Holiday party food

Went to a holiday party this weekend and brought along one of my favorite finger food munchies, Vietnamese crab-shrimp toasts, from Tom Douglas's fabulous "I Love Crab Cakes!" cookbook. The snacks are similar to the toasts that you get off dim sum carts. People always go bonkers over them. You'll have to make a stop at an Asian grocer for fish sauce (I like the 3-crabs brand) and sambal, which is a spicy, red garlic and chili sauce, if you don't have any in the pantry.
Here's the recipe. (NOTE: I sometimes briefly saute chopped garlic and ginger, let it cool and then add it to the shrimp/crab mixture before frying. But it's not necessary. Also, the toasts are best served immediately, but will keep in a low oven for about an hour.)


VIETNAMESE CRAB-SHRIMP TOASTS
6 ounces peeled raw shrimp
6 ounces crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell and lightly squeezed if wet
1 tablespoon picked cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon minced shallots
14 slices French baguette, cut crosswise, each slice about 1/2 inch thick and 2 3/4 inches long
Peanut or canola oil
Lime dipping sauce (recipe follows)
4 to 6 lime wedges
Put the shrimp in the bowl of a food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Add the crabmeat, cilantro, fish sauce and shallots. Pulse until well-combined. Transfer to a bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together several times. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crab mixture on top of one of the baguette slices and use a butter knife to spread it in an even layer to the edges of the bread. Repeat with the remaining baguette slices, using up all of the crab mixture.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large, nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (a cube of bread will turn golden within 30 seconds), add as many toasts as will comfortably fit in the pan, crab side down. Fry until the crab mixture is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using metal tongs, turn the toasts to fry the undersides to a light golden brown, less than 1 minute. Remove the toasts from the pan, drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven. Continue until all toasts are fried. Cut toasts on the diagonal and serve with lime dipping sauce and lime wedges. Makes 14 or more toasts or 4 to 6 appetizer servings.

LIME DIPPING SAUCE
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh squeeze lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sambal or Asian chili-garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Thai basil or regular basil
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir.