Bleu cheese and walnuts. Yum!! How about something different to replace the appetizer and salad course?
You’ll need a 9 inch spring-form pan and plenty of time…. Cheesecake is a labor of love — not speed! This is wonderful served on a bed of baby greens with candied walnuts.
Line the pan with parchment paper and spray with olive oil cooking spray.
Cheesecake Ingredients:
- 24 oz. cream cheese, room temp
- 16 oz. sour cream, room temp
- 1 c. Heavy Cream
- 1 c. Milk
- 16 ounces quality blue cheese, room temperature
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 large clove fresh garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
Cheesecake Directions:
- Beat cream cheese and sour cream till smooth, add in the heavy cream and milk.
- Stir in the eggs, blue cheese, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper till well combined.
- Pour into pan, bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes to 1 hour, till golden brown and center is slightly firm.
- While this is baking, prepare the pear vinaigrette.
- Cool in pan, on wire rack till cooled to room temperature.
Pear Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1 large pear, peeled, cored and sliced into ¼ inch slices
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp minced shallots
- 2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. fresh chopped rosemary
- ¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 ½ tsp. chopped green onions
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Vinaigrette Directions:
- In large skillet over medium-high heat, bring pear, vinegar, shallots, sugar, rosemary and pepper to simmer.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer till pears are tender, about 6 minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer to food processor.
- Add mustard, soy sauce, salt, and green onions. Puree on high speed.
- With processor running, pour oil in a thin stream and process till emulsified.
- Remove from processor and refrigerate in airtight container till ready to serve (up to 1 week)
Candied Walnuts:
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
- Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add walnuts and cook, stirring until golden and toasted (3 minutes)
- Add sugar and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Transfer to waxed paper to cool.
Time to Assemble!
To serve this cheesecake, take baby greens and place on dessert plate. Place 1 ½ inch slice of cheesecake on top of baby greens. Drizzle the pear vinaigrette over cheesecake and greens. Place 1 walnut on top of the slice. Arrange 3-4 more walnuts around cheesecake. This cheesecake should be served at room temperature or slightly warm with crackers.