457680 Mon Nov 05 20:48:45 -0800 2007 8 31 Home Cooking 0 3098685 A decade ago, for some years, our local PBS radio station KCBX-FM held a fundraiser promotion which included a cheesecake 'bakeoff'. After several wonderful yearly contests, the doughboy people's lawyer sent a cease and desist letter. "You can't call it that!" Well, the CheeseCakeOff didn't have quite the same ring. And it was incredibly labor intensive, gathering all those judges to taste some 50-odd cheesecakes. yeah. One of the last contest years, I decided to try a savory cheesecake after reading about them in the Food section of the SF Chronicle. "H-m-m-m, I'll bet nobody does a chili cheesecake" I thought. So I got busy with a trip to a fledgling cheese and gourmet porducts store for inspiration. The proprietor had me taste some outrageous Vermont aged white cheddar. He also had some very nice wood-smoked salmon. An idea formed in my head and I went home and read up all I could about cheesecakes. "The Joy of Cheesecake" gave me the basics to success in baking. The following recipe won the grand prize at the CheeseCakeOff. It was the only savory cheescake submitted. Chipotle Cheddar and Smoked Salmon Cheesecake Preheat oven to 375. Crust: 2 c day-old wholegrain cornbread 3/4 c whole grain corn chips (like Fritos, but whole grain. Not tortilla chips) 2 T ground roasted cumin seeds Run ingredients through a food processor to crumbs, and add 2-3 T melted butter to bring together. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Prepare a 9" springform pan by wrapping pan with heavy foil to prevent water from leaking into crust. Press crumb mixture across pan bottom and up sides. Bake at 375 10-15 minutes to firm, then cool. Adjust oven heat to 350 and heat to simmer 2 qts. water. (have ready a baking pan deep enough to hold the springform in a water bath) Filling: (all at room temp) I c chopped onions, sauteed in butter till soft 1 # best quality cream cheese (no guar gum) 1/3 pint mascarpone cheese s+p to taste 4 eggs 1 c shredded aged white cheddar 1/2 c Parmesan/Romano grated mixture (a la Trader Joe's) Mix these ingredients well in a slow mixer or beat to blend by hand. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the crust. To remaining cheese/egg/cream cheese mixture, add: 1T Chipotle sauce from canned adobo chilis, or more to taste, for a mild amount of heat. 3/4 c minced dry-smoked salmon few drops liquid hickory smoke flavoring Process till smooth, then pour over first half of filling. (Mix 3/4 c room temperature sour cream with 1 (RT) egg, beat well, and set aside in a pourable bowl or measure cup.) Set filled springform into the larger baking pan, place on oven rack and carefully add 1" simmering water to the large pan. Bake at 350 about 50 minutes till edges begin to set. Quickly pour the egg/sour cream mixture over the top and bake for remaining 10 minutes. Turn oven off. Set door ajar and leave 1 hour to cool slowly. Remove from oven, remove foil from pan and cool thoroughly at room remprature. Cover with saran and refrigerate to store if necessary, cut while cold with long, sharp knife dipped in hot water, and bring to room temperature before serving. (Remove springform side before cutting into serving slices.) Garnish slices with drizzles of chipotle cream: 1/3 c sour cream or crema, 1 T dry white wine, 2 tsp Chipotle sauce from adobo chilis. Optional garnish: finely minced chives for color. Makes 12-16 very rich servings as first course or appetizer. I hope you like it! Mon Nov 05 20:48:45 -0800 2007 11234 toodie jane 1 3099538 wow wow and wow!!! I have got to try this. Thank you. Tue Nov 06 08:03:54 -0800 2007 3098685 49588 lexpatti 1 3099567 Thank you SO MUCH for sharing. This looks marvelous. Tue Nov 06 08:10:41 -0800 2007 3098685 74506 abud 1 3146095 Thank you so much for taking the time to post this (and excuse my delay in thanking you). I am expecting a shipment of smoked salmon and will make this for a dinner party in December. I'll report back to you. :) Thanks again. Wed Nov 21 12:45:17 -0800 2007 3098685 95754 Honey Bee 2 3146185 my pleasure! Wed Nov 21 13:18:30 -0800 2007 3146095 11234 toodie jane 1 3155031 I am sitting at work, have not even had breakfast yet, and my mouth is watering! Will have to make this wonderful-sounding recipe for Christmas. What do you think about actually adding a chipotle chili to the mix in addition to the sauce? THANK YOU!! Mon Nov 26 08:36:30 -0800 2007 3098685 12400 WildSwede 2 3155158 A whole chipotle would overpower the dish. There was a recent post of a sweet potato-cream chipotle dish with 6 sweet potatoes and 4 cups of heavy cream, with one solitary chipotle pepper, which I made for Thanksgiving dinner. (I included lots of pecan halves, which worked in well), and one solitary chipotle was enough for all that. Others had misinterpreted the recipe and included an entire 7-ounce can of chipotles and had an inedible result. A tablespoon of the adobo sauce should be ample for a cheesecake. Edit: Cabot in Vermont makes a chipotle cheddar that I find a bit disappointing; it seems a bit dry and clumpy. Their horseradish cheddar is wonderful and creamy. Mon Nov 26 09:12:10 -0800 2007 3155031 57170 Veggo 3 3155270 Thank you, Veggo. My vegetarian cousins from Vancouver are maybe coming down for Christmas and nothing is more fun to me than getting ready and planning items to make!! Thank you again!! Mon Nov 26 09:46:14 -0800 2007 3155158 12400 WildSwede 1 3155068 TJ- I plan to make this for a casual Sunday supper in mid-Dec. I was thinking about making this as a first course, serving a nice cesar salad, and then either a corn chowder or a poblano/asiago soup with fresh bread, all followed by pumpkin cake with maple cream. Having tasted the cheesecake before, do you have any thoughts on the flow of the menu? (I can change anything except the cake which is a special request.) Thanks! Mon Nov 26 08:47:34 -0800 2007 3098685 95754 Honey Bee