Lani Broadbent of Grasonville, MD received Grand Prize honors and first place in the National Hard Crab Derby Crab Cooking Contest.  Her dish, Layered Summer Salad was a delightful salad made from red and green butter lettuce, mango cubes, avocado slices, Maryland crab meat and topped with a balsamic vinegar reduction.

In the Soup division, Charlese Ann Smith of Bishopville, MD won First Place for her Best Crab & Corn Chowder.  This was a delicious summer soup made with fresh corn and Maryland crab meat and included onions, celery, potatoes in a creamy chowder base.

Barbara Bailey of Greenwood, De received first place in the main dish category for her Maryland Blue Crab Pie.  This dish consisted of crab meat and a small amount of shrimp baked in a perfectly prepared egg and cheese pie with red and green peppers and onions.

From Marion, MD Helen Tomko placed first in the appetizer division for her Grilled Crab & Cheese.  This dish placed a cheesy, creamy Maryland crab meat mixture inside white bread that was cut into a circle and grilled in butter with smoked paprika.  

The 60^th Annual Crab Cooking contest is held each year in conjunction with the National Hard Crab Derby & Fair in Crisfield, Maryland.  It is sponsored by the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Program.                                                      

Layered Summer Crab Salad

Ingredients:  Serves 4

½ cup Balsamic Vinegar aged 12 years
1 6.5 oz. bag of Fresh Express Red and Green Sweet Butter Lettuce
2 large mangos, not overly ripe and firm to the touch (diced into 1” cubes)
1 large Haas Avocado, not overly ripe and firm to the touch (diced into 1” cubes)
1 medium lime, approximately 3” diameter (zest and then cut in half)
1 small red onion (cut into 1” long very thin slices)
1 pound of Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Meat, carefully picked through for shells and cartilage
2 tbs. of Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper (use fine grind or bottled.  White pepper is a good replacement)

Method:

To make the Balsamic Vinegar reduction, use a small sauce pot to heat the Balsamic Vinegar over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes.  Keep an eye on the pot to prevent the vinegar from burning.  The vinegar reduces to syrup and when it is removed from the heat it will continue to thicken.  To check if vinegar has reduced enough, take a spoon and dip into the sauce.  Check to see if vinegar sticks to the back of the spoon.  If it sticks it is done.  Remove the reduction from the stove and let it cool.  Once cooled, be sure to taste the vinegar to check that it wasn’t burned while cooking.  It should taste sweet.

Start putting the layered salad together while the vinegar is cooking.   Use a 9 X 9 X 3 serving dish.  Evenly layer serving dish with Red and Green Sweet Butter Lettuce, then add the diced mangos.  Remove and reserve ½ cup of Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Meat, which will be used later.  Now take the remaining jumbo lump crab meat and evenly scatter onto the mango and lettuce.  Next, use half of the lime and squeeze the juice over the new layer of crab meat.  Using the remaining ½ of lime, squeeze juice over diced avocado and lightly toss to coat all avocado pieces in a separate bowl, which prevents the avocado pieces from turning brown.  Add the diced avocado and sliced red onion to the salad, again evenly distributed.  Take the remaining ½ cup of crab meat and form it into a mound and place on the center of the salad.  Sprinkle the lime zest evenly on the whole salad.  Pour 2 tbs. of Balsamic Vinaigrette evenly on salad, making sure to shake the bottle before use.  Evenly distribute 1/8 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper using a pepper mill.  Take the cooled balsamic vinegar reduction and begin to evenly spread on salad.  Use a spoon to drizzle the reduction all over salad to create an eye pleasing design.  Straight lines are easiest, although swirls look good as well.  Please note that you will not need all of the Balsamic Vinegar reduction.  This salad should be served within an hour since the dressing will wilt the lettuce.