Sensational Crabmeat Fondue

The library reading. The Live Oak Public Library. The Dorothy Henderson Collection unveiling. And baby, I need you to understand something: I walked into a library with my name on a shelf and I nearly turned around and walked out because who am I to have my name in a library? Libraries are for important people. Writers and historians and scholars. I am a lunch lady who types with one finger.

But Kayla was behind me and Denise was beside me and they pushed me forward — not literally, but with the Henderson force field that says "you are going in there and you are not running away" — and I walked into the reading room and there were sixty people in folding chairs. Sixty. The room held forty. They brought extra chairs. People were standing along the walls. A woman in the front row was holding my book to her chest like it was a Bible, and I thought: these people came for me. For my food. For my story. For the shrimp and grits and the cast iron skillet and Pearl and Mama and Earl and the children at Hodge. They came.

The collection placard was beautiful: "The Dorothy Henderson Collection: Gullah-Geechee Food Heritage." Below it, a shelf with my book and fifteen other books about Lowcountry food, Black food history, Southern food traditions. My book was in the center. I put it there. No one stopped me.

I read the peach cobbler chapter. The Gladys chapter. The room laughed. A man in the back said, "Whose cobbler is better?" I said, "Mine. Next question." Sixty people laughed. That's the correct response to a sixty-seven-year-old woman who does not waver on cobbler.

The food was a hit. Shrimp and grits cups, cornbread squares, Pearl hot sauce on the side. The library smelled like Savannah. The librarian said, "We've never had food at a reading before." I said, "You've never had me at a reading before." She smiled. She's going to invite me back. I can tell.

Now go on and feed somebody.

The shrimp and grits cups went fast — faster than I expected, even for sixty people crammed into a room meant for forty — and standing there watching folks reach past each other to get the last spoonfuls, I thought: next time, I need something warm and shareable that stretches a little further and still carries that same richness the room deserves. This Sensational Crabmeat Fondue is exactly that. It’s the kind of dish you set in the center of a table and let people gather around, which is really just another way of saying it brings a room together — and after that night, I know there is going to be a next time.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
2 cans (6 oz each) lump crabmeat, drained and picked over
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste
Baguette slices, crackers, or crusty bread for serving

Instructions

Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a small baking dish or fondue pot.
Mix the base. In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise until smooth and well combined.
Season. Stir in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay, and hot sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.
Fold in crab. Gently fold in the crabmeat and half the green onions, being careful not to break up the lump pieces too much.
Top and bake. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, scatter the shredded cheddar evenly over the top, and bake for 18—22 minutes until bubbling around the edges and golden on top.
Garnish and serve. Remove from the oven, scatter the remaining green onions over the top, and serve hot with baguette slices or crackers alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sensational Crabmeat Fondue — What I’d Bring to the Next Library Reading