Spiced Hot Crabmeat Appetizer

This is a peppery update on a low-country cheesy crabmeat dip. Serve it with a variety of crackers as one of your pre-Thanksgiving meal hors d'oeuvres or as a holiday party appetizer. You can prepare it ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it, and remember to serve it hot.

Ingredients
1 cup milk
4 Tbs butter
4 Tbs flour
4 Tbs Busha Browne's Spicy Hot Pepper Sherry (for a less spicy dish, substitute dry sherry for 1 or 2 Tbs of the pepper sherry)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt to taste
1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook until it starts to turn golden. Stir in the milk and continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Add the pepper sherry, half of the cheese, the crabmeat and salt to taste, and combine thoroughly. Pour into a buttered shallow glass casserole dish, and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. If baking immediately after assembling the dish, then bake for 10 to 20 minutes until heated through and the cheese topping is melted. If baking after refrigerating, the baking time will be longer. Serve hot with crackers or crostini.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: Busha Browne's Spicy Hot Pepper Sherry is currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company!