish is a great idea for our Superbowl Sundays! Try making a food that you and your loved ones can indulge in, guilt-free!

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!