Sunday, January 4, 2015

The Best of Several Worlds: New Orleans Savory Crabmeat Cheesecake

This past New Year’s Eve, when I was invited to a Mardi Gras themed New Year’s Eve party, my first instinct was to bring my go-to party dish – Dede Wilson’s fabulous savory smoked salmon cheesecake. Yes, a savory cheesecake. Most people are skeptical at first, but once they taste it, they’re converts. For life.

Smoked salmon doesn’t exactly scream New Orleans, though, so I did some research online and came across a crab meat cheesecake appetizer served at the famous Palace Cafe in New Orleans that sounded delicious. There was one big problem with the recipe, though – it served 8 as a plated first course, and I needed something to feed 30 people as finger food. So I took a chance and combined the two recipes, substituting crabmeat for the smoked salmon, and omitting some of the herbs used in the smoked salmon version so that the crab meat’s more delicate flavor wouldn’t be overpowered. The Palace Cafe’s cheesecake is served with a spicy Meuniere sauce and a garnish of sautéed mushrooms, which obviously wouldn’t work for my purposes, so I combined the mushrooms with the Meuniere sauce and cooked everything down to a consistency that would be appropriate as a topping for the cheesecake (much in the way that fruit is sometimes cooked down and used as a topping for sweet cheesecakes). It worked beautifully, the spicy, intensely-flavored mushrooms cutting the unctuous richness of the cheesecake. This one's a show-stopper.

A note about lump crabmeat: the amount of crab meat used in this dish is rather extravagant, so it’s really only appropriate for special occasions, like a New Year’s Eve party. Depending on where you live and what season it is, lump crabmeat can be very expensive. Backfin crabmeat, if you can find it, is less expensive and would work just as well in this recipe. Although I’ve not tried it, substituting 1 pound of chopped cooked shrimp would probably also be delicious. (Cook the shrimp in their shells for maximum flavor.)


New Orleans Crabmeat Cheesecake
1/2 cup dried plain breadcrumbs
11 tbsp (1 stick plus 3 tbsp) unsalted butter, divided into 4 tbsp, 4 tbsp, and 3 tbsp
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups onion, small diced
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 cup sour cream
8 tbsp hot pepper sauce, divided in half (Crystal brand is recommended)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots 
8 oz thinly-sliced mushrooms (a mix of wild and cremini, or all cremini)
2 tbsp lemon juice 
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce 
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
Chopped chives, for garnish
Whole toasted pecans, for decoration (optional)
Water crackers, for serving


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 x 3-inch pan and place a parchment circle in the pan; butter the parchment. (Do not use a 2-inch-high pan; it will be too small.)

2. Microwave 4 tbsp butter in a small bowl until just melted. Let cool, then combine with the Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Press mixture into the prepared pan and set aside.

3. In a skillet, sauté onion in 4 tbsp butter until translucent. Add crabmeat and cook just until heated through, then remove from heat.

4. Beat the cream cheese in a mixer using the flat paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream and hot pepper sauce by hand then fold in the crab and onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Pour batter into pan and smooth top with small offset spatula. Place cake pan in a larger pan filled with 1-inch hot water. Bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. It should be set around the edges, but still creamy in the middle with a slight wobble. Remove cake from water bath and cool completely on a rack, then refrigerate at least overnight. (May be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep well covered with plastic wrap while storing in refrigerator.)

6. Sauté shallots in 3 tbsp butter until translucent. Add the mushrooms and sweat, then sauté a bit more to caramelize. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, and reduce by 3/4. Add the heavy cream and reduce until quite thick. You want the mixture to still be moist but not run down the sides when you top the cheesecake. 

7. Run a knife around the inside of the pan, then dip the pan in about 1 inch of very hot water for 1 minute. Invert pan onto a plate until cheesecake slides out, then invert cheesecake onto a serving platter so that it’s right side up. Top with the mushroom mixture and sprinkle with chopped chives. Decorate sides of the cheesecake with pecans, if desired.

Serves 25-30 as an appetizer.

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