Christmas Seafood Salad

From Miss Mary's Kitchen
Christmas Seafood Salad

Pinpointing the time for Christmas Eve dinner has usually been a guessing game at our house. Norm is always working at the store on this evening. Never knowing when this day will end has meant we could only vaguely plan when he would get home. For the first couple of years of our marriage, I wound up with dinners that were more than a "bit" overdone! Needless to say, I wised up, and came up with a meal that fit the bill of being ready when my spouse arrived. It also added to my pleasure of having a meal ready without fretting over it. Proudly, my Christmas Seafood Salad has become our favorite for Christmas Eve.

Since this is a meal you can quickly have on the table, it might help reduce your stress during the holiday season when friends and relatives are arriving at "unknown" times. You can prepare everything in advance and then sit back and relax, knowing you only need to place the ingredients on the plate, and your meal is ready. The selection and quantity of seafood and garnishes can be adapted to fit your preferences, or those of your guests.

A simple dessert to accompany this would be ambrosia and/or pound cake.

CHRISTMAS SEAFOOD SALAD
Serves 2, easily multiplied

Salad

1/2 lb. large shrimp
6-8 king crab legs, shells removed
2 lobster tails (5-7 oz. each)
Old Bay Seasoning
2 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
gherkins (or any tiny pickles)
assorted olives
capers
red-tipped lettuce (to cover plates)
lemon wedges

Seafood Sauce

1 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. tomato catsup
2 dashes Louisiana hot sauce
1/4 t. garlic powder
2-3 T. dill pickle relish
1 T. horseradish (or to taste)
1/2 t. sugar

assorted crackers

Boil shrimp and lobster tails until done (I use the recipe for cooking shrimp that is on the Old Bay Seasoning can). Drain, cover and place in refrigerator to chill. Mix all ingredients for the Seafood Sauce, cover and place in refrigerator. After the seafood is chilled, remove, peel, then return back to refrigerator. Place 2 dinner plates in the refrigerator to cool at that time.

When your guest arrives, remove the plates and lettuce from the refrigerator. Cover each plate with lettuce leaves to make a bed for the salad. Arrange seafood as desired on each plate. Cut eggs into wedges, place on each plate. Scatter the remaining ingredients on the plates.

Serve with Seafood Sauce and crackers.