Good news – It’s Champagne Thursday!
A day we have observed and revered since circa 2006 and Failure to Launch was released. (Okay, probably more like 2008, when the movie was out on cable and we realized the genius in that line spoken by Zooey Deschanel.)
When we first started our own “CT”, as we call it, I was working full time and our kids were crazy busy (not crazily busy but crazy AND busy) teens. At the time we saw CT as a way to carve out a date night without actually leaving the house. My husband and I would sit on the couch, nibble on snacks or appetizers and catch up on the week as we shared a bottle of champagne. It became a ritual that we both really looked forward to every week. Even the kids became okay with the fact that they had to fend for themselves that night, it caught on with our extended family and friends and even our (now-adult) kids have their own CTs!
A basic tenet of Champagne Thursday is not worrying about cooking a full meal so you can concentrate on the people with whom you are sharing the evening. Sometimes I get fancy and make something time consuming like lobster mac and cheese. Other times it’s carry out or something simple like cheese and crackers or sometimes it’s a recipe like this. One that I try to keep on hand specifically for those CTs when I don’t feel like cooking.
My mom used to make a version of these that has been around forever – you can find it all over the internet (or go old school and check out a Junior League or church cookbook). The ingredients include pasteurized cheese spread and canned crab meat. And it’s yummy. And easy. Mom almost always had a batch in the freezer for impromptu parties or cocktail hours.
When our kids were little, I followed in her footsteps and made her recipe frequently. But recently it occurred to me that I could probably make them using fresh crab meat from the seafood counter and some good cheese from the deli department. I did just that, adding a few other ingredients as well, because goodness knows I can’t leave well enough alone.
So throw some of these together the next time you have a few minutes. Then toss them in your freezer for the next time you celebrate your own Champagne Thursday, have last minute guests drop by for drinks or even host a real party. Cheers!
Cheesy Crab Appetizers
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt whole milk
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 8 ounces shredded cheese *see note
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 8 ounces crab meat
- 6 English muffins split
Instructions
- Place the butter, yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, cream cheese, shredded cheese, garlic salt, red pepper flakes and wine in the bowl of a food processor.
- Process until smooth and creamy, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the cheese mixture into a mixing bowl and gently stir in the crab meat.
- Place the English muffins on a baking sheet. Spread the cheese and crab mixture evenly on the cut side of the muffins, spreading all the way to the edges.
- Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
- Cut each English muffin into four quarters and store in an airtight container until ready to cook, up to 3 months.
- When ready to cook, preheat your broiler and place the crab appetizers on a baking sheet. Broil until golden brown and bubbly, about 5 minutes.