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Save $10 on any purchase over $75 at eWineRacks.com - promo code: SW-8937
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Crab Sandwich - Easy Cucumber Salad - Wine Choice 1 lb. crab meat 1/4 cup onions, minced 1 cup bread crumbs 8 oz. softened cream cheese 1 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp. lemon juice 2-4 tbls. dry sherry 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper Dash of black pepper 1 large tomato, sliced Cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded 6 English muffins, sliced (toasted, if desired) Combine crab meat, onions and bread crumbs in a large bowl and set aside. Blend cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sherry and cayenne pepper. Add cream cheese mixture to crab meat mixture. Season with black pepper. Preheat broiler. Top English muffins slices with a tomato slice, crab meat mixture, then cheese. Place on baking sheet and in broiler long enough to melt the cheese. You can also bake at 305 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Makes 6 servings. 4 large cucumbers 8-10 radishes, thinly sliced 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives 1/3 cup Italian Dressing 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and tomato
Combine all ingredients except cucumbers. Peel cucumbers and cut in 1-inch cubes. Toss with remaining ingredients. Makes 7-8 servings.
Well, this one set me back for a bit. I do not really like mayonnaise, and I am not a big salad fan. I doubt I had eaten an olive before I met Karen, but I did learn over the years. Even so, when I sit down to a meal like this, I am not much excited by the salad portion.
As a result, I found it hard to figure out what wines to suggest here.
I started out with a thought: white wine.
The only things to hang your hat on here is the crab and the cheddar cheese. The rest of the ingredients will offer little clue to the wine -- or at least they offered none to me!
Thinking of the crab, I visualized a dry white. Reisling, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc. I also thought about that very food-friendly wine, Sauvignon Blanc.
Thinking about the cheddar, I thought of a Chardonnay again for the milder cheddars. I also thought of Pinot Noir and Merlot, lighter and fruitier reds. My problem with the reds was that I was picturing the reds I had tasted with slices of cheese or cheese and crackers. I wasn't sure how that experience would translate to the crab sandwich here.
So I worried about it some. I turned it over in my mind a few times, wondering which would be the right choice. Eventually, I worked myself into a knot over it and laughed.
The truth is that several of those will probably be fine. I checked downstairs and discovered that we have far more red wine than white under the stairs at the moment. Even better, I came across a 1998 Schneider Merlot from Long Island that will make it to the table as this is served.
But not everyone likes what I like, and a white might be what others would prefer. The selection of whites being limited and no obvious candidate presenting itself, I decided on a trip to the wine store to cover myself. California Chardonnays were everywhere, but they were sampling wines at the tasting bar! One of them was the 2002 Samantha Starr Chardonnay Reserve. I picked that one because the refreshing taste seemed to go with the type of casual meal with friends we had in mind: refreshing, with only a light touch of oak. |
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Last modified: August 07, 2007 |
