Food Friday: Memorial Day Crab Dip

It’s Memorial Day Weekend! Hurrah! We can all use a three-day weekend to prepare for summer. It’s time to pull out the white shoes, get the boat in the water and head to the beach. Some of us are even going to entertain. I’ve strung the lights on the back porch, and have already seen some fireflies return the compliment. Summer is almost upon us!

We have re-painted the Adirondack chairs, and are dusting off the cushions, cleaning screens, and dreaming of Maryland blue crabs. Even the strait-laced Wall Street Journal is getting into the act. Last week they published this fab recipe, knowing we wanted a crab get-together, but didn’t have a long, leisurely afternoon to devote to a crab fest – there is a lot going on, after all. The Tea Party in Chestertown is going to take up the whole weekend!

With thanks to Baltimore chef Spike Gjerde, who appreciates the gems of the Chesapeake Bay, too.

Maryland Deviled Crab Dip

Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6
¾ cup finely diced celery
¾ cup finely diced green pepper
3 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
2½ pounds crab meat
½ cup fine bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dry mustard
5 good dashes hot sauce
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup butter at room temperature
Kosher salt
6 cups salad greens
Juice of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Baguette, sliced into ½-inch rounds and toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together celery, green peppers, scallions and parsley. Add crab meat, half the bread crumbs, dry mustard, hot sauce, heavy cream and all but 2 tablespoons butter. Season with salt to taste.
2. Transfer mixture to a lightly buttered baking dish and top with remaining bread crumbs. Melt remaining butter and brush over top. Bake until crumbs are golden, 10-15 minutes.
3. Lightly dress salad greens with lemon juice, olive oil and salt to taste. Serve deviled crab warm with toast and salad on the side.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/maryland-deviled-crab-dip-30-minute-recipe-1494949090

And since this is a Memorial Day party, be sure to have lots of other classics on hand: lemonade, brownies, and a grill fired up for the hot dogs and burgers – that will leave more of the crab dip for you! And don’t forget to have some nice cold beer.

Thank you, Martha.

Fresh lemonade seems to be just the thing for picnics or barbecues, and making it couldn’t be simpler. This perennial favorite requires just 3 ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, and water. This means it won’t take much time away from a leisurely summer afternoon to mix a batch. To make 2 quarts, pour 3 cups of fresh lemon juice (from about 20 lemons) through a fine sieve into a pitcher. Add 2 cups of superfine sugar, and stir until it has dissolved. Stir in 4 cups of water and some ice, and then garnish with lemon slices.

https://www.marthastewart.com/267239/classic-lemonade

We are decorating by sticking little American flags in the window boxes this year, willing our red geraniums, blue lobelia and white vincas to do us proud. (I hope they are taller, and not burnt out, by the Fourth of July.) Remember to take a few moment to honor the people who died so we could enjoy this peaceful back yard get-together.

Dulce et decorum est

“The bugle echoes shrill and sweet,
But not of war it sings to-day.
The road is rhythmic with the feet
Of men-at-arms who come to pray.

The roses blossom white and red
On tombs where weary soldiers lie;
Flags wave above the honored dead
And martial music cleaves the sky.

Above their wreath-strewn graves we kneel,
They kept the faith and fought the fight.
Through flying lead and crimson steel
They plunged for Freedom and the Right.

May we, their grateful children, learn
Their strength, who lie beneath this sod,
Who went through fire and death to earn
At last the accolade of God.

In shining rank on rank arrayed
They march, the legions of the Lord;
He is their Captain unafraid,
The Prince of Peace . . .
Who brought a sword.”

-Joyce Kilmer