If you're thinking of serving something 'light' for an appetizer, this is not the dip for you. This dip is flat out heavy, but in the most delicious way possible. Cheesy, creamy, crabby - it's going in my book next to the Lobster Mac 'n Cheese, filed under Ridiculously Rich. It's a treat. If you're looking to lure in a less social party guest to the snack table this is your ace in the hole. Serve it with the 'good' crackers or a thin slice of fresh, crusty bread and something bubbly.
~serves 6-8 for appetizers~
ingredients
- 8oz cream cheese
- 2 T mayo
- 1 T whipping cream
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T lemon juice
- ½ tsp hot pepper sauce
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 3 green onions, minced
- 1 T minced parsley
- ¾ lb fresh Dungeness crab meat
- cracked black pepper to taste
Turn your oven on to 400 degrees and find a nice baking dish that will hold about 4 cups. (A 1-quart casserole will work excellently.) In a large bowl, tip your cream cheese in and give it a stir. (If your cream cheese is cold and hard just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds so you don't have to wait or fight with it too much.)
Now we're going to add the next five ingredients, but give the whole thing a stir between each addition so it ends up relatively smooth. Mayo, cream, Worcestershire, lemon juice and the hot sauce - all in the bowl. Grate your cheese, mince your onion and parsley and fold those into the bowl.
Give your crab meat a quick glance-over to check for any stray shell bits, and then into the bowl with that as well. Nice and easy, stir and fold the dip so that your crab stays in big chunks - don't fuss with it too much. Add a bit of cracked black pepper if you like (I skip the salt because the crabmeat is salty enough for me) and then spoon it all into your baking dish.
Tuck it into the oven and set your timer for 20 minutes. It gets a little bubbly at the end so if your dish is full to the top you might want to set a piece of foil under it to catch any drips. Enjoy your dip nirvana!
