Give me crab, give me grits, and give me cheese. Give me them all together and you have today’s recipe, which makes for a perfect appetizer for your home cooked Valentine’s Day dinner. It seems upscale with the crab, but it is down home style cooking with the addition of grits. This recipe takes over an hour, but you can prep the grits the day before and fold in the crab, then bake when ready to serve.
16 ounces crab meat (mixture of lump blue and claw)
2 cups chicken stock
1 Cup with stone-ground grits
4 TBSP butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Salt and Pepper
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBSP Old Bay Seasoning
2 TBSP Tabasco Sauce
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
Preheat oven to 350
For grits:
In a nonstick pot, combine chicken broth and grits
Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly
Turn to medium-low heat and stir in butter
Reduce liquid by half
Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and seasonings
Add heavy cream in three to four additions, stirring occasionally
When liquid is reduced, stir in salt and pepper to taste and tabasco
(Should take about 35 -45 minutes)
For dip:
Place grits in bowl and fold in crabmeat
Stir in half of the cheese
Place in an oven-safe baking dish and sprinkle with remainder of cheese
Bake for 45 minutes
Serve with your favorite crackers and veggies of choice

- 16 ounces crab meat (mixture of lump blue and claw)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 Cup with stone-ground grits
- 4 TBSP butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- Salt and Pepper
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 TBSP Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 TBSP Tabasco Sauce
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a nonstick pot, combine chicken broth and grits
- Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly
- Turn to medium-low heat and stir in butter
- Reduce liquid by half
- Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and seasonings
- Add heavy cream in three to four additions, stirring occasionally
- When liquid is reduced, stir in salt and pepper to taste and tabasco
- (Should take about 35-45 minutes)
- Place grits in bowl and fold in crabmeat
- Fold in half of cheese
- Place in an oven-safe baking dish and sprinkle with remainder of cheese
- Bake for 45 minutes
- Remove from oven
- Serve with your favorite crackers and veggies of choice
Stay hungry…