Crawfish Or Shrimp Cheesecake Food

PALACE CAFE CRABMEAT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preparing the Pecan Crust:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Finely grind pecans in a food processor. Add flour and salt. Mix well. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and cut in butter, working butter into flour with 2 knives until dough is in crumbs the size of small peas. Add ice water and evenly incorporate into the mixture, which should remain fairly crumbly. Roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press dough into a lightly greased 9-inch tart pan, starting with the sides and then the bottom. Bake crust for 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Preparing the Filling:
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a skillet, saute onion in butter until translucent. Add crabmeat and cook just until heated through, then remove from heat. Blend cream cheese until smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle, or by hand using a wooden spoon. Add Creole cream cheese and mix well. Mix in eggs 1 at a time. Gently fold in the crabmeat mixture. Stir in hot sauce and season, to taste, with salt and white pepper. Spoon filling into prepared crust. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
• Preparing the Meuniere Sauce and Garnish:
• Combine lemon, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a heavy saucepot. Reduce over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Whisk in heavy whipping cream. Reduce heat to low and slowly blend in butter, 1 cube at a time, adding additional butter only after each cube has been completely incorporated into the sauce. This process is called "mounting the butter." Remove from heat and continue to stir. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Strain through a fine strainer and keep warm.
• Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until tender and all moisture has cooked off. Excess water from the mushrooms may break your sauce if it isn't cooked off. Stir mushrooms into Meuniere sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan and warm crab fingers over low heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• To serve:
• Slice cheesecake and top each piece with warm Meuniere sauce and 3 crab claws.

CREOLE SHRIMP & CRAB CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and dill; stir in butter. Press onto bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet., For cheesecake, in a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add red pepper, onion and carrot; cook and stir until tender. Stir in seasonings. Cool slightly., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, cream and sherry until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Fold in vegetable mixture, shrimp, crab and Gouda cheese. Pour over crust., Bake 60-65 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled., In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard and Creole seasoning. Remove rim from springform pan. Serve cheesecake with sauce and crackers.

SHRIMP AND CRAWFISH CAKES

Steps:

• Mix shrimp, crawfish, crackers, scallions, eggs, bell pepper, mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dry mustard, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and seafood seasoning together in a bowl until well combined.
• Form mixture into patties that are about 3 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. Cover with a light coating of panko bread crumbs.
• Heat 1/2 cup oil in a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook patties in the hot oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

CRAWFISH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil over high heat; salt it generously. Add the macaroni and cook according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Preheat the broiler to high.
• Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter, then add the onions. Cook until the onions soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir in the garlic, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper and cook for another minute. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the pan to melt. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir until it turns a deep blonde color and has a nutty aroma, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, whisking frequently, until it starts to thicken. Then add the cream and thicken for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cheeses until melted. Add the crawfish to the sauce, and then fold in the macaroni until coated. Remove from the heat.
• Divide the mac and cheese among 8 large ramekins or cast-iron skillets. Broil until the tops of the noodles are golden brown and bubbly. Let cool slightly, then serve warm.

CRAWFISH OR SHRIMP CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• For crust: In a medium bowl, combine Parmesan, bread crumbs, and melted butter. Press Parmesan mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
• In a medium skillet, cook onion and sweet peppers in hot oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add salt and black pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat; set aside.
• For filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and Gouda with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs; beat just until combined. Do not overbeat. Stir in the onion mixture, crawfish tails with juice or shrimp and whipping cream.
• Pour filling into crust. Bake in preheated oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Cover; chill at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• To serve, remove sides of pan. With a warm knife, cut into wedges. Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.

DEEP-SOUTH SHRIMP AND CRAWFISH STEW

Steps:

• Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
• To a 1-gallon plastic bag add paprika, ground thyme, salt, ground black pepper, basil, and chili powder, and shake to combine. Add the crawfish and shrimp to the bag in batches and shake to coat. Add the crawfish and shrimp a little at a time to the boiling water so as not to stop the boil, and let cook until pink and the crawfish is curled. As they are cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the crawfish and shrimp to a platter and set aside until they are cool enough to handle. Remove the shells from the crawfish and shrimp and add the shells back to the pot of cooking liquid, and allow to reduce by two-thirds. (The shells of crawfish are removed by cracking the tail with both hands and forcing it back out through the curve of the tail.) Reserve the crawfish and shrimp meat until needed. When reduced, strain the cooking liquid into a bowl.
• For the sauce:
• In another saucepan, combine the garlic, scallions, bay leaf, nutmeg, if using, and butter over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux and allow it to cook until blond, then begin whisking in the milk. Into the bowl of reduced seafood cooking liquid, whisk the Cheddar and Gruyere cheeses. Add this to the milk mixture and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat, season sauce, to taste, with white pepper, and salt if needed. Remove and discard bay leaf. Immediately put a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make a topping by adding bread crumbs, parsley leaves, Parmesan, Cheddar, Cajun seasoning, horseradish, and hard boiled eggs to a small bowl and combining with a wooden spoon.
• Fold the crawfish and shrimp into the sauce a little at a time so you can control the amount of sauce to the amount of seafood. (Do not feel compelled to use all of the sauce.) Spread the mixture into a 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the topping and heat about 5 minutes in the oven until the topping is browned. Serve family style, garnished with parsley sprigs.

CAJUN CRAWFISH AND SHRIMP ÉTOUFFéE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and stir constantly until the mixture turns 'peanut butter' brown or darker, at least 15 or 20 minutes. I use a large fork with the flat side to the bottom of the pan in a side to side motion. This is your base sauce or 'roux'. It is very important to stir this constantly. If by chance the roux burns, discard and start over.
• Once the roux is browned, add the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the skillet, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, and season with the seafood seasoning. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Season the sauce with hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper (if using), and add the crawfish and shrimp. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.

RICH & CREAMY CRAWFISH OR SHRIMP PASTA W/ CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Chop the green onions (as much as you like--I usually just use a handful).
• Open the cheese and slice it in as many pieces as possible so it can melt easily.
• Set onions and cheese aside separately.
• It is a good idea at this point to start a large pot of boiling water, and it should be boiling by the time the sauce is done.
• To make the sauce: Melt stick of butter in a large skillet on medium heat.
• Add chopped onions.
• Simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions look nicely cooked.
• Add the package of crawfish and let simmer for another few minutes.
• Add the cheese, and once it has started to melt, add the can of soup.
• Dash of salt if desired.
• You can turn the heat up to medium hi.
• Continue stirring until the cheese is completely melted.
• If it is too thick, milk can be added to thin it out.
• Cover and turn heat back down to low.
• Stir occasionally so the sauce does not stick.
• Now just boil the pasta according to the package instructions.
• Sauce can be served over the pasta or mixed inches.
• If there are leftovers, I usually store it all mixed together.
• It reheats better that way.