Creole Crab Dip Recipe

This tasty and rich crab dip appetizer comes straight from executive Chef Chris Montero's kitchen who is one of the head chefs in the Ralph Brennan's Restaurant Group. He previously ran the kitchen at Café NOMA and most recently Napoleon House in New Orleans. This appetizer perfectly highlights lump crab meat - don't forget to purchase local Louisiana crab meat.

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup minced shallots
• ½ cup butter plus more for buttering bread 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream 
• ¾ cup cream cheese 
• ¼ cup Mascarpone cheese 
• 1½ cups Creole cream cheese 
• ¼ cup minced green onions 
• 2 pounds lump crabmeat, picked clean 
• 4 tablespoons goat cheese 
• sliced baguette, for serving salt and pepper 

Method of Preparation:

Melt ½ cup butter in a skillet on medium heat. Sauté shallots until soft. Add the cream and reduce by two-thirds. Reduce heat to low. Fold in cream cheese and mascarpone. Slowly add Creole cream cheese. The sauce will be thin. Cook on low until it thickens, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat; add green onions and cool.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Reheat crab dip base and gently fold in crabmeat. Scoop into 12 individual 7-ounce ramekins and top each with one teaspoon goat cheese. Broil on high until cheese is hot and slightly melted. Spread each baguette slice with remaining butter and season lightly with salt and pepper. Toast until lightly browned. Serve at once. Yields: 12 individual, 7-ounce ramekins.

Note: Regular cream cheese can be substituted for Creole cream cheese; you will need about 1/4 cup additional heavy cream because Creole cream cheese has more liquid than regular.

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