You will never Never NEVER believe what I got!!!!!!

[kwormann]

We went to Palace Cafe in New Orleans as suggested to have a slice of Crabmeat Cheesecake, and the bartender GAVE ME THE RECIPE!!!!!!!!!

It is INCREDIBLE! Hmmmmm...what do you think I should do with this power????

Beth, Denyce, maybe I should work it into a supper club menu.......

[Julia1Pin]

That sounds sooo nasty. Can you please elaborate on what that is?

[jd]

And the recipe came from a bartender??!! More details please!

[Beth]

Sounds like a plan, but not for August (not letting you off the Tiramisu hook)! :D I've only had dessert cheesecakes and guess I'm overdue to expand my horizons. How much do we have to lighten it in the meantime?

[Peggy]

Kim,

I would love to hear more about this. What does it look and taste like? Is it similar to a quiche or really like a cheesecake?? Please elaborate, even if you aren't ready to share the recipe with us. You have ignited my curiosity!

Peggy

[SandyM]

Kim,

I cannot believe no one has volunteered to pay you cash for the recipe, so please, let me be the first:

NAME YOUR PRICE!!!!!!

[masimmons]

kwormann - isn't this stuff to die for? and we all would if we ate too much of it (ha ha). I hate to burst your bubble, but that recipe is on the Palace Cafe's web site, along with some other recipes for dishes they serve. The web site address is: http://www.palacecafe.com/rec.html

It was very nice of the bartender to share anyway. How did he/she know you had a computer and access to the Internet anyway.

Enjoy!

[kwormann]

He didnt act like it was a big deal to share. He went to the kitchen and got it already typed out!

I suppose it is "quiche" like. It has a pecan crust and mushroom sauce.

Thanks you, Masimmons, you saved me from typing it out!

Crabmeat Cheesecake with Pecan Crust Pecan Crust:
Ingredients:

Yields 1 9" tart

1 C Pecans
1 C Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
5 Tbs. Butter, cold
3 Tbs. Ice water


Filling:

1 small onion, finely diced
4 oz. Crabmeat, shell removed
8 oz. Cream cheese, room tempature
1/3 C Creole cream cheese *
2 Eggs
Salt and white pepper hot sauce
*or substitute equal parts plain yogurt and sour cream
Garnish:

1 oz. Hot sauce
2 Tbs. Chopped shallots
4 oz. Sliced mixed wild mushrooms
1 Tbl. Lemon juice
3 oz. Worcestershire sauce
3 oz. Heavy whipping cream
3 Tbs. Soft unsalted butter
24 Crab claw fingers
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparing the Pecan Crust:
Grind the pecans, flour and salt in the food processor until fine. Transfer to a bowl. Add butter. Work the butter into the flour until you have crumbs about the size of a pea. Toss in the ice water, lifting the dough up with your fingers to evenly incorporate. The dough will remain fairly crumbly. Starting with the sides and then the bottom, press the dough into the tart pan. Bake with the sides and then the bottom, press the dough into the tart pan. Bake the crust in a 350° oven for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling.

Preparing the Filling:
Cook the onion in a bit of butter over medium heat until translucent. Add the crabmeat and cook until just heated through. Set this aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, or by hand using a wooden spoon, blend the cream cheese until smooth. Add the Creole cream cheese and then the eggs one at a time. Fold in the crabmeat mixture. Season to your liking with salt, white pepper and hot sauce. Pour the mix into the prepared crust. Bake at 300° for about 30 minutes until set and firm to the touch.

Preparing the Garnish Topping:
Sauté shallots until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until sweated. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire and hot sauce and reduce by 1. Add heavy cream and reduce by 1. Whisk in unsalted butter. In a separate saute pan, add crab claw fingers. Salt and pepper to taste and pour reduction over. Each slice of cheesecake gets three crab claws and two Tbs. sauce.



It was incredible!

[JennieL]

Kim,

It sounds fabulous. I'm glad the fat content isn't posted!

[Peggy]

Kim - Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to try it!!

Peggy

[Wendy w]

Thanks Kim! I'm drooling all over the place. :p :p :p :p

[SandyM]

Yay! Thanks Kim and everyone! I can't wait to try it!!

And Wendy - love your quote!! You found a great one!!! :D

[Wendy w]

Thanks Sandy! Your new one inspired me to start looking. Stay tuned for more as I have started a collection including Dorothy Parker.

[Julia1Pin]

It sounds amazing! Should we even try to lighten it? Will it take away from the dish. The only things I could think of were:

Filling:

1 small onion, finely diced
4 oz. Crabmeat, shell removed
8 oz. light/fat free Cream cheese, room tempature
1/3 C Creole cream cheese *
2 Eggs
Salt and white pepper hot sauce
*or substitute equal parts
fat free plain yogurt and fat free sour cream

[mb]

i saw emeril make something similar a while ago on the food network...i think it was a lobster cheesecake. at first, i agreed with julia - it sounded pretty gross. but then i watched how he made it and thought it might be good. i never heard of anything like that before. sounds like the crabmeat cheesecake is to die for too...

[andrea]

leave it to new orleans! my new favorite place is jacque mo's on maple street (near tulane). they have a savory cheesecake, too... it's alligator & crawfish cheesecake. YUM!!!

[Lynn B]

...does this sound incredible! THANK YOU for sharing!

But please forgive me if this is a really stupid question :) -- but WHAT is "Creole cream cheese"?!

THANKS!

Lynn

[kwormann]

Originally posted by Lynn B
...does this sound incredible! THANK YOU for sharing!

But please forgive me if this is a really stupid question :) -- but WHAT is "Creole cream cheese"?!

THANKS!

Lynn

I have NO clue!!! All I can tell you is the cheesecake was wonderful, but the SAUCE stole the show!

[AvrilH]

My dh was in NO last February, and also had that cheesecake and brought home the recipe. It then became our Valentine's dinner. It is fabulous!

As for lightening, I suggest that you NOT use all of the crust. THe crust my dh made was VERY thick. As it is full of nuts, go for a thinner crust!

ANother tip: the sauce can thicken too much if you aren't careful with the heat.

THe Palace Cafe also makes an extraordinary white chocolate bread pudding - that recipe is on their web site.

[kwormann]

They tried to talk us into the bread pudding, but we passed this time!

I also wanted to say the restaurant itself is one of the prettiest Ive been in. It was all dark oak and rod iron. All the staff wore tuxedos, but they had no trouble with us being there in shorts (ah, the beauty of New ORleans!)

[KellyD]

There is a Bon Appetit wild mushroom and crab cheesecake that I have made several times for cocktail parties - and it is also fabulous. (But if you make it - add lots of cayenne and tabasco!!) I have always lightened it up by using light and nonfat cream cheese - and with all the other stuff, you don't even notice the difference. I also know from reviews on the Epicurious site that many people prefer it crustless - so I'm sure this one could be lightened up by eliminating the crust. But then again, this may be one of those times when you just say what the heck...