Maryland Crab Dip

We had some money left over in our grocery budget from June, so I got to put it towards some special goodies. One thing I like to buy when we're feeling like a treat is crab meat. We're both from Maryland and absolutely love a good crab dish. That being said, when I say crab meat, I don't mean that stuff you find on a shelf by the tuna. I mean the big 1 lb container you find in the seafood section. Always Jumbo Lump. Claw meat is eh and Special meat is ok. Jumbo lump or Lump is the way to go if you want a good chunk of crab in every bite of whatever you are making. Yes, it's usually double the price of claw and special meat, but it's so worth it!

I decided to make my two favorite dishes with this batch of crab meat - crab dip and crab cakes. I'll post about my crab cakes later this week. This crab dip is an extremely simple recipe that is absolutely delicious. I was using a little less than a 1/2 lb of crab meat, so I baked the crab dip in two ramekins. It was a good amount of crab dip, so we both had leftovers for the next day. I served it with my sad, dense sourdough bread.

I took a total of two pictures of this before we scarfed it down. Bad blogger.

Maryland Crab Dip
Serves: 2-3
1/2 lb jumbo lump crab meat
1 tablespoon horseradish
4oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

• Add the cream cheese to a microwave safe bowl (I used my small pyrex mixing bowl). Heat for 30 seconds to soften the cheese.
• Add the horseradish and old bay seasoning and whisk together until smooth.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the crab meat into the cream cheese mixture. You want lumps of crab meat in this, they make the dish.
• Spoon mixture into a small baking dish or two ramekins. Top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and bake at 375 until bubbly. Approx. 15-2 minutes depending on the size of the baking dish.
• Sprinkle with a little more old bay and serve with warm pita slices or chunks of artisan bread.

Note: This recipe is easily doubled if you want to use the full pound of crab meat. Also, always taste the cream cheese and horseradish mixture before adding the crab. It's a lot easier to mix in some more horseradish to spice it up or cream cheese, to cool it down before adding in the crab.