Golden Gratinéed Shellfish

Ingredients

• 2  bay leaves 
• 7 ounces bread crumbs fresh white
• 1.5 tablespoons dijon mustard 
• 0.5 cup cooking wine dry white
• 4  garlic cloves minced
• 36  littleneck clams 
• 1.5 pounds mussels scrubbed
• 8 servings salt and pepper freshly ground
• 1 large shallots minced
• 36  shrimp shelled deveined
• 1.5 tablespoons thyme leaves chopped
• 7 tablespoons butter unsalted

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• sauce pan
• oven

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 50
2. Melt the butter in a medium skillet.
3. Add the garlic and shallot and cook over low heat until softened, 5 minutes.
4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the mustard.
5. Add the bread crumbs and thyme, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
6. In a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil with the bay leaves.
7. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat until they open, 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Transfer to a bowl; strain the cooking liquid into a cup and add a pinch of salt. Set the mussels on the half shell on a baking sheet; discard the empty mussel shells.
9. Set the clams on the half shell on a baking sheet. Put a shrimp in each of the empty clam shells and arrange on a baking sheet. Spoon teaspoon of the mussel liquid over each mussel, clam and shrimp to moisten them. Mound 2 teaspoons of the bread crumbs on the seafood in each shell.
10. Position 2 sheets of shellfish on a rack in the upper third of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until browned. Repeat with the third sheet.
11. Serve.
12. Variation
13. Spread the steamed mussels and raw clams and shrimp in a large gratin dish.
14. Sprinkle with the seasoned bread crumbs and bake at 500 until browned. Toss with cooked linguine, olive oil and some of the mussel liquid.