Crab Dip

I read Ree’s post about crab dip and I’d forgotten how much I love it. And while I’m sure that her recipes are divine, I have a tried and true recipe of my own. It’s based on a lobster dip recipe from Dee Carstarphen’s book “Windjammer Cooking” (Pen and Ink Press 1989). If you don’t happen to have leftover steamed lobster lying around your house, as for some reason is usually (always) the case at my house, then canned crab meat makes an adequate substitute for the lobster in this dip recipe. Ideally, the dip needs to “age” a few hours in the fridge before eating, for the flavours to blend together but if you can make it without eating half of it before it ages, you are a better person than I am.

The first time I had this dip, the lobster version, was aboard the Maine schooner Lewis R French, one afternoon after the weekly lobster bake.  In my journal I wrote: " The winds really picked up later in the afternoon, kicking spray over the side of the schooner and I had to put on all kinds of layers to keep warm in the wind. The appetizer was about 10 pounds of lobster dip. We had to tie the crackers down after they went flying and Captain Dan said he wasn't going to anchor until we'd finished all the dip. No problem. "

Crab Dip (adapted from Dee Carstarphen's Windjammer Cooking)
1 block light cream cheese, softened
1 can crab meat, drained (unless you have 3-4 oz of steamed, chopped lobster to use instead)
3 tbsp mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 tbsp sherry
2-3 green onions, chopped
Dash of cayenne

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until well blended. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to blend. Serve with crackers or vegetables.