We follow an old family tradition and have crab for Christmas Eve dinner: hot crab dip to start and crab cioppino for dinner. First we pick three dungeness crabs (purchased cooked and cleaned at our local grocery store).
Picking the crab
Picked and ready to use
For the hot crab dip, we combine crab meat, grated Monterrey Jack and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, finely-chopped jalapeno pepper, thinly-sliced scallions, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Siracha sauce, and salt/pepper. Transferred to a square baking dish and baked until golden brown, the dish is served with crackers and fresh bread.
Mixed, ready to bake
Done, served
To make the cioppino sauce, we sauté onions, garlic, and parsley, then add two cans of San Marzano tomatoes (pureed in a food processor), two cans of tomato sauce, one can of tomato paste, and two bottles of clam juice. Season, bring to a boil, and simmer for an hour. We add the crab, along with some shrimp and scallops, and simmer another 1/2 hour, To finish off, cooked rigatoni (nicely al dente of course) is added prior to serving with a Lebanese-themed taverna salad of tomatoes, chickpeas, bell peppers, English cucumber, kalamata olives, shallot, capers, scallions, baked pita chips, and fried halloumi cheese (with a dressing of red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, and olive oil).
Ingredients ready to go
Getting started
Adding the crab and pasta
Bon appetit!
Getting ready for Santa
This is the beginning of some fun, fabulous, and tasty cooking for the holiday week.
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