DUNGENESS CRAB, AVOCADO AND MANGO SALAD STACKER

How do you show love and gratitude to those around you?

Intellectually, I understand there are many different ways to do so.

Pick up the phone and express verbally how you feel.

Write a handwritten note of appreciation on pretty monogrammed stationery.

Or maybe drop off some beautiful flowers from the farmers’ market.

But for some of us, words aren’t the first or best go-to.

Sometimes, Dungeness Crab says it better than anything else.

I was looking over pics on my phone today and I was reminded of a meal I made two weeks ago. Now, normally I wouldn’t go over old history but this meal was important — and the recipe is a keeper.

You see, when you put fresh Dungeness crab, avocado and mango in a room, magic happens.

So here’s the lowdown.

I wanted to thank my Mom for our trip and her lively engagement and participation.

She didn’t complain — not once!–when we listened to music from my Iphone for the two 9 hour drives. That’s not nothing; she likes the classics but we ended mostly listening to our music, ranging from Fetty Wap to Rihanna to David Mathews to High School Musical.

She was also a trooper as we raced around the city chasing rumours of food trucks and donuts; I’m sure at times she’d rather have enjoyed more sedate pleasures but she was always game for whatever was on the docket.

And my Mom is one of the most generous people I’ve ever known, and she treated us around every bend.

Dumplings and burgers and hotel rooms and gas and treats galore.

How on earth do you thank  someone for dropping everything they had to join you, offering nothing but fantastic company, generosity and an adventurous spirit? 

Sometimes you start with their favorite food and go from there.

My Mom lives in Southern California and she has often said that she can never get enough seafood, and Dungeness Crab is what she misses most.

Okay, that’s a good place to start.

I hit Costco during a Seafood Road Show on our last full day together and built a meal around some really fresh Dungeness crab.

Once I saw the crab I knew exactly what I wanted to do —  recreate a dish I’d made for my Mom and step-dad Fritz New Year’s Eve ten years ago. I’ve made it probably three or four times since for her, but it’s been awhile, and I knew if I whipped it up again it’d make her happy.

It’s that kind of dish.

The word “Stacker” comes from a little set I was given fifteen years ago; there was a book and little box of tins in my Stacks kit and the idea behind all this was to create the vertical food that was so popular a while back.

Remember when towers of lovely food were all the rage in cooking magazines and fancy restaurants?

Here is what the equipment looks like.

You decide what shape you want to use and make sure your tamper-thingy is the same size.

Then all you have to do is assemble your ingredients.

I’ve made this before so I knew that the ingredients all played together nicely.

Sweet fresh mango with a touch of Sriracha to balance it out, rich avocado given an assist with garlic and lime, warm Basmati rice for texture and heft and then the Dungeness crab with just a touch of good fish sauce to accentuate its flavor and a squeeze of lime, a bit of zest and salt to give it umpf.

Spicy Thai Lime and Chili Cashews (from Trader Joe’s) give it that crunch and wow factor.

I’ve made Stackers with all kinds of things (mashed potatoes, balsamic roasted chicken thighs, and chopped up roasted broccoli raab was one of my favorite combinations) but you don’t need the fancy equipment — just a cleaned out tin can and a spatula would work in a pinch.

With my ingredients assembled, I just had to try to figure out what order I wanted to add the ingredients into the tin so that the end result would look good.

Once you’ve figured that out, one by one add the ingredients, pressing down between each layer with your tamper and then slowly life the metal container and voila.

Dungeness Crab, Mango and Avocado Stacker.

Rice. Mango. Crab. Avocado. Spicy Cashews. More Crab. Mint.

Heaven.

I repeated the process, making one for my hubby and myself as well.

I opened up a bottle of crisp, chilled French Chablis and we had at it.

Did it topple and lose its singular towering beauty?

Yes, but that’s when the fun really began — all the flavors of mint and fish sauce and lime juice play with all these opulent flavors and it feels like the most lux salad you’ve had in a very long time.

With one-third pound of the sweetest, freshest Dungeness Crab in the midst of it.

(And that, as Martha would say, is a very good thing.)

We love you, Mom — and thank you for everything.