Typically, at Easter, we head to the Resort in The Woodlands for a champagne brunch. The food is fantastic and there is always more to choose from than you can fit in your belly. This year, we visited the brunch at Christmas when my brother was home from college, so we opted to make brunch at home for Easter, sans brother. We had Eggs Benedict, dolled up with prosciutto and spinach, as well as these crab/avocado/mango towers.

Crab Tower and his friend, Egg Benedict

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We also had this fantastic carb-loaf called a “Butter Braid.”

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Twelve or so servings of flaky pastry wrapped around a gooey, sweet, frosting-like cinnamon frosting and topped with a vanilla glaze. Think glorified Toaster Strudel. Doesn’t get much better than that. The recipe for the Butter Braid involves finding your Butter Braid dealer. I would highly encourage it.

Back to the crab. The crab is excellent, the mint and cilantro highlight the dish with a fresh taste and the avocado provides a touch of creaminess next to the sweet mango. The whole dish is tied together with a mango sauce that is sweet with brown sugar with cayenne and paprika for a bite.

Crab Towers with Avocado and Mango Filling, and Mango Sauce

adapted from Simply Recipes.serves 5. Towers:1 lb of fresh lump crab meat, shells picked out

1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons mint leaves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 medium sized mango, diced

1 firm but ripe avocado, diced

Tabasco sauce

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mango Sauce:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 ripe mango, diced

1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar,

1/4 t. cayenne

1/2 t. paprika

1 t. smoked salt or liquid smoke

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Tower Directions:

In a bowl add the crab meat, 2 tsp of cilantro, 1 tsp of mint, the garlic, a tbsp of lime juice, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 10 drops of Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix carefully with a fork. Refrigerate.

In a separate bowl add the mango, avocado, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp of lime juice, the remaining cilantro and mint leaves, 20 drops of Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix carefully with a spoon, as not to smash the avocado.

Line 5 small ramekins or desert bowls with plastic wrap for individual towers. Press crab into the bottom third of the ramekin, then the avocado mixture into the middle third, and then more crab to fill the dish. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours or overnight.

Sauce directions:

Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the mango, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until the fruit is very tender. Add water, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in all other ingredients and let the sugar and spices dissolve for 3 minutes while stirring.

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When you are ready to serve, turn the ramekins upside down on individual plates. Pull off the ramekins, leaving plastic wrap intact, then gently pull off the plastic wrap and drizzle with sauce. serve extra sauce on the side.