My Chesapeake Bay Crab Dip recipe is super fresh; almost as fresh as the crabs themselves. Last weekend, some friends and I decided to open up beach season early with a rental house on the Chesapeake Bay. We lucked out weather-wise and it was an amazing weekend of hot tubs, lawn games, exploring Maryland and of course, lots of good food and libations. Everyone took a meal and Marc and I did a crab-centric dinner for our offering, complete with this Chesapeake Bay Crab Dip. We had a great time finding a little crab shack where we bought lots of clams and crabs for the Chesapeake Crab Bake Party, but we also bought a pound of fresh Maryland blue crab meat that we didn’t have to clean and made my Chesapeake Bay Crab Dip. I must say, while I love most variations of crab dip, my own take on it is special- the lemon zest, sour cream and sharp cheddar take it up a notch and cut what can sometimes be too much mayo. Its got lots of oomph, for sure, and this Chesapeake Bay Crab Dip is just the first course.
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened if you plan to oven bake)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- zest of one lemon; very fine
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- cayenne to taste (I used about ½ teaspoon, but start with a dash and work up!)
- 1 small yellow onion minced very fine
- 1 pound lump crabmeat- no shells!
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese
- 3 scallions chopped for garnish
- fresh veggies and/or chips, crackers, pretzel bread, whatever you like to dip
- One of the fun parts about a rental house is you never know exactly what you're going to get in terms of kitchen supplies. This house was really well-stocked in general, but cooking without special tools always reminds me that most things can still be made very easily with just the very basics. No zester meant I honed my lemon peeling skills and worked hard mincing the zest very fine with a knife. And the gorgeous outdoor range and grill encouraged my to make this recipe on the stove top rather than in the oven. Of course you could bake it instead if you prefer.
- To get started, peel the zest off the lemon with a vegetable peeler, pairing knife, or zester. Be sure to avoid the bitter pith.
Then mince it very finely. 
- Next mince the onion very fine as well.
- Throw them both in a saucepan and set on low heat.
- Rough chop the cheddar.
- Add the cheese, sour cream, mayo, and cream cheese to the onion lemon zest mixture. Inspect the crab meat for shells. Or tell people about how finding a shell in their dip is good luck.
Add the crab to the cheese. 
- Mix well and heat until the cheddar is melted and the dip is quite hot. Season with cayenne and Old Bay.
- Garnish with chopped scallions and serve with some scooping snacks. I picked raw carrots, green beans and blue corn tortilla chips to go with my blue crab!
- If you prefer the oven, preheat to 350° F. Combine ingredients. Bake until bubbly and then mix well so the cheddar is incorporated. Then bake for an additional 5 minutes.
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