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Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa: a 60’s Retro-Recipe

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This Retro 60’s Appetizer/Salad, the Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa, is a seriously yummy way to to enjoy canned lump crab meat, or fresh crab meat, if you’ve got the budget for it. And I know a secret tip I’ll share with you, that will eliminate the strong fishy smell you often find in canned lump crab meat. 

 

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa

See the little bits of “mimosa”/egg yolk and parsley that are sprinkled over the top? Amazing how much flavor they add!

A Recipe from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook

 You’ll find the recipe for this salad in the cookbook:  The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.  Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa is a recipe developed by the White House chef to the Kennedy family. The dish is made with two of my most favorite ingredients: avocado, and crabmeat. With the expertise of a White House chef, and ingredients like those, you really can’t go wrong!

It’s funny how the recipe I’ve chosen to share ties in perfectly with both the TV show Mad Men, (which is, at the time I’m writing this, entering its last season) and with the Kennedy White House. I love it when a recipe has a story, so to share this fabulous dish with you, I thought I would begin by telling you the story I see that connects this recipe to the show itself.
 

Both A Show, And A Recipe, From The Kennedy Years

Mad Men is first and foremost a period drama. In each episode, we see the impact of the volatile decade of the 1960’s on the lives of the main characters. The series begins, in fact, in March of 1960, during the time in which the Kennedys are running for office. 

What was it that drew us so, to Jack and Jackie Kennedy ?  They possessed beauty, glamour, and sophistication, as well as wit, ease, style and grace . All these qualities attracted us, as a nation, like moths to the Kennedy flame. The era of their administration was, in many ways, Camelot, incarnate.

John_and_Jackie_Kennedy, at their wedding

Jack and Jackie Kennedy, at their wedding

What captivated us, more than anything,  was the dream – the image we believed we were seeing. Accurate or not, they possessed that special *thing* that so many of us long for. They had, for want of a better word,  “it”.

Like Jack and Jackie, in the fictional world of Mad Men, Don and Betty Draper looked like the bride and groom cake topper atop the Wedding Cake of Life. With Betty by his side, Don Draper brought the magic of Camelot to Madison Avenue. As a couple, they were imbued with the stuff that Ad Men attempt to crank out from that famous street.  Don was handsome, brilliant, powerful, the undisputed lord of the realm, much like President Kennedy in real life. Betty, similar in her patrician beauty to the First Lady, possessed every outward quality needed to be the rightful consort to such a hero. She was the fitting female accessory to drape on Draper’s arm. 

We’re drawn to the glamour of Don and Betty, but it’s the hidden frailties of the characters that keep us glued to the storyline. We root for the redemption of the anti-hero who built his house on shifting sand. We see his victimization as a child. In his adult life, we catch glimpses of deep compassion in Don, as he witnesses and identifies with human frailties and failings in others. We are drawn to him in those moments of basic goodness. We long for that side of Don to prevail! 

I’ve spent far too many episodes wishing and hoping for Betty to grow up and become the kind of woman that could truly love and accept Don – the Don I hoped that he might some day grow up to be.

~sigh~

That’s not going to happen this season, either, is my guess. I’m betting it’s Peggy’s turn: that she and Don will discover that they are, indeed, meant to be. She has needed to mature into who she was going to be, and Don has needed to learn to value the kind of woman that could actually make him happy. So…my money’s on Peggy, this season, and I’m not afraid to put my prediction out there.

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa pairs nicely with a chilled glass of your favorite white.

IN THE MEANTIME.. on to the recipe!

I  wanted to make something really delicious from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, because I like *all* my recipes, in fact, to actually BE delicious! I’m happy to say that this one fit that criterion. When I saw that this recipe had been developed by the White House chef René Verdon, the French chef hired by Jacqueline Kennedy at the White House, I figured it had to be good.

And that’s why my thoughts wandered to the Kennedys, as I sat down to share a recipe related to the TV series, Mad Men. 

The Avocado Mimosa Showed Up On Mad Men

Betty Draper ordered a dish similar to this one in Season 2, episode 1, when she and Don were staying at the Savoy hotel on Valentine’s Day. From room service, she ordered an avocado half stuffed with crab meat. As she was ordering her meal, Jackie Kennedy was on TV, giving the nation a televised tour of the White House. See how it all fits together, seamlessly? Jack & Jackie, Don & Betty… and Avocado & Crab – which truly are two of my most favorite foods in the whole world. Elegant, and classic, this recipe is the perfect metaphor for what Don and Betty represent. 

Isn’t A Mimosa a Cocktail?

The recipe’s name, “mimosa“, refers not to the orange juice/champagne cocktail with which many Americans are familiar, but to the French name for deviled eggs, which is Oeufs Mimosa (or Eggs Mimosa). Since the topping is made from the yolk of a hard cooked egg, I imagine that’s what Chef Verdon had in mind when he gave this recipe its title.

I love the creaminess of the avocado, the brightness of the lemon juice, and the little zing that the horseradish brings to the party. I’ve never made a salad with watercress before, but I found its delicate crunchiness in absolutely perfect balance with the creaminess of the avocado and mayonnaise. 

Use Fresh Crab Meat If You Can; If Not, Here’s My Tip

Fresh crabmeat is the best, but, if you can’t afford fresh, (and not many of us can at $20.00 a pound), you can get away with using canned lump crabmeat by using this simple trick that I learned from Cook’s Illustrated: drain the crabmeat well – you’ll want to get as much of that water out of it as you can, and then soak your crabmeat for about an hour in a cup of milk. Then squeeze the milk out, and the crabmeat is ready to be used in this recipe. It will really cut the fishy smell/taste that canned crab meat has.

I also found that, for seasoning, instead of just salt and pepper, that I enjoyed adding a bit of garlic salt to the egg yolks. (It’s the seasoning I typically use when I make guacamole.)

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa: a recipe fit for a president.

Yield: 6 servings

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa

Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa

A delicious retro recipe of avocado and crabmeat, that can serve as a luncheon salad or dinner appetizer,

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1 scallion, minced
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
  • Dash of hot pepper sauce
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons chili sauce
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Ground white pepper
  • 8 ounces cooked fresh crabmeat
  • 2 cups watercress
  • 2 hard-cooked egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt

Instructions

  1.  Peel half of one avocado. In a small bowl, mash avocado half. Add scallion, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and hot pepper sauce. Stir until well combined. Reserve.
  2. In separate bowl, stir together mayonnaise, chili sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining teaspoon lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reserve.
  3. Peel remaining 1 1/2 avocados, cut into half-inch cubes, and place in a large bowl.
  4. Squeeze excess moisture from crabmeat. Add to cubed avocado and gently combine. Fold in mayonnaise mixture until crab and avocado are evenly coated.
  5. Line bottoms of 6 chilled, open champagne glasses or small glass serving dishes with watercress. Divide crab mixture evenly among glasses. Top each with a dollop of mashed avocado mixture.
  6. Sprinkle egg yolks with garlic salt. Press egg yolks through fine mesh sieve; combine with parsley in a small bowl. Sprinkle yolk/parsley mixture evenly over each portion. Mimosas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 hours.

Notes

  • Crab meat that has a slight fishy odor can be soaked for one hour in a cup of milk, prior to preparing this recipe. This will help neutralize the fishy odor.
  • I found that a sprinkling of Lawry's Garlic Salt with Parsley really revved up the flavor of the boiled egg yolk and parsley sprinkle.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 542mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 5gSugar: 2gProtein: 10g

 

What recipe do you think of, when you think of the 60’s? How about fondue? An Authentic Swiss Fondue totally floats my boat, and you really need to check out my recipe! 
And, please, share this post with your friends who might enjoy it! Tweet it on twitter! Or, pin the recipe on Pinterest!

Candace Karu

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

Love the hack for canned crabmeat...can't wait to try that. Related: You know A LOT about Mad Men. I may have to go back and check it out!

Susan Williams

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

Yeah, that tip for canned crabmeat is a game changer, for SURE!

Caryl

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

I think of every kind of jello salad possible! But your writing about eggs, reminded me that my mother often made Creamed Eggs on Toast. It was some kind of creamy egg mixture ladled over white bread toast. It may not sound great, but I remember liking it. What I did NOT like was the slimy canned asparagus that was sometimes layered on top of the toast and topped with the eggs. Even now the thought of slimy canned asparagus makes me cringe!

Susan Williams

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

I remember that dish, Caryl!!! And I always thought I hated asparagus, because I had never had fresh asparagus as a kid. Only that nasty, slimy canned/jarred stuff. Hideous!!!

Elizabeth Lee

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

Sounds yummy! I love crab and avocado! My recent post 7 Things I Loved About BAMC15

Susan Williams

Wednesday 1st of April 2015

Very, very yummy, Elizabeth!

Heather

Tuesday 31st of March 2015

Crab meat ANYTHING is delish!

Susan Williams

Tuesday 31st of March 2015

Totally agree!

imnotasupermom

Tuesday 31st of March 2015

My mother used to always make a pistachio gelatin mold in the shape of a fish as the showstopping centerpiece of any ladies' lunch or bridge party.

Susan Williams

Tuesday 31st of March 2015

LOL! I remember clearly such a mold. Putting food stuffs in a mold... it just doesn't sound good from the get-go, does it?

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