I love crab. Crab legs or crab cakes or she-crab soup, crab is just so versatile and, well, yummy.
Stop by the recipe page and make the dinner rolls and crab cakes. A fine dinner. Think big: football tailgating parties. Barbecued scallops will make your party stand out, even if your team doesn’t. Trust me, I know something about this, *cough FSU cough*. No worries. All will work out well in the end as long as we have good food and friends.
I love a good artichoke dip. My generosity isn’t in the making, it is in the sharing. It is a simple thing to do and it is easy to make a few days ahead of the party. This is easy to scale up as the items are the containers. If you can’t find the exact size jar of artichokes, get something which is close.
I will tell you that more is better than less when it comes to artichokes. If you have a choice, buy the hearts in oil. I find the flavor of the artichoke is better than that in water. Sometimes the hearts have a piece which is too hard to cut, so throw that away. If you like spicy food, red pepper flakes are a nice addition as are roasted red bell peppers. This is a recipe which can easily be adjusted to suit your preferences, so alter as you will.
We make this as dinner for two! It is so good and so rich, but we just can't help it. Easy to make ahead a day or two, then about 20 minutes before you want it, just place it in the oven and get the chips ready.
Saute the onions and garlic together in a small dab of butter.
Allow to cool.
Paddle all the ingredients together in a stand mixer. If you have not a stand mixer, slightly warmed cream cheese in the microwave will mix very easily. Check the dip for seasoning. Place in a sealable container and store in the refrigerator.
To serve: Place the dip in a heatproof serving dish, cover with foil and heat at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until it is 150 degrees internal. For a browned top, remove the foil at 15 minutes.
The base is pretty accommodating to change. Add diced tomatoes or more onions or add mushrooms to the onion and garlic mix or something else.
Serve with homemade wheat crackers or pita bread pieces or sit in the corner alone with a lime Tostitos and a beer.
