Spicy Pepper Sauce

For Senior Food Editor Lisa Cericola's family, seafood is a holiday must-have. "Every holiday spread needs a grand centerpiece. Usually it takes the form of a massive roast or a shiny glazed ham," she writes. "At my house, though, it's crab cakes that bring everyone to the table." But once you manage to wrangle the whole family around the table, everyone has their own way of building a plate—that's why it's important to have options that will suit every palate. Cericola's Christmas Crab Cakes come with not one, not two, but three sauce options, because there's a sauce for every party personality.

There are the hosts who garnish everything with fresh herbs and caviar—they'll love our Herbed Crème Fraiche. There's the bunch that hangs out by the bar and requests extra olives in their martini—our Creamy Dijonnaise is for them. And there's the type that's dancing all night long—those party-goers will swoon over our Spicy Pepper Sauce. Made with a base of roasted red peppers, this fiery red dipping sauce gets spiked with lemon juice, garlic, and hot sauce. It delivers just enough spice, careful not to overwhelm the delicate flavor of the crab. Make all three sauces or stay true to just one: either way, these Christmas Crab Cakes are guaranteed to be a hit.