75 Degrees and Sunny Avocado Appetizer

A topping for crackers or toasted bread quartered, this amazing idea for avocados comes from the Tower 23 Hotel  in San Diego.  Perched on the idyllic Pacific beach, the hotel's indoor/outdoor restaurant is just the place for a breezy afternoon delight.  

75 degrees and sunny avocado appetizer

{Makes two individual appetizers}

1 avocado

 lime

olive oil, cold-pressed 

sea salt, Celtic Sea Salt preferable

finely minced garnish of choice: {just one} parsley, roasted bell pepper, green onion or walnuts

Dice a pitted and peeled avocado into uniformly petite cubes.  Place two 3 inch round molds/forms  with straight sides, such as biscuit or cookie cutters, on two small plates.  Gently pack "molds" with the diced avocado using half an avocado for each.   Squeeze a little lime juice over the tops, drizzle with about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil  and sprinkle lightly with Celtic sea salt.  Choose a garnish - parsley minced or finely grated Parmesan cheese - and make an artistic circle in each center.   Remove the form and arrange each plate with five crackers or bread toasts.

These rounds are actually pancake molds but serve even better for this appetizer.

diy crostini

Make your own crostini simply, using your preferred bread --traditional baguette, salty seedy variety or sprouted grain.  Half of a leftover sprouted grain roll can turn into a nice portion of crostini. 

Cut a baguette into 1/4 inch slices or quarter a slice of bread. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush lightly with grape seed oil.  Broil for about two minutes until the crostini are golden around the edges and toasted through.  A toaster oven works very well, too, set on the toast setting rather than broil.