Arranged Seafood Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Happy Mother's Day...

Today we celebrate Mom. She does (and still does) so much for us. She's there when you need someone to talk to, supports you, and helps you no matter what. She may have given me life, but without her unconditional love I would never have known how to live. My mom is my best friend and I love her dearly. If I had been making her lunch today, I would have made this salad (she came over for dinner instead).

This arranged seafood salad takes a bit of time to make since everything needs to be chopped, but it's worth the effort, especially if it's for Mom. The shrimp and scallops are gently poached and then mixed with crab, avocado, green onions, dill, mayo, and sour cream. This seafood salad is creamy and fresh. I then arrange this on top of lettuce and surround it by grapefruit, jicama, radishes, and radicchio. Finally, I top the salad off with an easy grapefruit vinaigrette. Spoil Mom with this seafood salad. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Salad
1/2 lb. Bay Scallops
1/2 lb. Medium Size Shrimp, peeled & deveined (tails off)
1 (8 oz.) Container Crab Meat, picked over for shells
2 Avocados, pitted & diced
3 Green Onions, sliced
2 T Fresh Dill, chopped
2 T Mayo
2 T Sour Cream
1 Head "Living" (or Boston) Lettuce
1 Grapefruit, supreme
1/2 Jicama, cut into match-sticks
6 Radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 Head Radicchio, chopped

Vinaigrette
1/2 Grapefruit, zest & juice
~1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Granulated Sugar
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Cook the scallops & shrimp: Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the scallops and shrimp and poach for 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. Pat dry.

Make the seafood salad: Combine the cooked scallops and shrimp to the crab, avocado, green onion, dill, mayo, and sour cream in a large bowl. Season with salt to taste, cover, and refrigerate.

Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl combine the grapefruit zest and juice. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Add the sugar and a pinch each salt and pepper. Whisk again, taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Set aside.

Arrange the salad: On a large plate put 4 or 5 lettuce leaves down. Place a 1/4 of the seafood salad into the center. Then, arrange the grapefruit, jicama, radishes, and radicchio around the seafood salad. Drizzle with the vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Crab & Avocado Salad

put a little spring in your step...

Given the wintry weather we're still enduring, I'm thinking about a bit of spring for this post. In my mind the countdown has begun...only 40 more days to go...ha! Anyway, this meal is light and really good for you. So, if you are still sticking with any New Year's resolutions to eat better or take better care of yourself, this is the perfect lunch or dinner recipe for you.

This Crab and Avocado Salad is a twist on the classic tuna salad. It contains similar elements such as celery, onion, mayo, etc. But introduces a few switch-ups like avocado instead of egg and capers instead of pickle relish. Light, fresh, and versatile, make this salad when you need a little help getting through these next days of winter. Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 6-8
4 Cans (4.25 oz) Lump White Crab Meat
1 Stalk Celery
1 Shallot
3 T Fresh Dill
2 T Capers, drained
2 T Mayonnaise
2 T Sour Cream
1 T Spicy Mustard
2 Avocados
1/2 Lemon, juiced
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Drain and pick through the crab to remove any remaining shells. Put this into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Finely chop the celery, shallot, and dill and add to the crab meat. Add in the capers, mayo, sour cream, and mustard. Mix everything together well. If you are making this ahead, stop here, cover, and refrigerate.

When read to serve, dice the avocado and add to the crab mixture along with the lemon juice. Gently toss everything together and taste for seasoning. I didn't need to add salt, but I did add some freshly ground black pepper.

This salad can be served in a variety of ways: with crackers, with toast points, as a sandwich, or the way I served it, in lettuce cups. Clean and dry Boston Lettuce leaves, then scoop in about 1/4 C of the crab and avocado salad. Spring really is right around the corner. Make this dish and think spring...enjoy!