Crab Dip Gratin

This is a very rich crab dip which goes over well at cocktail parties. I like to serve it with a nice mild cracker, such as a Bremner Wafer, but it also goes well with small garlic toast rounds, or toast points if you want to go old school. I use either Noilly Prat or Dolin vermouth for the vermouth in this recipe. If you don't want to use vermouth you could just use a dry white wine instead. Do not use the "whipped" or "soft" type of cream cheese which comes in tubs. You need the real cream cheese which comes in a brick for this recipe. Also, please use best quality parmesan here, not the stuff in the green shaker can. This recipe can be doubled or even tripled.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1⁄2 cup shallot, finely minced
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1  garlic clove, pureed
• 2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1  cup dry vermouth
• 1  lb cream cheese
• 1  cup  grated gruyere cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  grated parmesan cheese
• 1  lb  claw  crabmeat
• 1⁄4 cup half-and-half
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 2  tablespoons chives, minced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Feel through the crab meat to make sure there aren't any remaining bits of shell still attached.
3. Melt the butter in a 2 quart, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the shallots, cayenne and pepper and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant - only about 30 seconds.
4. Pour the dry vermouth and the lemon juice into the pan, and raise the heat to medium-high, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
5. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cut the cream cheese into large chunks (about 2 tablespoons each), and stir them into the pan, stirring well to make sure the cheese melts and is well combined with the other ingredients.
6. Once all the cream cheese is melted, add the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. Stir well until they are melted and combined with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Stir in the crab meat, half and half, and Tabasco, mixing to combine the ingredients well.
8. Taste the dip - the cheeses add a fair amount of salt, so I don't usually add any more. But if you like you could add some salt at this point.
9. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve with crackers or toast rounds.