With the pizza, Buffalo chicken dip, and meatball sliders posted lately, you might think we were rooting for New York this weekend, but the truth is, we don’t have a dog in this hunt. Not with the Saints and the Titans out. So, we wanted to even things up a little with a New England shout-out. My sister Jennifer suggested a Hot Crab Dip, so grab a Sam Adams and dig in. 

By Jennifer Rather.

I’m always on the lookout for party foods. When you add holidays, celebrating a birthday every other month and football season together, it equals a massive need for finger food.

We have our usual standbys (hello, sausage balls), but occasionally I like to try something different, just so everyone doesn’t go into sausage overload.

In honor of the Super Bowl, and the years I spent in Boston, I decided to add Hot Crab Dip to our lineup

Continue reading: Hot Crab Dip

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

This Buffalo Chicken Dip? Pure man-bait.

Walk into a room with it, and guys will look at you like you just took your top off.

It’s just the thing to take to a Super Bowl party.

But I’ve seen ladies who wouldn’t touch a Buffalo wing attack this stuff like starving lions chasing an antelope on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.

I totally understand.

Continue reading: Buffalo Chicken Dip

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

The Year of the Dragon starts at midnight.

I’m not sure exactly sure what that means, but it sounds like things are about to get awesome.

Jeff and I intensely prepared for our Chinese New Year celebration by Googling traditions and latching on to only the fun ones.

Sweeping away last year’s bad luck? Gimme that broom.

Lighting firecrackers to scare away evil spirits? They’re in the junk drawer.

New red undies? Always good luck.

But my favorite part of the day was making a huge platter of Pork Egg Rolls for our Chinese New Year feast. Even though it took me a few practice runs to get the wrapping technique down, I’m happy to report that the butt-ugly ones tasted just as good as the pretty ones. Mad egg roll-wrapping skills are not required. Thank God.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

Now that NASA doesn’t have the space program to worry about, I hope they’ll start studying the gravitational pull of cheese balls. And dips. And little fried things.

You know, holiday party foods.

I’ve seen what passes for meatless party food on other sites, and if those were my only options, I’d stay home. I’m not shaving my legs for lettuce leaves blopped with cream cheese. Or lentil pate.

What’s wrong with Rosemary Cheese Crackers? Or Beer Bread with crunchy veggie cream cheese? Or Portobello Sliders with pesto, provolone and roasted red peppers? Why not make things that are meatless but would tempt anyone with taste buds and a stomach

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Top 30 Vegetarian Party Foods

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

A few months ago, I was invited to join nine other bloggers for the Sip, Bite & Blog conference at Kendall-Jackson Winery in Sonoma. And if you’re wondering why I was invited, you are in EXCELLENT company, because I have no idea. I actually called the winery to make sure the whole thing was legit, because everything I knew about wine-making, I learned from that grape-stomping episode of “I Love Lucy.”

Always been more of a bourbon girl.

But last week, I flew to Sonoma for a whirlwind wine education. Food and wine pairing workshops. Vineyard hikes. Winery tours. Not to mention the “pinch me” moments, like sitting at a dinner table across from Ruth Reichl, geeking out with her about Scott Peacock’s upcoming memoir

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Spinach in Puff Pastry

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

This week, I hit a mean streak of recipes that just didn’t work.

The ideas were interesting enough. But after four days of cussing over these culinary abominations, including vegan cookies made by soaking rolled oats in water (forgive me, Lord), I was ready for a home run.

This Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese takes all of five minutes, but it’s just right for this time between summer and fall, when you’re craving pot pie but still buying deodorant in bulk. It’s cold and creamy, but the flavors are pure autumn–pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg.

It’s like a pumpkin cheesecake died and came back as a dip.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

“The secret is butter, a tip I picked up in culinary school that takes this Southern staple from delicious to sublime and renders people unable to use the sense God gave a cat to stop eating.”–Virginia Willis, “Bon Appetit, Y’all”

My 6-year-old nephew Jack, the one who woke up one day announcing that he wanted to see the Great Balls of China, hates potatoes, but he loves, loves, loves deviled eggs. He’s even made them himself (with my sister’s help), which means that he’s had one over on me for a while.

I’d never made deviled eggs until last weekend

Continue reading: Virginia Willis’ Deviled Eggs

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

First, the guacamole!

In Cristina Ferrare’s “Big Bowl of Love,” she describes being on vacation in Acapulco and having “ice-cold slushy margaritas and the best guacamole (she) had ever had.” Guacamole so good that the cook refused to give up the recipe, so Ferrare had to work it out for herself.

What was the big secret

Continue reading: Holy Guacamole! A New Design!

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

When I think of collard greens, I usually picture them simmering in a huge pot of salted water with some ham hocks. You know, the sort of thing your granny might tend for a few hours in her housedress before church and serve with Sunday lunch.

Those are Sunday greens.

You don’t want to make Sunday greens for New Year’s Day. You have better things to do, like making fun New Year’s resolutions (“Visit Graceland!” “Develop a flair for profanity!” “Take up topless square-dancing!”) and NOT wearing a housedress. Ever.

But you do need some greens. On New Year’s Day, greens in your belly means green in the bank.

That’s why I’m making a big bowl of New Year’s Good Luck Dip.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

Yesterday, when the cashier at Publix scanned my black-eyed peas, she asked me why people here think that it’s lucky to eat them on New Year’s.

The story is that when Sherman’s troops came through during the Civil War, they burned or stole most of the livestock and crops, leaving the people to starve. Only one crop was left behind, the lowly black-eyed peas, which had been raised to feed livestock. Who would eat them? So, many Southerners survived by the grace of those black-eyed peas.

Now, we say, “Eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year,” because we believe that if you eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, you’ll have prosperity all year long. The more peas you eat, the richer you’ll be. Most people serve them with a mess of greens, ham and cornbread, or they make a big dish of Hoppin’ John or Texas Caviar. But this year, I’m making Southern-Fried Egg Rolls

Continue reading: Southern-Fried Egg Rolls

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.