Nope. 🙂 Not this one. This is a sneak peak of one to come. Yesterday I put the finishing touches on a pair of recipes for the paper, so this is kind of a teaser for the local readers. Doesn’t it look fantastic! Trust me when I say it really is. I couldn’t stop eating it last night, and Abigail and Zander both inhaled it as well. It was crunchy and slightly sweet, slightly salty, and overall, just really, really delicious.
Anyway.
I wanted to talk about a springtime salad that I love. It’s a multi-purpose salad, meaning that it’s great to sit and eat it with a fork, but it’s also great to use the salad to top some crackers or melba toast. Additionally, I’ve been known to stuff cherry tomatoes and cucumber cups with this stuff, and you should see what it looks like in one of those tiny phyllo cups. I debated not sharing this salad because, well, it uses an ingredient that may cause some…dissention. I also don’t have an actual recipe, more of a toss this, toss that into your bowl, but by golly, I really enjoy it. And you know, while is uses a “suspect” ingredient, you have to realize that I live in the heart of dairy country. There is no salt water to be found for hundreds of miles, and the real deal just isn’t possible. So there is a chance, that this little salad would be off the charts if you used the real thing instead of the imposter. I’ve just grown fond of the imposter, and it really is one of those lighter salads that is just the thing after you’ve been digging around in the dirt for a few hours.
Imitation Crab Salad
Dice up equal amounts of:
red bell pepper yellow bell pepper celery cheddar cheeseMix with a handful or two of lump imitation crab meat that’s been coarsely chopped. Add one scallion that’s been thingly sliced. Then add:
A generous scoop of real mayonnaise A squirt of good quality Ranch dressing And a healthy grinding of black pepperMix it all together and check the flavor for salt- you may not need it, but if you do, trust me and use a seasoned salt.
The possibilities with this salad are endless. Stuff a ripe, juicy tomato with it for a pretty lunch salad. Studd many small tomatoes with it for a tea party or other formal occasion. Use the salad as you would tuna salad on a sandwich made with toast or a nice soft roll. It can also be used to top crackers, melba toasts, cucumber coins, or as a filling for phyllo shells. If you chop the crab and vegetables finely, you can use it as a veggie dip as well.