Serve Guests Crab Salad in Cucumber Cups

With December upon us, our schedules are filling up with office holiday parties, club potlucks, and family get-togethers. Whether youre hosting, or attending, having a few solid canapés will make you the star of any holiday shindig. During the four weeks leading up to Christmas, Im going to show you a few of my favorite one-bite-wonders.

This week, I've made some festive cucumber cups that taste as good as they look. With a crisp cucumber shell holding a bite of citrusy crab salad, these make a nice light alternative to the carbs and creamy spreads that usually show up on a platter of hors d'oeuvres.

While carving out cucumber cups may sound like a lot of work, armed with the right tool, it doesn't take much more time than brushing olive oil onto crostini. While a tiny melon baller would be the tool for the job, I've found that 1/4 teaspoon stainless steel measuring spoons work just as well.

I like to use Japanese or Lebanese cucumbers because they have tender skin and are the perfect size for a bite-sized canapé, but if you can't find either, you could serve the crab salad on thick slices of English cucumber. These cups also make great vessels for other bite-size salads as well, so don't feel like you have to use crab.

To get the prep out of the way, you can carve and salt the cucumbers up to a day in advance, and the crab salad can be prepared in advance as well, provided you store the cilantro separately. Lastly, to take these to the next level, try topping each cup off with a bit of tobiko or trout roe. The fish eggs not only add some texture, they'll look like little gems atop a nest of crab.