1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 small Vidalia onion, finely diced
1 cup milk
1 cup half & half
1 (10 oz.) can cream of celery soup
1 (10 oz.) can cream of asparagus soup
2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. fresh chopped dill
2 tbsp. (or more, depending on you spice liking)
1 cup chicken broth (fresh if possible)
1/4 tsp. celery seed
salt and pepper, to taste (use freshly ground pepper)
3 tbsp. cream sherry

Heat butter in medium stock pot and add onion until softened. When onion is softened, add milk and half & half and stir until warm (do not scorch milk; blend). Remove pot from heat. Add all other ingredients except crab and sherry.

Important!! Place mixture back on heat and bring to a simmering boil, then immediately remove from heat. Let mixture rest for about 20 minutes or until you can touch side of pot and not burn yourself.

Once you are at this stage of the recipe, add the sherry and reheat for about 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes again remove from heat and add crab meat.

DO NOT STIR THE CRAB MEAT ROUGHLY!! You do not want to break up the lumps. I recommend reserving some of the crab meat and placing it on top of the dish when serving.

Note: If you reheat this soup, reheat in small portions and again, do not stir roughly.

Submitted by: Chef Cowboy Randy Reincke, Fallston MD