Blue Crab Gratin

by 

From The Grill Room's Chef de Cuisine Daniel Causgrove
Read more about the Spirited Dinners, for which Chef Causgrove created a menu, here

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 quart heavy cream 
3 large shallots 
3 cloves garlic 
1 cup sherry 
18 stalks asparagus 
5 red radishes 
½ cup white wine vinegar 
1 pound jumbo lump blue crab 
6 teaspoons Paddlefish caviar 
1 ounce Manchego cheese, grated 
3 cloves black garlic 
6 slices Manchego cheese (sliced across the diameter of the wheel) 

Method:

For the sherry cream:
  1. Slice shallots and garlic. Place in medium saucepan with oil over medium-high heat and gently sauté shallots and garlic until translucent. Add sherry and reduce to medium heat until sherry is nearly evaporated and mixture is syrupy. 
  2. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover. Allow to steep at room temperature for 30 minutes. Strain and cool completely. 

For the garnish:

  1. Remove the stem from the asparagus to make 1 inch spears. Reserve the stems for another use. Remove the stem and root end of the radishes. Cut each radish into four pieces. In a small sauté pan combine radishes and vinegar; cook over medium high heat until vinegar is nearly evaporated. 
  2. Add ½ cup of water to the pan and repeat process. When the water is nearly gone, taste a piece of radish. It should be tender. If not, add more water and continue to cook until tender. Peel the black garlic and slice each clove into three slivers. 
To finish:
  1. Pick crab over to remove shells. Bring 16 ounces of the cream to a boil in a medium pot. Add crab, caviar, and grated Manchego. Stir thoroughly. Continue to cook until the mixture is shiny and has large bubbles. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
  2. Divide mixture into six small wide-rimmed bowls. Top each with three asparagus tips, three braised radishes and three slivers of black garlic. Lay a slice of Manchego over the mixture. Using a blowtorch, brown each until the cheese is translucent and golden brown. Serve.