Make Ahead

My Mom's Hot Shrimp Dip

by:
January 15, 2011
4.7
3 Ratings
  • Makes About 3 cups; can be multiplied
Author Notes

This is one of those dishes that has been in the family for so long that my mother thinks she made it up. My parents used to entertain a lot, and every year we had a big gathering on Christmas day. (We're Jewish so we called it the Jingle Bells party.) This year, for the first time in many years, my siblings and I all made it back to New Orleans for Christmas, so we reprised the Jingle Bells party, complete with Aunt Julie's meatballs (http://www.food52.com/recipes...), my mother's egg salad sandwiches on white bread, and her shrimp dip. I'm not a fan of the egg salad, but this dip is really great--and of course you can adjust the seasoning to your taste.

How to prepare the shrimp is entirely up to you. We boil our shrimp in Zatarain's Crab boil--it comes in seasoning pouches and in liquid--you can add a tablespoon or two to the water in which you cook the shrimp. —drbabs

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Ingredients
  • 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature (and my mother advises you not to use low-fat)
  • 1/2 stick butter, room temperature (OK she uses margarine but that's just gross)
  • 2 cups cooked shrimp (see headnote--we use Zatarain's crab boil), peeled, deveined and cut into small pieces
  • 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
  • juice and zest of 1/2-1 lemon, depending on your taste
  • 1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1-12 dashes Tabasco (depending on how hot you like it)
  • salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Mix cream cheese and butter till well blended. Stir in shrimp, scallions, Worcestershire sauce. Add Tabasco a little at a time and taste till it is as hot as you like. Add salt and fresh-ground black pepper if needed. Stir till blended.
  2. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, and serve warm with crackers or toasted slices of French bread.

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14 Reviews

healthierkitchen January 18, 2011
Sounds delicious - glad your family was able to gather together!
drbabs January 18, 2011
Thanks so much--me, too!
dymnyno January 18, 2011
Sounds like a great tradition!
drbabs January 18, 2011
It is--it started when I was a baby--and continued until Hurricane Katrina. We really had fun all getting together this year.
littleclove January 18, 2011
I'm a big fan of family recipes, too. LOVE it. Thanks for this!
drbabs January 18, 2011
Thank you for noticing it! Enjoy!
lastnightsdinner January 17, 2011
Dips are such a family thing aren't they? This sounds great.
drbabs January 17, 2011
Thanks--yes, i think dips are all part of our collective unconscious.
Sagegreen January 17, 2011
A great family recipe!
drbabs January 17, 2011
Thanks, sagegreen!
Midge January 17, 2011
This sounds so tasty drbabs.
drbabs January 17, 2011
Thanks, Midge! We make a double recipe and it gets devoured.
Lizthechef January 15, 2011
Looks yummy - LOVE family recipes and cooking/eating traditions!
drbabs January 15, 2011
Me, too-thanks!