Big Game Avo Challenge For Beginners

It’s getting close to that time of year again, you know, that one shining Sunday when you and yours gather at your place to watch the Big Game. There are some folks in your family and friends circle who live for this day, it seems — amped up to huddle around the TV and perform their annual role of offering a running commentary about the strategies of both offense and defense.

You? You’ve got one job: Keep your guests happy and fed. And while tradition rules the roost on Super Bowl Sunday, you’re a little tired of the same old appetizer and snacks spread, where the most inspired dish on the table is a bag of chips and homemade bean dip. It’s 2017 and you want to spice things up — literally.

So here’s your challenge: This year, for the Big Game, you’re going to make the most amazing snack spread in Pigskin Showdown history. It’s a challenge, sure, but we’re here to help! Ready? Let’s go!

First, you’re going to need to stock up on avocados. Yes, the Big Game falls in the dead of winter (February 5 this year!), but Avocados from Mexico are available year-round, so you don’t have to worry about finding the fruit out-of-season. Need to know how to choose avocados? Here’s an avo-tip: Take an avocado in your hand and apply gentle pressure. If the avocado yields a bit, it’s ripe; if it’s hard, it needs to mature some more. Take a look at this video for the fastest, most helpful primer ever.

Once you’ve selected your crop of avocados (you’ll need a couple dozen to make all the recipes below), get ready to navigate your grocery cart around the store to find the rest of the ingredients you’ll need for your Big Game snack extravaganza. You’re going to be making a guac sampler platter, offering four different avocado dips and a variety of crunchables with which to scoop them up.

Here are our recommendations for great Game Day guacs (though there are others on the Avocados from Mexico website you can choose, too!), followed by a ready-to-go shopping list: (1) Southwestern Guacamole; (2) Bacon Chipotle Guacamole; (3) Jumbo Crab Guacamole; and (4) Cleveland Bourbon Guacamole. This sampler has a little something for every age and taste: meat lovers, seafood fans, vegetarians, and those who aren’t abstaining from alcohol.

SHOPPING LIST

Your shopping list consists of two main ingredient types: the base ingredients for the guacamoles, most of which you can find in the produce section, and dipping devices, which will range from chips, pretzels, and breadsticks to veggie crudité. Want to have some real fun grocery shopping (Yes! It’s possible!)? Divide the grocery list into parts and give a section to each of your kids, sending them on a timed supermarket scavenger hunt.

Base Ingredients

Fruits & Vegetables

• Corn niblets (in winter, your best bet is to choose a small box or bag from the frozen food section)
• 1 jalapeño
• 8 Roma tomatoes
• 1 large tomato
• 2 bunches of cilantro
• 3 red onions
• 2 shallots
• 1 head of garlic
• 6 limes

Canned goods

• 1 can of black beans
• 2 cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Spices and Dry Goods

• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• salt
• pepper
• sugar

Dairy

• -queso fresco
• -bleu cheese

Meats & Seafood

• 2 packages of applewood-smoked bacon
• 1 package or container of jumbo lump crab meat

Liquids

• 1 bottle of Cleveland Whiskey
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 bottle of red wine vinegar

Dipping devices

• tortilla chips
• oversized pretzels
• breadsticks
• a baguette or other crusty bread that can be sliced into rounds
• a variety of vegetables that you will turn into crudité: radishes, celery, carrots and/or baby carrots, bell peppers, jicama, cauliflower, broccoli, and romanesco are all wonderful options!

Once you’re back home with your groceries, you can gather the whole family for a prep work party, assigning jobs based on age and skill (Don’t give little kids jobs that require knife skills — let them mash avocados instead!). As you make the guacamoles (This is best done a couple hours before the game), spoon them into individual serving bowls and place your dipping devices strategically among the guacs. There’s no need to be fancy: You can put breadsticks in tall glasses, baguette slices in a cloth-lined basket, and crudité on a serving platter. You might want to label the guacamoles so your family and friends can figure out what’s what (after all, they probably haven’t tasted these amazing avocado dips before!).

The fun isn’t over once you’ve made and served your dips! During halftime, gather everyone around the table to rate their favorite guacamoles. And if your spread has been thinned out by happy, hungry grazers, invite them to take part in a guac-making contest. Take some of your leftover ingredients and put them on the table along with some knives, spoons, and bowls, and turn them loose! You get to be the judge: Whose guacamole is best? Have a toy crown or ring at hand to reward to winner of the Super Guac contest!

AVO-TIP: We doubt you’ll have any avocados left once the victor of the Big Game has been declared (much less, guacamole!), but if you do, take any cut avocados, give them a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and cover them with plastic wrap before storing them in the fridge. Want to see how this is done? Check out this video.