¡Crab Tostadas! ¡Olé!

Mmmm light, crunchy and fresh!!!  The best of the flavors from Mexico!

Ah, this takes me right back to Cabo!

What you will need:

8 6-inch corn tortillas
Vegetable Oil for frying (enough so pan has 2 inches)
1 pound lump crab meat
1 tbsp olive oil
1 & 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise
3 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeño, stemmed and finely chopped
2-3 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1-2 avocados
romaine lettuce
manchego cheese
kosher salt & pepper

Heat oil in a pan that is a little larger than the corn tortillas.  Bring the oil to 375 degrees.  Gently add one tortilla at at time - give it about 2 minutes and then flip for another minute or two.  Keep and eye on it so they don't get too brown - take them out when golden brown.

As soon as you take them out of the oil, sprinkle a little kosher salt over the top.  Let them cool on some paper towels.

This is an amazing way to make your own homemade tortilla chips!  Just cut them into triangles.

Salt and cool the same way.

Cut and core the tomatoes removing the seed and juice - then chop.

Add the other chopped ingredients: yellow pepper, red onion, tomatoes and jalapeño to the crab.

Next, add the olive oil, mayo, cilantro, juice from one lime and zest from 1/2 a lime.

Lay out the crispy tostadas and place a few slices of avocado.  

Then pile a little bit of very thinly sliced romaine lettuce on the avocado!

Grate a small amount of manchego cheese on the lettuce!

The final step is to add the crab mixture, a pinch of salt and pepper - garnish with a few cilantro leaves and one of those homemade chips!  A few extra slices of lime doesn't hurt either!  

This makes a really great dinner party appetizer!!!  If you're going to be eating these - make sure you have a delicious Mexican beer to wash it all 

Raspberry Oat-Crumb Bars!

Time to bake something sweet!

You'll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter + a little to butter baking pan (slightly softened)

2 & 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 egg

1 cup raspberry preserves

(Preheat oven to 350)

Add everything to a bowl except the raspberry preserves.

Use a hand mixer on low to combine everything to a crumble-like consistency.  Use a measuring cup and remove 2 cups of this mixture and set aside - this will be for the topping.

Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

Press an even layer of the "crumble dough" into the pan - It's best to make a tiny crust around the edge so that when you add the raspberry preserves, there is a border.

Evenly spread the 1 cup of raspberry preserves almost to the edge.

Here is where you'll need the 2 cups of reserved crumble mixture!  Break it up and sprinkle over the top until you can't see anymore raspberry.  You don't need to press it down.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the top is just turning golden.

Let it cool completely before cutting into bars!

These babies are sweet and rich!  I would cut the large square so you get 4 squares by 4 squares (math majors... that would give you 16 bars)  Yummy - Enjoy!!!

Savory Watermelon Salad!

This is a great summer salad!  When you hear the ingredients, don't make a weird "yuck" face - it sounds a little strange... but try it!  I got the idea the other day when I walked into whole foods and they were sampling a watermelon salad with basil and goat cheese.  Then after doing a few google searches, I saw some with grape tomatoes and some with bacon - Isn't everything just a little better when you add bacon?  The answer is yes.

 Mr. Tazzy likes to sleep in the strangest positions.  Crazy boy!  It's once in a blue moon that he is not at my feet on "kitchen duty"
...which = mopping up the floor with his tongue looking for crumbs that fall off the counter.

 What you will need:

2.5 cups of bite size watermelon

1/2 to 3/4 cup grape tomatoes (cut in half)

2-3 tbsp chopped basil

4 slices of cooked bacon

crumbled goat cheese

really good balsamic vinegar http://www.giusti.it/ (williams-sonoma carries it)

 My watermelon was in pretty large chunks, so I chopped it down into bite size chunks.

 Add the grape tomatoes that have been halved.

 Next, add the basil  and toss everything together.

 Divide between two plates and add a bit of the crumbled goat cheese.  Finish it all with a drizzle of this great, dense balsamic vinegar!  You could also add a little cracked black pepper and pinch of kosher salt.  

This salad went really well with some grilled corn on the cob and spicy grilled shrimp skewers!  Sometimes it's really nice to not have to use the oven in the apartment on a warm night.  Enjoy!!!

Salmon Panzanella with Haricots Verts

Here is an amazing, light dinner for an unseasonably warm, Spring night!

You will need:

(This will serve one person with a good appetite!)

1/2 lbs Salmon fillet

handful of haricots verts (french green beans)

1/2 cup grape tomatoes (cut in 1/2)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2.5 cups cubed good, healthy bread (This is a quinoa/flax seed bread)

2 tbsp chopped basil (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

tiny dash of dijon mustard

kosher salt & black pepper

 First, give the salmon fillet a drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray - season with salt and pepper.  Roast the salmon at 450 degrees for about 9-10 minutes.

 When the salmon is cooked, let it come to about room temperature.

 Chop up the tomatoes and red onion.

 Once you cube the bread, put it in the oven to warm slightly for 5-10 minutes.  (After salmon is cooked, turn oven off - it will be warm enough for the bread and won't dry it out).

Bring enough water to boil for the green beans and cook for about six minutes.

 

Strain the green beans and add them to the tomatoes and onion.  

 Remove the skin from the salmon fillet.  Then break it up into good sized chunks.

 Mix together the dressing - 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic and use a small spoon to add in a tiny bit of dijon mustard for extra flavor.  Add the bread and pour the dressing over everything.  Gently mix it all.

 Once I plated the mixture, the last thing I added was the salmon chunks.

 Make this!!! It is soooo yummy and hearty.  Taz really wanted some too...