The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

I know it is after July 4th but there are still plenty of picnics to go to and plenty of times to get together with good friends for feasts and libations.

In my youth, two cousins, Louie and Ray Clack were famous for their Fourth of July punches. Both were very potent, both tasted very good and both were easy to make.

These made their punches in a gallon thermos bottle filled with ice that would keep the drinks cool all day long.

First, Louie Clack’s famous Fourth of July Punch.

1 can frozen pink lemonade

1 can white rum

2 cans water and lots of ice cubes to keep the mixture cold all day long. Although it will not last all day long in the first place.

Ray Clack’s Fourth of July punch was even more simple. Pour a bottle of Southern Comfort in your large thermos. Fill the rest of the way with pineapple juice and ice. This one is even more dangerous than the first one so be careful.

I have been making an old, old salad this summer. It is called Crab Louis Salad and I first ate it at Hennessy’s Steak House in Kalispell. You don’t see it around very much anymore but it is simply wonderful.

You need real crab meat, not the fake stuff for this salad. These days most butcher shops have larger cans of lump crab meat that is better than the small cans of crab meat.

Lets say this serves four. Start with four salad plates with an ample spreading of lettuce shreds.

You will need 1 to 1 ½ pounds lump crab meat or shrimp or lobster.

First the sauce. 1 cup salad dressing

1 cup whipped cream

¼ cup chili sauce

¼ cup green pepper chopped fine

¼ cup green onions chopped fine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all the ingredients and then carefully fold in the whipped cream so that the dressing has soft peaks.

For the salad you will need the crab meat, a hardboiled egg quartered for each serving, 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes per serving, Lemon wedges, avocado slices and ripe olives.

Pile a quarter of the crab meat on each dish that has been covered with an ample supply of lettuce shreds. Arrange around them the egg slices, tomatoes, olives, lemon wedges, and avocado slices. Dollop with the Louis sauce and enjoy.

One thing I did that made it even better is that I roasted my cherry tomatoes in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. I made sure they were covered with olive oil, salt, pepper and even a little sugar before roasting. Then I let them cool before making the Louis salad.