Cinco de Mayo guacamole

1 ripe avocados, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/3 cup seeded and well-drained tomato
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 serrano chiles, chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Place chopped avocado in bowl and stir in lime juice. Add remaining ingredients and combine.

© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission

This recipe for sports figure John Salley’s Slam Dunk Guacamole is from the California Avocado Commission. It features corn, jalapenos and onion. It’s a very California-style take on guac. Another version of this recipe replaces the garlic with John Salley’s Garlic Chipotle Sauce.

1 cup frozen corn, thawed in boiled water for 5 minutes
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and halved
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 avocados
4 tsp lime juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Toss corn, chilies and onion pieces with oil in a large bowl, and then spread in a layer on baking sheet. Roast 14-20 minutes until lightly browned. Peel and chop jalapenos and onion. Mash avocado with lime juice. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Guacamole with Mandarins

I decided to put my own spin on the citrus guacamole from Sunset magazine. I used mandarins instead of navel oranges, added more lime juice and left out the chili flakes. It was tangy and tasty.

1 avocado
2 mandarin oranges
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt

Peel avocado and cut into chunks. Peel mandarins, remove as much white membrane as you easy can, and separate segments. Cut each segment in half. Stir oranges in with avocado chunks. Add lime juice, green onion and cilantro and stir. Salt to taste.

© Courtesy of California Avocado Commission

2 ripe fresh California Avocados, about 1 pound
½ Cup finely crumbled, chilled, fresh white goat cheese
¼ Cup chopped, fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped, toasted pistachio nuts
¼ tsp (or to taste) crushed, red pepper flakes
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

Coarsely mash avocados. Fold in remaining ingredients.

Avocado dip

When it comes to guacamole, or any avocado-based dip for that matter, it’s important to consider individual tastes as well as regional preferences. For example, some families wouldn’t show up at a party without adding mayonnaise or sour cream to their avocado dip. I’m not a fan of mayo in my guac, so this batch was not one of my personal favorites. However, many people love this style of dip (and adding mayo makes it go further), so I’m including a popular recipe from a book of recipes from home economists and La Victoria called California’s Favorite Mexican Foods.

2 avocados
1 Tbsp. green onions (chopped)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. chili powder
dash of Tabasco sauce
dash of salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Mash avocado and mix together all but the mayonnaise. Spread mayo on top, refrigerate and mix in the mayo before serving.

Green onion guacamole

I whipped up this guacamole (my own recipe) for a family party, and the green onions added just the right amount of crunch. Include as much or as little garlic as you like, depending on your family’s tastes.

2 large avocados
2 green onions, sliced and diced
2 Roma tomatoes
juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic
salt to taste

Mash avocado. Prepare green onion and tomatoes and stir into avocados. Add lemon, garlic and salt.

Ortega guacamole

This guacamole recipe is courtesy of Ortega, and, not surprisingly, it contains canned green chiles. Green onions give it crunch while lime juice adds zip.

2 medium avocados
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
2 large green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt

Mash avocados and add other ingredients. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

1 orange (about half a pound weight)
1 avocado
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
hot chili flakes
salt

Peel orange and remove white membrane before cutting into half-inch chunks. Peel avocado and cut into half-inch chunks. Combine. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding chili flakes and salt to taste. Makes two cups.