Seafood Dip

When the Emporium family gets munchy and in need of comfort food, we tend to like seafood. For me this is perfectly natural since I grew up loving anything that swimmed. My Daddy had the viewpoint that if God saw fit to cover 2/3 of the Earth with water, He obviously intended for us to enjoy the bounties of the deep! And we did. Oh, how we did. Raw, boiled, fried, steamed, grilled. You name it, we tried it at least twice (it may not have been cooked right the first time, so always give it another go!).

For my beloved, Ryan, this was a bit of a culture shock, coming from a land locked state where seafood was more of an occasional treat. Thankfully he was game for most anything although raw oysters have never been his favorite and I may have grossed him out early on in our courtship. But our love was complete when he sat at a table diligently retrieving crawfish tails for me from their tricky little carcasses while I was about 11 months pregnant. That's love, people!

Since he received so much influence in utero I suppose it should come as no surprise that Rylee desperately loves seafood. Shrimp and fresh salmon are his favorites. This child begs for sushi (salmon or tuna nigiri, just sushi rice & raw fish, no sauce, very no frills, expensive taste). My Daddy's fried shrimp were an early favorite when table foods were introduced. To this day I can lead him around with those things like a carrot on a string. And Mommy couldn't be happier.

The seafood dip I wish to share today is one I have been making since college. It is a variation on a recipe my Daddy and I got from a grocery store seafood counter when I was a young girl. We always served that one hot. Unfortunately the actual recipe was lost at some point but by that point we had tweaked it beyond recognition anyway, so I just wrote down our version.

Seafood Dip

1 1/2 # shrimp, cooked in boiling water with salt & Old Bay seasoning

12 oz crab meat, all white, flaked, shell-free in a can, no Krab

16 oz cream cheese

1 cup mayonnaise (use the real stuff!)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon garlic, minced

Zest of 1 small lemon

Roughly chop cooled shrimp.

Drain crab meat.

In a mixer, whip cream cheese until fluffy.

Add mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, green onions, garlic & lemon zest. Mix on low till blended, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

Add shrimp & crab to the bowl and combine well with a spatula.

Chill in a covered bowl for 3 hours.

Taste for seasoning. This is the time to adjust your salt! The shrimp being cooked in adequately seasoned water will add a lot of flavor to the dip after it has had a few hours to permeate. Like most dips, it is best the next day.

This dip can be served cold with crackers or corn chips.

It can also be warmed in a casserole dish (325 degrees till bubbly) or slow cooker (low setting to prevent scorching of the cream cheese). Serve with corn chips, melba toast or dark bread toast points.