South Beach Meets Maryland Crab App's.

When you taste this gorgeous appetizer be sure to capture a little taste of all the ingredients in one bite! Enjoy the richness of the crab and the many texture levels within thedish, it's just so sexy! How can you not love the sweetness of the mango against the spices and jalapeno, then cooled down by the silky avocado & therichness of the crab! Simply, delicious.

This recipe is versitile! Serve it for a swanky dinner party in a Martini glass likeI featured.
OR
Layer this beauty in a clear dish so you can see the gorgeous colors with pita triangles for the party and everyone scoops!
OR
Once you have assembled the layers, scoop out a tablespoon full keeping it layered, place in a mini puff pastry shell or phyllo dough shell cup, you purchased from the freezer section of your grocery store. Then you have individual App's for the crowd!


Ingredients

1 Lb. Fresh Back Fin Crab Meat {I prefer Jumbo Lump Back Fin Crab, but it s expensive}
3 Fresh Mangos – ripe, peeled & diced
1/2 Cup Red Bell Pepper- diced
1/2 Tblsp. Fresh Jalapeno Pepper, seeded & minced
1/4 Cup Red Onion, diced
2 large Ripe Haas Avocados, peeled and diced
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic – minced
1/2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
5 Ounces Philly Cream Cheese – softened {Original or Low Fat works}
1/2 Tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice or Lime juice
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise {I use Light Mayo}
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Tsp. Blackening Spice
1/4 Tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/3 Cup French’s Horseradish Mustard
4-5 lemon peels for garnish about 1 ½ inches long, narrow in width

Directions

Place crab meat in a medium sized mixing bowl. With your hands, very gently sift through the crab. Trying not to shred the crab as you go & keeping it in lump form as best as you can. You are feeling for any possible shell or cartilage- discard. Take ½ cup of this crab you just cleaned and set aside in a separate bowl. You will now have two separate bowls of crab.

In food processor blend together cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, mayo, worcestershire sauce, garlic, blackening spice, mustard and old bay seasoning. Blend til smooth.

Place cream cheese mixture into the bowl with the . Gently, with a rubber spatula blend together. Set aside. {Don't worry..we will use that 2nd bowl of crb at the end!}

In a separate bowl gently mix together all of your mango, jalapeno, red bell pepper and red onion.
Stir gently with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

In each Martini glass or the glass dish, first place a layer of the creamed crabmeat. On top of this layer gently place your mango mixture spreading evenly over the crabmeat mixture. On top of the mango mixture place a layer of the diced avocado. Now is when you will add a dollop of the plain crabmeat {of which you have a ¼ cup set aside from the beginning of the recipe] in the center of the avocado layer. Take the lemon peel, give it a little twist and use as a garnish on top the dollop of crabmeat. Your App. is ready to serve. If you prefer to make ahead of time, you can cover each serving glass with clear plastic wrap, pop in the fridge and let it marinade for a few hours before serving.