Cheesy Goodness at Its Best

On the National Day front, we had a lot to choose from today. Let’s start with my personal favorite, National Get Over It Day. And yeah, just like the name implies, it’s a day set aside for everyone to “just get over it already.” What? Get over it? Yeah!

Realize that life goes on and most of what we whine about isn’t all that important in the grander scheme of things anyway. Like I tell my husband every time we are stuck in traffic, like it or not, you can’t drive for everyone, so get over it.

This is the day to say so long to all the “what ifs” and “if only” that may have stood in our way. What if something were to go wrong? Yeah, but what if it doesn’t? If only we could have, but we couldn’t so where do we go from here? Maybe that would be a good thing to give up for Lent – all those things we struggle to “get over” that don’t really matter. Sometimes the things we struggle with really do matter, but sometimes they don’t. Good advice, but don’t really have a recipe for “get over it”, so moving on . . .

Did you know that on this day in 1959 Barbara Millicent Roberts burst onto the fashion scene? If the name of this iconic figure isn’t familiar, try her more common handle – Barbie. Yep, this is the official birthday of Barbie. If you ask me, she’s looking pretty good for her age. Wonder if she’s had any plastic work . . .

Okay bad joke! One thing is certain, with her figure, you can bet Barbie doesn’t eat much, so what else have we got?

Yesterday, while most Americans were sleeping, some unforeseen force stole an hour from the morning and slapped it somewhere in the evening. They call this Daylight Savings. So when the alarm clock screamed it was time to get up, our bodies said I don’t think so. As a way to cope with the change, today is National Napping Day, when people across the country are falling asleep in the middle of the day.

Hey, I’m retired. I don’t need an excuse to take a nap. So enough of that.

It’s also National Meatball Day. Now we’re talking. Meatballs – who doesn’t love meatballs?

Better yet, it’s also National Crabmeat Day. Hey, Crab Meatballs – yeah, that’s the ticket. Or is it? Okay, forget the “balls” and let’s go for the dip instead. Finally, something to get excited about!

Crabmeat Dip Au Gratin
1/2 cup White Onion
1 Celery Rib
1/4 cup Green Onion
1 cup Gruyere Cheese, divided
1/2 cup Butter
3 teaspoons Flour
1 (5 oz) can Evaporated Milk
1 Egg Yolk
8 oz. Crab-Claw Meat
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Paprika as needed

Peel and finely dice the onion, set aside. Rinse celery, finely dice and set aside. Trim root ends from the green onions, snip the green ends, slice the white parts and set aside. Finely grate the cheese, reserving 1/4 cup.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir until combined and lightly browned, creating a thin roux.

Add the onion and celery to the mixture and cook on low-medium heat until the vegetables are tender. While the vegetables sauté, separate the egg. Reserve white for another use or discard, beat the yolk until pale-yellow.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the evaporated milk, egg yolk, and 3/4 cup of cheese. Season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir the mixture continuously until the cheese has melted.

Gently stir in the crab meat and cook on low heat for 5 minutes to heat through.
Heat the oven broiler to High.

Scoop the mixture into a small oven-safe baking dish and top with reserved cheese, green onion and paprika.

Place the baking dish onto a cookie sheet and place under broiler for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and started to turn brown and bubbly.

Remove from oven and place in the center of a round serving platter. Surround the ramekin with crackers. A butter knife makes the dip easy to serve.