Thinking outside the box.

[cougars_catnip]

I was on Facebook tonight and noticed a friend's post. Her fiance wanted her to make him a bacon cheesecake and she was freaking out. EWWW was her response. But it got me thinking. The problem wasn't with his request but her preconceptions on what a cheesecake is. (ie: dessert only.) So I went googling and found the following recipe which I shared with her. It is an appetizer but is definitely a cheesecake. I would serve this in thin slivers with a selection of good hearty breads and crackers.

Apple Blue Cheese Bacon Cheesecake

This unusual savory cheesecake is rich from Parmesan, blue cheese, and cream cheese. The sweet apples and salty bacon are a nice counterpoint to the richness of the cheese. The method requires long slow baking, so plan ahead. As you can tell, this is not a dessert, but an appetizer fit for the finest party.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours, 35 minutes

Ingredients:
• Nonstick vegetable spray
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled (reserve 2 Tablespoons of fat)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 32 ounces (4 large blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 5 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 12 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 Tablespoons minced chives
• Sliced fresh apples, toast wedges, and/or assorted cocktail crackers
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Dust with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Saute onion in bacon fat until softened and translucent. Add apples and garlic and continue to saute over medium heat an additional 2 to 3 minutes until apples begin to soften. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, wine vinegar, and whiskey, beating until smooth. Stir in apple mixture, bacon, blue cheese, remaining Parmesan cheese, and chives by hand.

Pour batter into prepared pan and place in a water bath in the preheated oven. Let bake for one hour. Turn off stove and  open door for one minute to let hot air out. Shut door and leave cheesecake in oven for one hour.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack at least 1 hour.

Cover the top of the cooled cheesecake with plastic wrap. Place an inverted plate over the top, turn it over, and remove the pan. Refrigerate the upside-down cheesecake at least 1 hour. Reinvert the cheesecake and remove plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

To serve as an appetizer, cut slices with a knife dipped in warm water and garnish with fresh apple slices, toast wedges, and/or cocktail crackers of choice.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Comments

[acelightning]

Instead of baking it overnight at 200°, why not just use the water-bath method? Wrap the outside of your springform pan tightly in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Find a pan that's 2 inches wider than your springform in its shortest dimension. Preheat oven to 350°. Fill the springform pan with the mixture, then set it into the larger pan and set the whole thing on the oven rack. Using a container with a spout, carefully pour the hottest possible tap water into the large pan until it comes halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake for 45 minutes - the center of the cheesecake will still wobble a tiny bit when you jiggle it. Turn off the heat and leave the whole thing in the oven for another hour. Remove it from the water bath, carefully remove the foil, and let the cheesecake cool in the pan, on a rack, to room temperature. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before attempting to unmold it.

My son the foodie (who is, alas, not interested in Dreamwidth) makes savory cheesecakes as an appetizer or "first course" quite often. He likes to play around with the ingredients, like using smoked cheese, adding various herbs, or making the "crust" out of very finely pulverized nuts.

[cougars_catnip]

a waterbath would work just fine as well.

[labellementeuse]

oh goodness. this looks delicious and might have to be my next party piece.

[alchemise]

Oh yum, this sounds decadent!