Crab mold dip makes wonderful appetizer

"Cooking with Sarah" will run weekly. The column features recipes from readers.

This week's recipe was submitted by Stu Langs from Menlo Park, Calif.

Here is a wonderful crab mold or dip recipe. Stu uses a mold and places crackers around the outside of the dish with the crab in the middle.

This makes a wonderful presentation.

Ingredients

1 package of gelatin unflavored

1 cup mayonnaise

1 package cream cheese

1 can mushroom soup

5 or 6 stalks celery (shredded or chopped)

1 medium sized onion (shredded or chopped)

1 to 1 1/2 of shredded imitation crab or little shrimp.

2 metal bowls to pour the mixture in to make a mold.

Gently warm (100 degrees) the cream cheese, mayonnaise and soup in a large sauce pan. The pan should be large enough to hold all of the mixture.

Add the packet gelatin to three tablespoons of cool water, mix. Add this to the warmed soup mixture. Mix this together until gelatin is well distributed throughout the soup mixture as this makes the primary base for the mold.

Add chopped celery, onion and imitation crab (or shrimp) to mixture, and using your hands, thoroughly mix all ingredients together until all is coated with the soup mixture.

Pour into molds. Let this set overnight in refrigerator. To take the dip out of the mold, turn upside down and run warm to hot water over the metal bowl. I find it helps to gently run a knife around the edge of the bowl prior to using the warm water.

Serve with wheat crackers.

If you have a recipe, contact Sarah at 267-5521 or send an e-mail to sthomas@cdapress.com.