Hot crab dip

Combine room-temperature cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.

Add a little ketchup, grated lemon zest and lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic (optional), two teaspoons Old Bay, paprika, black pepper, salt, a few splashes of hot sauce and a few shakes of cayenne.

Add grated white cheddar and mix with a spatula until evenly combined, before the crab goes in so the crab keeps identifiable pieces.

Add sliced green onions and the crab meat and mix gently but evenly; the onions go in late because crushing them makes their flavour harsher.

Transfer to a baking dish (or two or three smaller dishes or ramekins, baked one at a time); leave the surface rough, not smoothed.

Top with a little more grated cheddar and a generous dusting of cayenne (or paprika for less heat).

Bake in the center of a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until hot and the cheese starts to colour.

Rest about 10 minutes before serving; it is soupy straight from the oven.

Garnish with more cayenne and sliced green onions; serve with bread, thick potato chips or crackers.

Variation: mix half the crab into the dip and poke the other half into the top.