Golden Gratinéed Shellfish

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 5 cups fresh white bread crumbs (7 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 dozen medium mussels (1 1/2 pounds), scrubbed and debearded
• 3 dozen medium littleneck clams, shucked, on the half shell, empty shells reserved
• 3 dozen medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1. Preheat the oven to 500u0b0. Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and shallot and cook over low heat until softened, 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the mustard. Add the bread crumbs and thyme, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil with the bay leaves. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat until they open, 1 to 2 minutes. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. Serve.
5. Variation Spread the steamed mussels and raw clams and shrimp in a large gratin dish. Sprinkle with the seasoned bread crumbs and bake at 500u0b0 until browned. Toss with cooked linguine, olive oil and some of the mussel liquid.

unsalted butter, garlic, shallot, mustard, fresh white bread crumbs, thyme, salt, white wine, bay leaves, mussels, littleneck clams, shrimp

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/golden-gratined-shellfish (may not work)