Thanksgiving Potluck

Several weeks ago, as I was browsing once again through the used cookbooks at McKay, I found James Beard's "American Cookery", in its 2010 re-issue. This seemed strange, for the book had only been sent out from the publisher within the last month. What, I wondered, had prompted its owner to trade it in so quickly- Was it an under-appreciated gift, say from an aunt to a new bride who has no intention of ever learning to cook? An unwanted hostess gift? It is not a book I would take to McKay unless I was out of gas money.

I adapted Beard's recipe for " A Piquant Crab Salad with Cabbage", and took it to work Thanksgiving night for our potluck. It was a hit, but because I made so much of it I had to bring some home. It is being re-incarnated in the oven as crab cakes as I write this. I ignored Beard's call to use chilies, and I used a mixture of Remoulade and mayonnaise instead of his recommended vinegar dressing.

You need:

2 8 oz containers of lump crab meat

1 medium sized Savoy cabbage, shredded. I used the grater blade of my Cuisinart.

11/2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup Remoulade sauce. I used prepared sauce by Boar's Head.

3 bell peppers- 1 red,1 yellow, i green- diced.

1/4 cup finely diced red onion.

Reserving 3 tablespoons of diced peppers, mix the crab meat with the cabbage, peppers and onions. In a separate bowl whisk together the Remoulade and mayonnaise. Add to the crab meat mixture. If you need more mayonnaise, add it. Use the 3 tablespoons of tri-colored peppers to garnish the top.

This will feed a mob, and there may still be left-overs.