If you’re in charge of making the Guacamole Dip for the big game, and you plan on making fresh Guac, you need to buy those avocados TODAY so they’ll be ripe and ready on Sunday.

Here’s my basic recipe for Guacamole Dip. From here, you can get your freak on by adding anything you like: cilantro, tomatoes, pomegranates, shredded cheese, chopped bacon… even mayonnaise (although that always makes me shudder).

If you need tips on how to pick out the perfect avocado, click here. Also, my good friends at Avocados From Mexico offer this step-by-step guide on how to open an avocado without cutting off your finger. Still, be careful!

Use a sharp knife and cut into the avocado straight down and around the hard pit inside. Twist into two halves—one half will contain the pit. Carefully and quickly hit the pit with the knife then with a twisting motion, loosen the pit and pull it out. To remove the avocado from the skin, ease a spoon between the flesh and the skin and scoop it out.

Now, unless you want to be squeezing guacamole out of one of those plastic ready-to-eat packets, get to the store now!

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Beautiful, golden brown, garlicky croutons are one of those things that I can eat until the cows come home.

I pop one or two in my mouth with no guilt. Then I eat a third and fourth and think: “That’s it! No more until dinner!” Of course… I have a couple more. This is about the time someone wanders into the kitchen and snags one off the tray and I yell, “Stop eating all the croutons! They’re for dinner!”

These croutons are so good, I bet even my Paleo friends would succumb to one or two.

Here’s how to make croutons that’ll venture off the salad plate and into soups such as Gazpacho or Cucumber (make the croutons small or you won’t be able to see the soup!). Croutons also like to sit on grilled vegetables and eggs (no need to make toast… it’s on top!) and casseroles.

Some recipes tell you to use stale bread. I like day old or two-day old bread… otherwise the croutons taste a little tired. I prefer to use baguettes, but really, any bread will do. As you know, I’m big on contrasting colors. Once, I mixed pumpernickel bread with white bread (I even flavored them differently, but that was one of those rare occasions when I had a little extra time).

Give them a little sex appeal with a dash of cayenne pepper… or even a curry or Moroccan spice blend.

The beauty of croutons is that you can make a whole tray of them and they will keep for a week in a tightly sealed container or re-sealable plastic bag… assuming they survive the crouton bandits and snacking masses!

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