Crab cakes with tex mex salad & avocado dressing

These recipes were selected from 2 different classes I took at Flavour cooking school. The salad is from the taste of tex mex class & the crab cake recipe was from a fat Tuesday fete class. They are a bit time consuming but easy. I recommend preparing the dressing & mixing up the crab cakes the morning of & dinner will be a snap to put together. Both classes were alot of fun & the recipes are delish~enjoy!

Blue Corn crab cakes

1 lb. Heron Point crabmeat( I used back fin from Whole Foods)

1/4 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined & minced

2 Tb. olive oil

1/2 med. red onion

1- lg. jalapeno minced

2- garlic cloves, pressed

1- 1/2 Tb. fresh horseradish

1- lemon (zest & juiced)

1- Tb. dijon mustard

3- Tb. sour cream

2- tsp cornstarch

1- egg whisked

2- tsp. chipotle tobasco

1-2 c. blue corn meal ( I used fine yellow corn meal)

4-6 Tb. canola or grapeseed oil

4-6 c. romaine lettuce

Pick thru crab to double check for shells. Place crab & shrimp in med. bowl & set aside. Heat fry pan over med. flame , add oil & saute onion & jalapeno approx. 2-3 min. Set aside to cool. Put garlic, horseradish, mustard, sour cream, tobasco, lemon juice, zest & corn starch in med. bowl, whisk to thoroughly combine. Stir in onion mixture & season with salt & pepper. Fold in crab & shrimp mixture gently. Refrigerate 1 hour or so to let flavors blend ( time permitting)

Adjust mixture with corn meal, add corn meal slowly until mixture holds together. Heat a large fry pan or grill over med. high heat & add oil. Scoop mixture with a cookie scoop & place on pan, flatten slowly so they don't fall apart & turn once nicely browned. Turn oven to 350 degrees & bake for approx. 10 min. Serve cakes atop tex mex salad & drizzle with the avocado lime dressing. Recipe to follow.

Tex mex salad with avocado lime dressing

1- Tb. canola oil

1- 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

1- c. grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed

3- heads of romaine, cleaned & julienned

4- scallions thinly sliced

1/4 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat a med. saute pan over med. flame & add oil, Add beans, tomatoes & corn & heat until warmed. Put lettuce, scallions & cilantro in a large serving bowl, toss with bean mixture & dressing( recipe to follow) Top with crushed chips.

Avocado lime dressing

1- ripe acocado

3/4 c. quality prepared salsa( I used Muir Glen organic)

1/2 c. low fat sour cream

2-3 Tb. lime juice, freshly squeezed

Chipotle tobasco to taste

1/2 tsp. cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

Mash avocado with a potato masher or fork,add salsa, sour cream,lime juice,tobasco & cumin, whisk well to combine. Taste & adjust seasonings & toss with salad.

Made with love~

Jodi