Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake

Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake – (recipe with video tutorial follow) – If you’ve never had a savory cheesecake, let me tell you that you are in for a real treat! Oh, maybe I should explain what a savory cheesecake is. Well, a savory cheesecake is one that is not sweet. Sweet and savory are kind of like opposites. So, a sweet cheesecake would be served for dessert, and a savory cheesecake, saaaaay like a roasted red pepper cheesecake, would be served as an appetizer. We have some friends coming over this weekend and we’re going to go hiking and then grill some burgers, so I thought that this would be a great appetizer served with some crostini and and maybe some vegetables or crackers, or…maybe all three. And then, after I started thinking about what a great appetizer this was going to make to go with the burgers, I started thinking about the burgers. You should know at this point that one of the people coming over, my friend April, loves to have sauteed peppers and onions on her burger. So, I started thinking about April’s burger specifically – which kind of inspired me for how my burger is going to go down this weekend. It’s going to be the burger topped with a thin slice of the roasted red bell pepper cheesecake and maybe some bacon – oooo and some basil – oh yeah, we’re getting there now! Doesn’t that sound so good? I think so anyway. I’m like sitting here craving it and I haven’t even tried it yet. What was my point? Oh, my point is that not only does this make a great burger topping – aaaaa, I mean appetizer, but I think you could get creative with it. So like you could serve it as an appetizer, and then you could take any of the left over – assuming that there is left-over (you can always stash some early) and use it on hamburgers, or on sandwiches, or stuff it into a pita with some chicken and heat it up. Oh my yummy, I mean seriously. How good would a turkey, bacon sandwich be toasted with a slice of melty roasted red pepper cheesecake on top? Dude that sounds so good! So, I know what is going to happen if we have any left overs. The cheesecake serves around 18-20 people (as long as you don’t have a 16 year old eating machine running around like I do) and 12 of us are eating, so I have a good sporting chance at my sandwich dreams. It’s cool either way because I love this just as it is, served as an appetizer, I was just saying.

Ingredients

1 pound cream cheese
8 ounces goat cheese (I used Laura Chenel)
4 eggs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground if possible
1/2 teaspoon thyme (dried, ground)
*if you use fresh thyme, you’ll need 1 1/2 teaspoons
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 c green onions, sliced thin (green parts only)
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers, diced (about 4 peppers)
*please see my recipe and video tutorial of “How to Roast a Bell Pepper”  if you don’t know how to roast your own bell peppers. You can also buy them in jars at the store, but you can roast your own at home for a fraction of the cost and they’re fresh and yummy!

For the Crostini
French Bread
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
pepper
Instructions

1. Place the cream cheese into a large bowl and cream it for about one minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula (and your beaters or paddle attachment).
2. Add the goat cheese into the cream cheese and mix them (with a mixer- either hand held or a stand mixer) until they are well combined and have an even consistency. Scrape your bowl with a rubber spatula again. Doing this helps to make sure you don’t end up with clumps of cream cheese or goat cheese in the end and also helps to ensure that you have a smoother texture when your cheesecake is all done.
3. Add the first two eggs and mix until combined. Then add the other two eggs and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl again. Then mix again just to get rid of most of the chunks. You may still have a few little chunks in there, but don’t worry about them.
4. Add the garlic, Kosher salt, pepper, thyme, green onions and bell peppers to the cream cheese/goat cheese mixture. Stir these in by hand using your rubber spatula.
5. Line the outside of a ten inch spring-form pan with aluminum foil. Then place that pan into a larger roasting pan or large casserole dish. We will be cooking this in a water bath, so you need the larger pan.
6. Spray the inside of your spring-form pan with cooking spray.
7. Pour the red pepper cheesecake batter into the spring-form pan. Then add some water to the roasting pan – try to get the water even with the top of the red pepper cheesecake. However, if it starts floating around a lot, stop adding water because it will end up floating instead of being in the water bath where we want it.
8. Bake the cheesecake at 350°F for about 30 minutes – until the center is just set. If you over-bake it, it may get cracks. Remove the cheesecake from the water-bath – you can also remove the foil.
9. Allow the red pepper cheesecake to cool for about one hour and then place it in the refrigerator. If you place it into the refrigerator too soon, it will likely crack. So, be patient and let it cool.
10. Leave it in the refrigerator for at least five hours – overnight is better, to allow it to set up.
11. Once your cheesecake is totally set-up, run a knife around the edges and remove the outside of the spring-form pan.
12. Garnish your beautiful cheesecake with some extra roasted red bell peppers and serve. I served mine with some french bread crostini on the side – so very delicious! Enjoy everyone!
**Oh, to make the crostini, slice your french bread about one inch thick, lightly brush it with olive oil and then sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Bake it in the oven at 350°F for a few minutes until it gets toasty on the outside – you still want it to be soft on the inside. It should take anywhere from four to six minutes. OK, now enjoy :)

Please enjoy this how-to video (coming soon) for making Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake!