Sweet Crab Hero!

We recently had the good fortune of vacationing in places where the seafood is the freshest and the sunshine, the brightest!

Two weeks ago we began our trek visiting Lucy in California…

 

 

…and concluded our summer adventure with a celebration in Cape Cod.

 

 

It worked out that everyone from my side of the family, except for Lucy :(…

(There she is joining us on face-time…)

 

 

…could come together in Chatham to celebrate our parents’ 50th Anniversary. It was a very special week! Though the experience of the vacation will be embedded in my memory forever, I think the look on my parents’ faces when they realized what we were really up to – Surprise! – will be the thing I remember most. It was a great moment.

I probably ate more seafood these past two weeks than I have in my entire lifetime. We shared lobster rolls, fish tacos, fried calamari, shrimp scampi, clam chowder, oysters, lobster bisque, striped bass, and fried lobster…De-Li-Cious!

Now I’m not one to make a lot of seafood, however this trip inspired me!

There is one recipe I adopted many years ago that I learned in a Continuing Ed. class that is still one of our favorites today. I have tweaked it over the years to come up with this!

 

 

Around the holidays I love to make it as an appetizer, but it’s also ideal as an entree when coupled with fruit or a side salad. I love the crab meat as it is sweet and delicate and just the right texture for spreading. I have made it with both fresh and imitation crab, and truthfully, it’s all good! So if you are not in a position to purchase fresh or frozen – the imitation is a great substitute.

 

Sweet Crab Hero!

Ingredients

2 cups crab*

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 loaf French bread

1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, shredded

 

Directions

*I made this dish with frozen Snow Crab clusters. Since the crab legs were already cooked and frozen all I had to do was reheat them. I bought them from the fish department at my local grocery store. Because I purchased them 1 day before preparing them, I kept them in the freezer until I was ready to work. Snow Crab can be prepared any number of ways – boil, steam, microwave, grill or oven bake. I baked them mainly because that’s how I’ve always seen Dom do it – so I’m following suit!

 

 

Simply wrap the crab legs in aluminum foil leaving a small hole for the steam to escape. Place them in the oven on a cookie sheet and bake for around 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

 

 

Once the crab is heated through, remove meat from the shells and combine the first 6 ingredients.

 

 

Mix well!

 

 

Cut bread in half, length-wise. Place on a baking sheet, cut side up, and spread bread with Swiss cheese.

 

 

Cover cheese with the crab mixture.

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

 

Cut each half in at least 3 pieces and serve with fruit or mixed salad. Enjoy!!

 

 

While we shared time on both the bay and the ocean, it was especially awesome to watch the kids play in the bay collecting hermit crabs, building sand castles, balancing on paddle boards and navigating kayaks.

 

These sweet images set against the vastness of the ocean made for an experience we’ll soon not forget!

 

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Ciao!