LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Gigi's Crab Dip


Gigi's Crab Dip Photo Susie Iventosch

This recipe comes from my grandmother's recipe file. She loved to cook and entertain, so it's always fun to read the notes marked on the recipe cards. Grandmothers' recipe boxes should be considered national treasures, as they not only offer a folkloric anthropology of the times, but also serve as a living history of dining and entertaining trends. This recipe makes a wonderful base for crab cakes, too. All you need to do is add an egg and some bread crumbs, along with diced celery and parsley, and voila, you've got crab cake batter.

Ingredients

1/2 pound fresh crab meat

1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts

2 tablespoons finely sliced green onions (sauteed or raw)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Louisiana Hot Sauce

Juice of half lemon

1/2 teaspoon New Mexico Chili powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (if needed)

Directions

Mix all ingredients and serve cold with crackers, or spread on baguette slices and broil for a hot hors d'oeuvres. My grandmother used to serve this dip in mini-ice cream cones for cocktail parties. These are available at Whole Foods in the ice cream aisle. Be sure to use the regular, flat-bottomed cones, not the sugar cones!