appetizers Archives - OLD LINE PLATE

a slice of zucchini hors d'oruvres on a plate

William Earl Travers was just one on a list of names printed in the Evening Sun on June 20, 1945. Two killed; 18 wounded; 2 missing.

21-year-old Travers was one of the missing. Just two years earlier, the Wilmington Delaware News-Journal had reported on his engagement to Naomi Louise Roe. “The couple will live in Denton,” read the announcement.

“I felt I was fortunate to lose only one” son, Nellie Travers told the Eastern Star-Democrat in 1995. The lifelong farmer had sent four sons to World War II. While she was glad to have three of them return, the loss of William stayed with her through the years. And so, fifty years later, at age 93, Nellie Travers told the Star-Democrat she still felt the pain of William’s death. She also felt pride that her sons had served.

Open just about any Maryland community cookbook from the 1980s, and you’re likely to find a recipe for Crab Meltaways. They’re easy, tasty, and great for company.

Most recipes call for “Kraft Old English Cheese Spread,” a product that, as far as I can tell, debuted in the 1930s. It is likely that the recipe for Crab Meltaways (also known as “Crabbies”) was developed by Kraft in the 1960s, but there are other variations without the product. John Shields included a recipe from Susan Corsaro in his 1992 “Chesapeake Bay Crab Cookbook,” using cheddar cheese, fresh garlic, and parsley.

The ingredients are gently mixed, piled atop split English muffins (often cut into wedges), and frozen. From the frozen state, they broil into a bubbly melted pile of deliciousness.

One of my recipes suggests canned crabmeat because these don’t really necessitate the good stuff.

Jukie Todd from Crisfield didn’t have that concern. A lifetime employee of her family’s MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company, she surely had plenty of crab to work with. Her recipe was included in the Women’s Ministries Faith Fellowship Church’s 1989 cookbook, unfortunately named “Plantation Favorites.” Todd had died in 1986, so the recipe must have been shared by friend or family.

Tag: appetizers

Zucchini Hors D’oeuvres, Nellie Travers

Crab Meltaways, Juliana “Jukie” Todd

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