Avocado Festival Culinary Contest Winners

Avocado Festival Culinary Contest Coordinator Cathie Ginther once again did a superb job of organizing this year’s food contests. She has graciously provided the Village News with the list of winners from this year’s event, as well as several of the delicious recipes! Enjoy!

Professionals

Overall Winner ~ Holy Guacamole

All of the judges gave the Bambers a first place card!

Guacamole

1st Place ~ Holy Guaca-Moly

2nd Place ~ Estrella’s Family Restaurant

3rd Place ~ La Caseta

Most Creative Avocado Dish

1st Place ~ Yujiro Masuda - Avocado Sushi

2nd Place ~ Nathaniel McCoy - Avocado Pancotta

3rd Place ~Sugar Mama’s Sweets - Avocado Cupcakes

Amateur

Overall Winner ~ Katherine & Joe Smissen

Winners of an extremely competitive guacamole contest 13 entries, all contenders.

Guacamole

1st Katherine and Joe Smissen – Smissen’s Guacamole

2nd Michael Kuyper – Avocado Salsa-Guacamole

3rd Laura Small – Laura’s Guacamole

Most Creative Avocado Dish

1st Shane McSheehy - Avocado Egg Rolls

2nd Mary Ann Hillery - Screaming Avocado Salad

3rd Nichole Tahmasian - Nutty Avocado Bars

Smissen’s Guacamole

2 ripe avocados

2 tomatoes

pinch garlic salt

pinch pepper

handful of cilantro

squeeze of lemon

Cut avocado and tomatoes into chunks. Mix all ingredients together.

Avocado Salsa

Guacamole

Quantities are per one avocado

1 ripe avocado cubed in about ¼” cubes

1 medium ripe tomato half cubed small

1 Jalapeno pepper with seeds and membranes removed

1 Serrano pepper with seeds and membranes removed

¼ Habanero pepper with seeds and membranes removed

About ¼ of a bundle cilantro

2 green onions chopped (white and green parts only)

Juice of 1 lime

¼ tsp or 2 pinches kosher salt

Put the peepers, cilantro, ½ of whole tomato, lime juice and salt into s food processor.

Run until the peppers and cilantro are ground small.

Mix everything in a non-reactive bow.

Cover withy wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Laura’s

Guacamole

8-10 avocados seeded, skinned, and cut in half

2 bunches cilantro; chop one bunch and reserve the other for decoration

1-2 Jalapeno peppers, diced small

1-2 Serrano peppers, diced small

2 medium or 1 large bell pepper, diced small to medium

1 onion, diced small to medium

1 tomato or 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced medium

1-2 capfuls of white wine vinegar

2-3 cloves fresh garlic chopped

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika or chili powder

Sour cream

1 package McCormick guacamole seasoning ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­-------

1. Place the halved avocados in large bowl and mash with a handheld potato masher.

Remember to leave some small to medium size chunks of avocados which allow for

the texture of the guacamole.

2. Add chopped cilantro, ½ of the Jalapeno and ½ of the Serrano chili peppers, 5/8 red bell peppers, onions, tomato and garlic. Mix all ingredients together and taste with a clean spoon.

3. Now the fun begins, start to add the seasonings, splash of white wine vinegar and olive oil. Mix and taste with a clean spoon.

4. At this point your guacamole may lack in heat strength and/or spice intensity; cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then mix and taste with clean spoon. If the mixture lacks in the intensity of heat and seasoning, start adding more of the Jalapeno and Serrano chili peppers and salt, black pepper, and paprika. Caution: Do this slowly and taste as you go. You can always add the heat; however it is hard to remove.

5. When you are done with the “fine tuning” of your guacamole, place your mixture in a decorative bowl.

6. To decorate the guacamole:

A) Sprinkle with paprika (lightly)

B) Fine chop the rest of the red bell pepper and sprinkle on top

C) Place a spoonful of sour cream off center

D) Place a few sprigs of cilantro around the sour cream to give a complete

finished look.

7. Serve with chips and salsa, salad, steak and eggs, toast, etc. Remember: The sky’s the limit!

Shane’s

Avocado

Chicken Egg Rolls

1 lb. cooked, diced chicken breast and/or leg meat

1 8oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

1 whole avocado, peeled and sliced into 24 pieces

1 package large, square egg roll wrappers

½ tomato, diced

2 tablespoons white onion, diced

2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon Serrano pepper, finely chopped

2 green onions, chopped

Combine all ingredients, except avocado, in large mixing bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of filling and one slice of avocado to egg roll wrapper. Roll and form egg roll and then deep fry at 375 degrees for 5 minutes (approximately). Remove and place on paper towel to dry and cool. Serve.

Screamin’

Avocado

Salad

1 tablespoon course salt

1 teaspoon regular salt

2 tablespoons olive oil and finely chopped cilantro leaves

2 whole jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

½ cup assorted, colorful bell peppers, chopped

¼ cup red onion, chopped

½ cup red cabbage, shredded

Touch of red wine vinegar

Touch of tarragon vinegar

6-7 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 mango, peeled and chopped

2 small tangelos, peeled and chopped small

6-7 scooped out, chunked avocados

Fresh lime juice

Mix the salts with the olive oil and cilantro leaves. Add the jalapeno, bell peppers, onion, and cabbage. Toss well. Add a touch of red wine vinegar and tarragon vinegar. Mix well.

Add tomatoes, mango, and tangelos. Fold in avocados. Squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the top, gently fold mixture together. Can refrigerate overnight before serving, but no longer.

Nutty

Avocado Bars

One package Duncan Hines butter recipe golden cake mix

¾ cup butter, melted

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts, divided into two 3/4 cup amounts

1 cup brown sugar

2-8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 avocado

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9”x13” baking pan.

Base: Mix together well: dry cake mix, butter, and ¾ cup chopped walnuts. Press mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan.

Topping: Mix together, in medium bowl with hand mixer, until well mixed: brown sugar, cream cheese and avocado. Spread topping evenly over the base in the pan. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Bake 25-30 minutes until edges brown and the topping sets. Cool completely before cutting. Refrigerate.