Crab and Corn Salad on Corn Chips

Another delicious appetizer dish for which I have no accompanying photo. This was an even more popular dish than the Beef Taquito Bites, especially the next day when I took the left overs to work. It's such a fresh tasting treat and would be excellent on a hot summer day paired with a crisp, cool white.

6 6-1/2 inch corn tortillas
olive oil spray
1 brick cream cheese, softened at room temp (250g)
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin, half reserved
1 small shallot, diced fine
1 stalk celery, diced small
1 cup fresh REAL crab meat(or canned crab meat) REAL, not imitation
2 cans whole corn kernels
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Optional: diced red chili pepper, diced red or yellow bell pepper

If you have Crab Dip Mix (Epicure and Gourmet du Village make really good ones) use that instead of the seasonings (everything below lemon juice).

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Stack tortillas and trim the edges to form squares. Cut the stack into four equal pieces, making squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form triangles.

2. Spray a large cookie sheet with olive oil spray. Arrange the tortillas on the cookie sheet. Season with a sprinkle of course salt (I used a special garlic chili salt. Delicious!). Bake in oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Do not let them over bake. Set aside to cool.

3. Mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice and seasonings. Stir in the celery, shallot, green onion, corn and crab meat. Adjust seasonings as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. To assemble, top each chip with 1 tbsp of corn and crab salad. Sprinkle some green onions on top for garnish.

Variation:

- Instead of topping the chips with the salad, use it as a dip. Put the salad in a heat proof bowl. Add some shredded jack cheese and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

- Make a crab salad sandwich! Spread it on crusty bread or stuff it in a pita. Perfect for a picnic!