We’re having a heat wave. Not a slinky, tropical one like the suggests, but a Philly style one in which the weather is hot and muggy and sticky and no one wants to move unless it’s absolutely necessary. We’ve been grilling but the idea of standing in front of a fire is unappealing to everyone. Instead cold salads are the thing and it was salad for dinner.
We have leftover salads from The Bee’s graduation party. This weather is so awful that we left the salads in the fridge so they would not spoil and forgot them. Now last night’s side dish has now become today’s main dish.
When I was a kid and we had any kid of event, mom would always whip up a batch of seafood salad. We would see the Old Bay seasoning come out and knew that she was about to work her magic. After what seemed like a few hours in the kitchen, she would produce a huge pot of salad. The night before whatever event we were having, my sister and I would sneak a few spoonfuls while the salad chilled in the fridge because there would never be any leftover. There would always be some adult whispering to us to “put a little extra on a plate to the side for me to take home” during the party and at the end of the night there would only be an empty bowl!
I admit that I want this kind of demand for my dishes and for The Bee’s graduation party I attempted mom’s seafood salad. I have yet to master her recipe and alas there was no demand for my dish. I modified her recipe a bit going a little lighter on the mayo and salt and that is totally the excuse I am using.
Seriously, this is a delicious dish that can be whipped up a few hours before serving as it’s best served cold and can be a side dish or the main attraction.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour or more in the fridge |
| Servings |
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- 1 pound Imitation Crab Meat
- 1-2 stalk celery diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1/4-1/2 cup Mayo
- Old Bay seasoning to taste
- pepper to taste
- paprika to taste
- other seasonings to taste
Ingredients
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- In a large bowl, break up the imitation crab meat into chunks.
- Add diced celery, onion, mayo and mix well.
- Add seasonings to taste. Add more mayo as needed.
- Chill a few hours before serving (mom used to make her seafood salad a day or so before it was served.)
Enjoy!
The salad remained not because of any lack you had in the creation department; the salad remained because no one knew it was in the fridge! I’ve never been a fan of seafood salad, but for the first time I really enjoyed this batch. I think the light touch on the salt (although Old Bay carries its share) helped the natural flavors to stand out more and not go lost in a coat of saltiness.