Baked Crab, Brie And Artichoke Dip

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and lightly oil an 11-inch gratin or other shallow baking dish (about 6 cups).

Trim and finely chop leek. In a large bowl of water, wash leek well and lift from water into a large sieve to drain. Finely chop onion. Rinse and finely chop artichoke hearts. Squeeze dry and finely chop spinach. Discard rind from Brie and cut into 1/4-inch pieces.

In a heavy skillet, cook leek, onion and garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring until pale golden. Next, stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. Add wine and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Add cream and simmer, stirring, for 1 minute. Add Brie, stirring until it just begins to melt. Remove skillet from heat and stir herbs into mixture.

Pick over crab meat. In a large bowl, stir together crab meat, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cheese mixture.

Spread mixture evenly in baking dish and bake in middle of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve dip hot with toasts.