Superbowl: Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

I was pretty much sold when I heard the words "Crab" and "Dip" together - those are two of my favorite things. Piquillo? Yeah I had to look that up. I also looked up substitutions for it when the puzzled Whole Foods worker couldn't tell me where to find it. Per the suggestion of the web browser on my iPhone, I bought jarred red peppers.

This was also probably my least favorite dish - it wasn't blah but I think we took some shortcuts in order to simplify the recipe and also to cup back on some costs (lump crab costs like 15 bucks for a tiny little container... fail). I think this would have been amazing had I used the Piquillo and actual crab. I served this with the pita chips I posted below.

Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

Ingredients:

1 lb of lump crab meat, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup shredded Manchego Cheese (about 1 cup)
One 9-oz jar piquillo peppers, drained and cut into strips

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. In a bowl, combine the crab, mayonnaise, crème fraîche, parsley, chives, mustard, lemon juice and 3/4 cup of the Manchego. Spread in an 8-by-11-inch baking dish. Top with the piquillos and sprinkle with the remaining Manchego. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the dip is heated through. Serve hot.