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Here is a simple recipe for crab cocktail. It can be made with any crab (Chesapeake Bay blue crab, Dungeness, snow crab etc.), but the meat must be fresh, not frozen. The non-pasteurized cans available in some fish stores are the best option.

The salad looks great in diner-style ice-cream cups. As chef Fred Morin at Montreal's Joe Beef says: "It should look like a nice dish from a housekeeping magazine from the fifties, minus the lack of anything aspic."

Servings: 4

Ingredients

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup regular chili sauce

1 tablespoon brandy

1 bunch chives, chopped

1 pound lump crabmeat

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

8 anchovies

2 hard-boiled eggs

4 13/15-size cocktail shrimp, peeled and cooked

Fresh horseradish (optional)

4 small celery branches (optional)

Method

Mix mayonnaise, chili sauce, brandy and chives. Stir in crabmeat. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide mixture into serving dishes. Surround each portion with 1 shrimp, 1 celery stalk, 2 anchovies, 1 half egg and 1 lemon wedge. Top with a bit of grated horseradish, extra chives and freshly ground pepper.

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