Growing up, we spent Christmas Eve at my Grandma’s house. In my Dad’s family, they always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we continued that tradition. First we would go to late afternoon church services and then we headed to Grandma’s house (which sometimes involved a song about going over the river and through the snow).
When we arrived at Grandma’s house my sister and I were allowed to open one small present each, but then we had to wait until after dinner until the real present-opening began. When we were younger, the wait through dinner was torturous! I’m sure we were pretty obnoxious about it.
Grandma always made the same thing for dinner: ham, scalloped potatoes, jello salad, and angel food cake for dessert. But the thing we enjoyed the most was her “Infamous Crab Dip” that she served as an appetizer.
Grandma stopped hosting Christmas Eve about 8 years ago and none of us have had her crab dip since. When I hosted Grandma and the rest of my family for Thanksgiving this year, I thought it would be fun to serve her crab dip. It was a big hit and as good as we remembered!
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!
I was lucky to have my Dad bring a fresh piece of horseradish from his garden!
Infamous Crab Dip
- 1 can (6½ oz) crab meat, drained
- 6 0z cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon snipped chives
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon horseradish (grated fresh or jarred)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon into a small ovenproof baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through (I find it takes a little longer…). Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.
Makes about 1¼ cups.
From Scratch 
