Recipe#9556

Title: Apple Bacon Cheesecake

Newsgroups: rec.food.baking 
 From: bkeith@netcom.com (B. Keith Ryder) 
 Message-ID: bkeithE072Gp.M91@netcom.com 
 Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 13:50:49 GMT 

(16 to 20 servings)
 Nonstick vegetable oil spray
 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
 1/2 pound bacon
 1 onion, chopped
 2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into medium dice (I used Granny Smith)
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 Salt and pepper to taste
 2 pounds cream cheese at room temp (regular or reduced fat)
 3 tablespoons wine vinegar
 1/4 cup whiskey
 12 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
 5 eggs
 Right before you're ready to go to bed, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
 Spray nonstick oil inside a 9-inch springform pan (or a 2-quart souffle
 dish), and dust the bottom and sides with 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
 Set aside.
 In a skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp.  Remove, drain, crumble,
 and reserve.  Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
 Add the onion to the fat in the pan and cook over medium heat until soft,
 about 2 minutes.  Add the apples and continue cooking until the onion
 is very tender and the apple has lost its raw look, about 2 to 3 more
 minutes.  Remove from heat, add the garlic, salt and pepper, and set aside.
 In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft.  Mix in the vinegar,
 whiskey, blue cheese, remaining Parmesan, and eggs.  Add salt, pepper,
 the reserved bacon, and reserved apple mixture.  Mix well.  Pour the
 batter into the prepared pan and place in the oven.  Clean up and go
 to bed.
 When you awake 6 to 8 or 9 hours later (the exact time doesn't matter),
 the cake will appear set, the top will have barely colored, and the
 surface will be flawless.  Remove to a rack and cool in the pan for
 an hour, until the pan is cool enough to handle.
 Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and an inverted plate.  Holding the
 plate tight to the pan, invert both.  Remove the pan and refrigerate
 the cake upside down for at least 1 hour.  If necessary, the cake can
 stay refrigerated in this way all day.
 Invert a serving plate over the cheesecake and invert the whole thing.
 Remove the top plate and the paper.  Cover and refrigerate.
 Cut with a long sharp knife dipped in warm water to prevent sticking.
 Serve as is or garnish with crisp toasts and or freshly sliced apples.
 Per serving:  358 calories, 13 gm protein, 6 gm carbohydrates, 31 gm fat,
 151 mg cholesterol, 14 gm saturated fat, 675 mg sodium.
 =====
 BKeith's notes:
 Notice he instructs you to add salt and pepper twice -- doubt this is
 necessary.  I added it to the apple mixture.
 I cooked this for the minimum specified time (6 hours -- it's been a
 busy week), and it seemed a litte loose when I took it out of the
 oven.  Plus, it's a bit wet -- it's lost a little water to seepage
 over the last couple days.  I think 8 hours would be closer to right.
 I'm not sure how flawless the top is supposed to look -- it was lumpy
 when I spread it in the pan, and when I removed it from the oven it
 had browned (attractively), but there were a couple little cracks around
 some of the lumps -- I think a cake without added chunks would come out
 pretty close to perfect.  However, after I turned it out to set, it
 looked magnificent.  I'm going to serve it upside down.
 I'm not cutting slices.  It's for a party with a food table, so I'm
 cutting baguette rounds and apple slices  (Gala, McIntosh, Granny
 Smith) and letting people help themselves with a cheese-spreading
 knife.
 The party's tonight -- wish me luck!