Deviled Crab

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced green pepper
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dash Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound fresh or pasteurized crabmeat, either select or one of the lump grades, carefully picked over to remove all bits of shell
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Parsley sprigs
Lemon wedges

Directions:

Put the mayonnaise in a bowl and whisk in the vegetables and seasonings. Go very easy on the salt and pepper. Cover bowl and put aside for 15 minutes or so for the flavors to marry. Correct seasoning. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Refrigerate if you are doing this in advance. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small skillet and add the bread crumbs. Cook over low heat until just golden, adding a little more butter if it seems too dry. Scrape into a bowl and cool.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange natural or ceramic crab or scallop shells or ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide crab mixture among containers, mounding it a bit in the center so that it looks generous. Sprinkle the crumbs over the crab mixture. Grate a small amount of Parmesan cheese on each serving.  (Hint: Do the prep work on a cookie sheet or other surface then transfer the ramekins to a clean baking sheet.  Don’t overfill the ramekins – they will run over!)  Bake on the top rack of the oven until bubbly and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges.