12 Days of Christmas Recipes… Day 2 – Cherri’s Crab Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare baking dish by spraying with Pam.

In a large bowl, using a whisk, whisk the eggs, 1/4 cup milk and mayonnaise together. Add each dry ingredient one at a time, whisking together after each addition: old bay, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, baking powder, and dry parsley (everything except the bread, crab, extra milk and breadcrumbs). At this time, you will have a creamy mixture ready for the next step.

Take the bread pieces and mix thoroughly into the mayonnaise mixture by whisking it. The bread will not be recognizable at this point.

Next, be very careful and FOLD in the crab. When I say FOLD, I do not mean mash the crab into the sauce. Just lightly fold the crab in with the mayonnaise mixture. You should not think of this as "stirring" or "mixing". Be sure not to over mix. You should not disturb the lumps of crab, JUST FOLD.

Place crab mixture into baking dish. Pour the extra 1/2 cup milk over the casserole and sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top of the crab.

Cover and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the casserole is light brown and the center is no longer liquid and bubbling. For a thicker casserole, increase the cooking time with the lid on.

Test to make sure the casserole is done. It should be lightly browned on top but not be bubbly. If it's bubbly that means the liquid has not been cooked thoroughly. Think of it like a cake, it shouldn't be wet.

Remove from oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite side dishes like coleslaw. I like to eat it on a roll with chive mayonnaise and sliced tomatoes.