Crab Dip

Something that I’ve particularly grown to love is crab dip. Not scorched essence of crab flavored cream cheese versions but instead, real, chilled, chunky crab dip made with more fresh crab than cheese. The best proportion combo is to use half the amount of cream cheese as you are using crab. So, if you use half a package of cream cheese (4 oz), go for a whole cup of crab—fresh if you have the access. This ensures nuggets of pure seafood in some bites and a mixture of crab and cheese at the bare minimum. You can add a little mayo and milk to smooth everything out, but you want those hunks of crab intact—it’s always so exciting to get one! Don’t forget the salt and cayenne pepper and maybe a hint of Tabasco for a little color and kick. Find some crunchy crackers and you’ve got a meal.

Créme de Kiawah

Just a ways from Charleston, there is a small, sweet island called Kiawah. Vacationers and year-rounders alike go to take in the gorgeous beaches and swim in the warm, refreshing ocean. After a day of sunshine, we saddled up to the bar at Rosebank Farms Café. Wanting to stay light on our feet, we split a crab cake, which came atop a white corn patty and collard greens. Spicy red pepper jelly dotted around the plate made for an ideal accent in which to dip each bite. We are avid crab cake eaters and were especially so on this weekend, but this one was surely a highlight.

Thereafter, it was onto an almost too buttery-it-was-so-fresh piece of tuna splashed with sweet barbecue sauce and topped with fried onions. Drunken butterbeans and rice were afterthoughts to the fish. The taste and texture of the tuna led us to believe that we weren’t the only ones who had been swimming in the ocean that day.