Cooking Adventure: Silver Linings Playbook's Crabby Snacks

I finally watched Silver Linings Playbook! Throughout the movie, there was just no denying how much Pat's mother (played by Jacki Weaver) loved her family and wanted the best for everyone. On several occasions, she made "crabby snacks" and "homemades." A bit of Googling revealed that crabby snacks are a type of cheesy crab canapé, while homemades are homemade pasta. While I would love to try making homemade pasta, I lack a pasta maker (or even a decent rolling pin!) so homemade pasta is out of the question right now. However, crabby snacks are surprisingly easy to make!

Silver Linings Playbook - Crabby Snacks

CRABBY SNACKS

Adapted from Slate
Yield: 48 canapés

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons (about ¼ stick) butter, softened
One 6-ounce can crabmeat, drained
One 5-ounce jar Kraft Old English cheese spread
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 English muffins, halved

Directions

1. Combine butter, crabmeat, cheese spread, mayonnaise, and garlic powder in a medium bowl and mix well.
2. Spread the crab mixture on the English muffin halves.
3. Freeze for 30 minutes.
4. Cut each English muffin half into six pieces.
5. Line toaster oven baking tray with aluminum foil.
6. Transfer the crabby snacks to the baking tray. (Depending on the size of your toaster oven, you may need to do this in batches.)
7. Broil until browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The hardest part for me was finding the Kraft's Old English cheese spread. Apparently, any other cheese product just won't do if you want authentic crabby snacks. Shown below is Kraft's Old English cheese spread (which I found at Walmart) along with the crab meat I bought from Trader Joe's.

Kraft Old English Cheese Spread

I adapted the recipe from Slate and cut down on the butter since I didn't think you'd need the extra fat due to the large amount of cheese plus mayo. After tasting these crabby snacks, I honestly think you won't miss the extra butter. They taste like a cheesy, crabby version of garlic bread. Since crabby snacks are so easy to make, give them a try and take a bite out of the movie! :)