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1
Preheat the oven to 350u00b0.
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2
Feel through the crab meat to make sure there aren't any remaining bits of shell still attached.
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3
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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7
Stir in the crab meat, half and half, and Tabasco, mixing to combine the ingredients well.
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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.
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9
Bake at 350u00b0 for 30 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve with crackers or toast rounds.
