Try a salty spin on an old ice cream-truck favorite, the Choco Taco. Fill taco shells with softened vanilla ice cream and freeze until hard, about 2 hours. Melt 6 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate in the microwave, then stir in 6 tablespoons chopped butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup. Dip the tacos in the chocolate, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and let harden, about 2 minutes.

(Photograph by Kang Kim)

Americans buy a shocking amount of avocados in January. About 145 million pounds flew off the shelves this time last year, a 15 percent increase over 2011, and we’re guessing almost all of them got mashed and turned into guacamole. While there’s no shame in that, we figured you might want to try something new: Halve an avocado and remove the pit and peel, then press into the rounded side seeds, spices or finely chopped bacon. Slice and serve on crostini or salad.

Image from left to right: Poppy seeds and salt, bacon and smoked paprika, Old Bay Seasoning and salt

(Photograph by Sam Kaplan)