Years ago, when I was single and in the beginnings of when The Husband and I first started dating, a girlfriend and I used to meet at Red Lobster once a month for a regular chowdown and chatfest back when they had their All You Can Eat Crab Leg deal. We’d arrive at 6:30 and stake out a corner booth with our favorite two waiters. Over the course of several hours and a few cocktails, we would pound away at an embarrassing amount of crab legs and girl talk, and it was a highlight for both of us. Sometimes we’d forget and be brave and order a salad, an appetizer and some of their famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits … and then realize what we’d done when right about the fourth hour we started slowing down and just couldn’t eat any more. Then Red Lobster stopped their all-you-can-eat special and it just wasn’t the same.
Although we sometimes ordered Red Lobster’s appetizers, their Cheddar Bay Crab Bake wasn’t one that we had tried. So while the recipe below is supposed to be a copy-kat version of Red Lobster’s original, I can’t compare the two. What I can tell you is that this is one of those quiet recipes that sneak up on you. The Husband and Nick were out for the evening at a cub scouts event, so Madeline and I hung out in the kitchen, just having a picnic of sorts instead of a more formal sit-down dinner. I figured this would be a good recipe to try when the boys were out since I knew Nick wouldn’t touch it and I didn’t think it would do anything for The Husband, let alone fill him up….