Avocado Toast

My friends from California can tell you that I live off avocado toast. When I worked at Domenicos, almost every time I opened the cafe, avocado toast would get me through the slow morning shift. Before I left, I told my Grandparents about my love for avocados and how sad I was that I wouldn't be able to get good ones in Boston, and last week they sent me a whole box of California avocados, perfectly ripe, and perfectly delicious. I ate the first one with a spoon and some hot sauce (avocados and hot sauce just go perfectly together don't they?).
Even though I have been (attempting) dieting, I can still eat my avocado toast. After all, I wouldn't want all of those beautiful gifts to go to waste! I ended up freezing the majority of them. I didn't know you could freeze them, but thanks to pinterest, I now have an endless supply of frozen avocado halves. To freeze, simply cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and wrap the individual halves tightly in saran wrap. Once all your halves are wrapped, place them all in a large ziploc bag and freeze. Just defrost at room temperature for about an hour before you use them.
Avocado toast has many varieties: one of my favorites is smoked salmon with lemon juice, another is tomato (in season please!) with balsamic. But when I don't have any fancy ingredients, I can always create some form of the basic avocado toast (cheese optional but so good).
You have your bread, your avocado, your lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce. Today I added some feta cheese crumbles, but it's good without too. If you're feeling indulgent, add a drizzle of olive oil.

My personal preference for mashing the avocado is to leave some chunks instead of making it into a spread (I like my guacamole like this, too). At Domenicos, we are taught to use a butter knife to slice the avocado several times lengthwise and then again crosswise, then scoop it out and spread it on the bread. This leaves some good size chunks in there! But it's all up to you. That's what's so great about avocado toast: it's endlessly customizable.
So next time you find yourself with some extra avocados, do yourself a favor, and make some avocado toast. You can thank me later.

Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

1 slice Italian/Sourdough bread

1/2 Avocado

1/2 T Lemon juice

1/2 T Feta cheese crumbles (optional)

1 T Olive oil (optional)

Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Hot sauce

Instructions:

1. Toast the bread in a toaster until it's golden brown.
2. Using a butter knife, slice the avocado, still in its skin, several times lengthwise and again crosswise. Then scoop out the avocado and spread it on the bread.
3. Sprinkle the avocado with lemon juice and olive oil (if using). Top the liquids with the seasonings: salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and then your choice of hot sauce. Finally, finish it off with the feta cheese.
4. Cut the toast in half.
5. Eat.

Avocado Fried Egg Sandwich

Avocado Fried Egg Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices Italian/Sourdough bread

1/2 Avocado

1 T Lemon juice

1/2 T Feta cheese crumbles

1 egg

Nonstick spray

Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (to taste)

Cholula Hot Sauce

Instructions:

1. Stick both slices of bread in your toaster together (side by side) and toast to desired doneness. This toasts the outside but leaves the inside soft and warm.
2. Mash the avocado inside the skin, then scoop it out with a butter knife and spread it on one piece of toast (the soft side).
3. Sprinkle the avocado with the lemon juice, feta, and red pepper flakes.
4. Head a small nonstick pan to medium high and spray with a small amount of nonstick spray. Crack the egg into the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook to desired doneness.
5. Transfer the egg to the avocado and top with hot sauce and the other slice of bread. Cut in half.
6. Eat.

Turkey Brie Salad

Here is a recipe I created modeled after a salad I had at Whole Foods. It is the salad version of my favorite sandwich at Domenico's.

Turkey Brie Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups arugula

2 oz. smoked turkey (sliced)

1 oz. low fat brie (cubed)

1 apple (cut into 1" cubes)

2 T dried cranberries

2 T olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 t  dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the lemon juice and mustard until combined, and then slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Pour half the dressing into a container and save it for another use.
2. Toss the remaining dressing and the arugula, turkey, brie, apple, and cranberries together in a large bowl.
3. Eat.

Salsa Fresca

Salsa Fresca

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion

2 T finely chopped cilantro

2 T lime juice

1 minced jalapeno pepper (leave the seeds/membrane if you want more heat)

1/4 t salt

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl and toss well.
2. Eat.

Source: Whole Foods