Hot Crab Dip

"Look for fresh or pasteurized crab in your seafood dept and avoid the canned shelf-stable product. Serve this dip with water crackers or toasted slices of baguette. Making ahead: Instead of a double boiler, combine the ingredients in the gratin dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook. When ready to cook, remove from the refrigerator and let warm to room temperature. Top with breadcrumbs and bake @ 350º until heated through, bubbling, and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Variation: You can skip the gratin dish, breadcrumbs, and broiling all together. SImply transfer the hot mixture from the double boiler into a chafing dish, fondue pot, or the setup in Caterer's Trick below, and serve with water crackers or toasted slices of baguette. Caterer's Trick: Chafing dishes are excellent for a crowd, but are often too large for smaller parties. Here's an alternative that works well for foods like soups, dips, and sauces. On a heatproof surface, make a pot stand out of bricks or glass bricks, arranged in an open square or triangle. Place a Sterno cup in the center and rest a heavy-duty pot on the bricks. I like the casual look of aged bricks and an enameled pot for a simple buffet. Adapted from Chef Virginia Willis' cookbook, "Bon Appetit, Y'all"."