A new twist on an old tradition

For countless years I've eaten black-eyed peas, cornbread and ham on New Year's Day. Sometimes we add collards, sometimes we eat rice, sometimes we add biscuits. But the peas, ham and cornbread are holiday staples.

Until this year.

My youngest son balks at eating black-eyed peas and my teenagers weren't here to eat. It had become pretty clear that I was the one who aimed to eat a pot of peas by myself. What kind of luck will that bring?

So I decided to change gears. I saw this black-eye pea dip recipe posted a few days ago by Ree Drummond, who writes the wildly popular The Pioneer Woman blog. It was spicy and creamy downright delicious and is destined to become a new tradition for my family. Even my youngest loved it!

I used fat-free sour cream and fat-free cheese. I normally detest the fat-free cheese, but when it is cooked, it does a pretty fine job. Try this dip with tortilla chips or wheat crackers. And if you use fat-free ingredients, the dish is guilt free. Happy New Year, friends!

Bread bowl crab dip

Last week I mentioned a love for hot seafood dip (usually clam) baked inside a round bread loaf that has been hollowed out. About 10 years ago, I was introduced to this method: Baked clam dip was a regular party dish prepared by a longtime friend of mine, Preston Gannaway, who now lives in Norfolk. She has access to blue crabs from her home in Ocean View, so I am offering this crab dip recipe in her honor.

Bread bowl crab dip

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
Two 6-ounces cans of crabmeat, drained and flaked (use a pound of fresh crabmeat, if you can buy it or if you catch your own)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound round, crusty bread loaf

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, onion, mayonnaise, crabmeat, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread mixture in a 1-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. While the dip is baking, cut off the top of the bread round and scoop out the insides to create a bread bowl. Cut the extra bread into chunks for dipping. Remove the crab dip from the oven and stir well. Spoon the mixture into the hollowed out loaf. Place bread bowl and chunks of bread on a baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Preston made her clam dip by putting the mixture in the hollowed out loaf, covering it with the bread “top” and baking it for nearly an hour, with the loaf covered in foil. There was no separate step of heating the dip first, then putting it in the bread loaf. The best part of either method? Tearing the loaf apart and eating it once the dip is gone!

(Since Preston is a graduate of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va., I am calling this an honorary Bristol recipe. Now she is in Norfolk, pulling crabs from the Bay, near my native home!)

Aunt Peggy's Hot Crab Dip

The blue crab gets its name from its bluish-tinted claws. Its shell is more of a mottled brown color, and mature females have red on the tips of their pincers.

Blue crabs are prized for their sweet, tender meat, and are among the most heavily harvested creatures on the planet. They are excellent swimmers, with specially adapted hind appendages shaped like paddles. Their scientific name, Callinectes sapidus, means "beautiful swimmer."

I grew up eating blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waterways, but blue crabs have an amazing range. They are found in brackish coastal lagoons and estuaries from Nova Scotia, through the Gulf of Mexico. Some are found as far south as Uruguay. Crabs are bottom-dwelling omnivores that will eat nearly anything. And they are quick to use their sharp front pincers if disturbed.

Because of their popularity, blue crabs have been routinely overharvested. Because of their declines, there are management plans for harvesting in many parts of their range.

Growing up in Norfolk, we were always fortunate to have access to blue crabs. We put pots in at friends’ homes or crabbed from local piers, most often in Ocean View. About 14 years ago, my parents moved to a home on the Lafayette River. If you want blue crabs, my dad can walk down to the pier and put about a dozen pots in the water.

I dearly love steaming blue crabs cooked with Old Bay seasoning, black pepper, vinegar, salt and a touch of cayenne. There is no better way to spend a summer afternoon. But after posting a recipe for clam dip, my thoughts turned to hot crab dip. Finding fresh crab meat in Southwest Virginia is more of a challenge. Greene’s Seafood in Bristol often has great offerings. But even with canned crab (which is often from Asia and is a different variety than blue crab), this recipe is terrific.

My aunt, Margaret Mills of Winston-Salem, N.C., is a stellar cook. This is her tried and true method. Our family calls her Peggy.

Aunt Peggy's hot crab dip

6 ounces of crabmeat, drained (use about a cup of fresh, if you have it)
8 ounces of cream cheese
2 tablespoons onion, diced
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup almonds, sliced and toasted

Mix ingredients, except almonds, and heat in a saucepan until very hot. Do not let it boil. Transfer to a chafing dish. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

Super dip for Super Bowl

As you consider items to make for the Super Bowl on Sunday, consider trying this clam dip. It is foolproof, universally loved and easy to prepare. This version is my mother’s recipe and has been a go-to for more than 30 years. There are hot versions (including a delectable version that bakes inside a scooped out sourdough loaf), but this one is easier to prepare and all you have to do is keep it cold. Look for a hot clam dip version to come soon. For now, try this basic favorite that always wins raves.

Creamy clam dip

8 ounce package cream cheese
1 small onion, minced
6 ounce can minced clams, liquid drained and reserved
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Chopped parsley to garnish

Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl. Bring to room temperature, until softened. Add about 2 tablespoons reserved clam juice, onion, drained clams and Worcestershire sauce. Blend completely, adding more clam juice, if necessary. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight, before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley. This dip is great with thick cut potato chips, crackers or vegetable sticks. Use reduced fat or fat-free cream cheese in this recipe; both work well.

How many servings? Who knows. There have never been leftovers when I have served this at a party.