2013 is almost over, and that means it’s time to throw a party to welcome in the New Year! A New Year’s Eve bash isn’t complete without an array of tantalizing appetizer recipes, so here you have some Ideas of  what they serve on New Year’s Eve. Get the year off to a delicious start with these  appetizers that will keep the party going past midnight.

Stuffed avocado recipe

Ingredients

• 4-5 firm ripe avocados
• 1 lb medium sized cooked shrimp
• ½ medium red onion, diced finely
• 2 radishes, diced finely
• ½ red bell pepper, diced finely
• 2 celery stalks, diced finely
• 2 hardboiled eggs, diced
• 5 tbs cilantro aioli or regular mayonnaise with chopped cilantro
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• Salt/pepper to taste
Optional garnishes:
• Chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes and chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Chop the cooked shrimp in half, if desired keep a few whole to garnish.
2. Combine diced onions, radishes, bell pepper, celery, eggs, shrimp, ½ of the lime juice and aioli or mayonnaise in a bowl, mix well. Can be kept refrigerated until ready to use.
3. Taste and salt/pepper if necessary.
4. Cut avocados in half, remove seed and peel carefully.
5. Drizzle remaining lime juice over avocados, this help keep them from darkening too quickly.
6. Use a spoon to stuff avocados with shrimp salad filling.
7. Add any garnishes and serve immediately.

Notes

Serve with aji or hot sauce if you want to spice it up. Also, if you’re serving it as a salad and have any extra cilantro aioli you can serve this on the side as additional salad dressing.

this one is stuffed with a shrimp salad made with red onion, radish, bell pepper, celery and cilantro aioli. The first time I had a shrimp stuffed avocado was at the beach in Punta Carnero (Ecuador). It was so simple, yet delicious and refreshing,  I’m sure the shrimp were fished that same morning. There is nothing better than fresh seafood, unless you pair it avocado (of course). I was about 8 or 9 at the time, so I don’t remember every single ingredient in it, but I figure I can experiment until I achieve the perfect shrimp stuffed avocado. Nico’s improvement suggestion was to make it spicier, but since I have a two year old testing the recipe as well I served the aji or hot sauce on the side. This can be served alone as an appetizer, or with lettuce and tomatoes as a salad. The shrimp salad filling can be prepared ahead; however, the avocados should be cut and peeled right before serving to avoid darkening. The shrimp salad is also excellent on its own and also makes a great filling for sandwiches.