Alligator Sausage & Shrimp Cheesecake

Alyson Stringer (originally from Jacques-imo's in New Orleans, Louisiana)
Yield: 12+ servings

This recipe was obtained during a wonderful trip to New Orleans, La. in January 2010 with friends. We dined at Jacques-imo’s on our first night there and suffice it to say, there was a lot of Clotiaux-style gustatory groaning at our table. This was our appetizer and during the night we found out that the restaurant happily shares the recipe, so I made out like roly-poly bandit! This is rich, so you can easily cut this into more slices than 12 to create more appetizer servings. (Nov 2010)

CRUST

1/3 cup panko or fine dry breadcrumbs

4 oz unsalted butter, melted

1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

FILLING

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup yellow onions, finely diced

1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 lb alligator sausage or Andouille, chopped

1 lb shrimp, chopped

28 oz cream cheese, softened

4 eggs

1 cup smoked Gouda cheese, grated

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp chipotle pepper, ground

1 Tbsp Fajita Magic® seasoning blend (Chef Paul Prudhomme’s)

GARNISH

Chives, chopped

Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Creole Mustard Tomato Coulis, see recipe

Creole Mustard Tomato Coulis

1 tsp olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 Tbsp shallots, minced

8 Roma tomatoes (or 2 cans diced), peeled, seeded, diced

1/2 tsp Creole seasoning

3 Tbsp Zatarain’s® Creole Mustard 

CRUST: Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Place the panko in a large bowl and add butter, whisking to combine. Add cheese and mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of a 12x3-inch springform pan and bake until the crumbs are set and golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

FILLING: Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper mixture and cook, stirring until soft, about 10 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned, 3-5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they start to turn pink, 1 1/2 -2 minutes. 

Drain the shrimp mixture in a large colander, stirring occasionally to rid of excess moisture, and let sit for 30 minutes. (Mixture can be prepared in advance, and once cool, placed in an airtight container and refrigerated up to 12 hours.) 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese on medium speed. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and being careful not to overmix the batter and incorporate too much air. 

Add the cream, flour, chipotle powder and seasoning blend and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the cooked shrimp mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated, blending additionally as needed with a rubber spatula. 

Wrap the bottom and side of the banking pan with aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Pour the batter into the pan, cover with aluminum foil and bake until set, 2 hours and 45 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake until golden brown, 15 minutes. 

Cool the cheesecake on a wire rack for at least four hours before serving.  

CREOLE MUSTARD TOMATO COULIS: In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and shallot until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the Creole seasoning and mustard, then stir. Purée the mixture in a food processor or blender. Let cool to room temperature. 

PRESENTATION: Place a pool of about 1/4 cup Creole Mustard-Tomato Coulis on each plate. Place a slice of cheesecake on the coulis. Sprinkle freshly chopped chives over and around the cake, then top with about 1 Tbsp of coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sprinkle Creole seasoning around the rim of the plate.