Crab Dip Gratin - cooking recipe

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

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0.
Feel through the crab meat to make sure there aren't any remaining bits of shell still attached.
Melt the butter in a 2 quart, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the shallots, cayenne and pepper and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant - only about 30 seconds.
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.
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.
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.
Stir in the crab meat, half and half, and Tabasco, mixing to combine the ingredients well.
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.
Bake at 350\u00b0 for 30 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve with crackers or toast rounds.