How to choose avocados

Remember that an avocado is a fruit: just like you would use your senses to choose great strawberries, the same logic applies to avocados. A perfectly-ripened avocado doesn't need too much to dress it up, much like a perfectly-ripened strawberry wouldn't need much to make it better.

Look for Hass avocados: they have rough, bumpy skin and tend to have the best flavor (more of an earthy, nutty taste). Hass avocados usually come in a small and a large variety. Always buy the freshest avocados, whether their large or small.

First and foremost, you must handle and feel the avocado. A rock-hard avocado translates to an under-ripe and bland fruit.

If you find only hard avocados, and you need them for guacamole that night, then choose something else to make for dinner! You can buy the avocados and place them in a paper bag to hasten the ripening process, but it might take anywhere from 1-4 days.

If the avocado is mushy, then chances are high that it's overripe, or lots of people have smooshed it, trying to determine its ripeness.

Here's a visual tip in determining the ripeness of avocados: at the grocery store, pick off the small stem of the avocado and look at the small circle of avocado underneath it.

If the color is brown, the avocado is too ripe. If it's yellow-green and the avocado feels hard, then it's probably too ripe. If it's bright green, even with one or two flecks of brown, and it gives slightly when pressed, then it's probably perfect.

Avocados turn brown once exposed to air. In order to combat this process, most cooks will add an acidic component to avocados. Some people like to use lemons, others like limes.

I only use key limes, or Mexican limes. Their skin is more yellow than green, and the skin is thinner than Persian limes. They tend to be more acidic and tart in flavor; I highly recommend these limes over Persian limes.

Avocados are excellent sliced on sandwiches or on top of salads, and, of course, they are used to make guacamole which can be eaten as a dip or as a condiment with meat, fish, or poultry.

Try it cubed atop tortilla soup or as a healthy alternative topping for chili. My grandma likes it sliced with a squirt of lime, some salt, and a slice of tomato and onion--sort of a deconstructed guacamole.

Limes and lemons are are snap to squeeze over your avocados without seeds falling in your favorite dish when using the Oxo Citrus Squeezer. I really like the Oxo line of kitchen tools because they're easy on the hands.

A Set of 4 non-skid cutting boards is a "must-have" in any kitchen. They're thin, easy to clean, lightweight, and non-skid for safe chopping and slicing.

Henckels serrated 5-inch utility knife is one of my all-time favorite knives. I've had mine for 12 years, and it's still going strong, slicing through citrus, tomatoes, and avocados like they were butter.

What kitchen would be complete without a set of Pyrex glass mixing bowls?

A molcajete makes a great presentation for that perfect, easy guacamole you'll be whipping up for friends and loved ones.