Corn, Crab and Tomato Salad & A Cookbook Giveaway

Happy May, ladies and gents!

I want to start of the month with a little giveaway for you.. how does that sound?

The lovely folks at Cooking Light have come out with a new cookbook called Way To Cook.  This cookbook isn't just your typical pretty food photography and written recipes.  The book takes you through various food categories and explains basic techniques through pictures.  And I have two to give away to you guys!

If you're a fan of Cooking Light Magazine and their visual technique explanations, you will love this cookbook.  Each section explains a technique and then shows a few recipe examples.  It's all about learning and growing as a cook.  How cool is that?  It's so accessible.  It actually reminds me of food blogging in a way- it's like a collection of great tutorials.

I wanted to make a recipe from the book and I picked this fresh crab salad from the "way to assemble" section. If you click the picture below, you can see all of the extra nuggets of information you get in addition to the written recipe.  I love that!  This recipe is perfect for summer lunches, get-togethers and picnics.  You can also use it for Cinco de Mayo this week, but I would change a few flavors- substitute cilantro for basil and lime juice for lemon juice- quick and easy.

The only thing I didn't like about making this recipe was the price of crab!  I guess I don't buy crab very often.. but it is expensive!  I cut down the amount of crab in the recipe by half and it still seemed like plenty to me.  I served it over greens, but you could serve alongside a grilled sandwich or with some cool summer soup.

Looks good, right?

Would you love to win the cookbook for your shelf?

Here's what you need to do to enter:

Leave a comment with your email address answering this question:

What do you love most about reading food blogs?

Is it the photos? Creative recipes? Tutorials? Talk to me, lovies!

For extra entries:

1. Suggest to 10 Facebook friends to be fans of Oven Love or become a new fan yourself and leave another comment here.

2. Post this giveaway as your status on FB or Twitter and leave another comment here.

(This one is on the honor system- I'm trusting you guys!)

Giveaway will close Thursday, May 5 at midnight EST.  Winner will be announced on Friday.

Good luck, Oven Lovers!

Corn, Crab and Tomato Salad with Lemon Dressing

adapted by Oven Love from Cooking Light's Way to Cook

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about one large lemon)

3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about one lemon)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1 cup corn kernels, fresh or thawed frozen

1/4 cup thinly chopped fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

1/2 pound (8 ounces) lump crabmeat

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

green lettuce, for serving

1. Combine lemon zest, juice, oil, honey, mustard, salt and pepper and whisk to combine.

2. Add corn, basil, bell pepper, onion, crabmeat and tomatoes and toss to combine.  Serve over green lettuce leaves.