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Savory Cheesecake Recipes For An Appetizer Or First Course

Basil Cheesecake Recipe
[1] Nacho cheesecake (photo © TasteOfHome.com).

Nacho Cheesecake Recipe
[2] A no-bake savory basil cheesecake (photos © Eat Wisconsin Cheese).

 

What’s a savory cheesecake?

Using a base of cream cheese—just like dessert cheesecake—it’s an unsweetened cheesecake that combines savory ingredients: herbs, vegetables, seafood, and/or other cheeses.

A savory cheesecake:

  • Can be a spread for party bread and crackers.
  • Can be a first course or cheese course consisting of a slice of cheesecake eaten with a fork. (We serve ours on a plate with a mesclun salad and vinaigrette.)
  • Can be large cheesecakes or individual cheesecakes.
  • Can combine just about any flavor, from shrimp to jalapeño to Roquefort.
  • Are great for special occasions.
  • Are always a big hit, because few people have ever had one.
  •  
    Try these delicious recipes, courtesy of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, representing the dairy farmers who create some of the world’s best cheeses. Just take a look at the photos: You’ll want to make them all!

  • Blue Cheese Cheesecake Recipe
  • Cool & Creamy Tuna Cheesecake Recipe
  • Grand Cru Gruyère & Lobster Cheesecake Recipe
  • Nacho Cheesecake Recipe
  • No Bake Savory Basil Cheesecake Recipe
  • Provolone & Corn Cheesecake Recipe
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    WANT MORE CHEESECAKE RECIPES?

    Head to our Cheesecake Section on TheNibble.com, and pull down the Gourmet Foods menu for the blog, above right.

     
     
     
    CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.
      
     
     
      

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    TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Best Sweet Gourmet Foods Of 2010 (PART II)

    Our favorite sweet treats of 2010 are luxurious but very affordable—most under $10.00.

    The honors go to:

     

    If you missed Part I, Best Savory Gourmet Foods Of 2010, here they are.

    Wishing you a cornucopia of treats in the New Year!

    Indulge Caramels in Cinnamon. Photo
    by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE.

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Salted And Unsalted Butter


    [1] The only salted butter we buy (photo © Vermont Creamery).


    [2] A modern salt cellar. Today you can find them in wood as well. Older styles were ceramic, crystal or glass. You can find it and other styles on Amazon and elsewhere (photo © KooK | Amazon).

     

    Some people prefer salted butter, others prefer unsalted butter. Can you use them interchangeably in baking and cooking?

  • Use unsalted butter for baked goods such as cake, cookies, pastry and pie crusts, and salted butter for general cooking.
  • If you are using salted butter in a recipe that specifically calls for unsalted butter plus additional salt, simply omit 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of butter.
  •  
    The salt in salted butter acts as a preservative, allowing for a slightly longer shelf life; but that’s not a concern with modern refrigeration.

    We prefer to keep just one type of butter—unsalted—adding salt to recipes as needed.

  • We keep a salt cellar (see below) of coarse-grained sea salt at the table.
  • Those who want to salt their butter can add a pinch—which also adds a delightful crunch.
  •  
     
    MORE ABOUT BUTTER

  • Our favorite salted butter—the best we’ve ever had—is from Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery. Made in the style of the finest European butters (higher in butterfat than standard U.S. butters), it has a salt content significantly lower than typical salted. The “less is more” approach produces a spectacular salted butter.
  • How many types of butter are there? See our Butter Glossary.
  • Check out the history of butter.
  •  

    THE HISTORY OF THE SALT CELLAR

    Since ancient times, people kept a small container of salt on the table, so people could add more salt if desired. Today we call them salt cellars (photo #2).

     
    The term salt-cellar appears in English in the 15th century. It combines the English word salt with the Anglo-Norman word saler, which meant “salt container.”
    Salt cellar, name most often used today, were known by a number of different names, names including master salt, open salt, salt dip, salt dish, standing salt and trencher salt.

  • A master salt is the large receptacle from which the smaller, distributed, salt dishes were filled. According to the local fashion, it was lidded, open, or covered with a cloth.
  • A standing salt is a master salt, so-called because it remained in place as opposed to being passed.
  • A trencher salt is a small salt cellar located next to the trencher.
  • Open salt and salt dip refer to salt dishes that are uncovered (source).
  • A salt pig is a container with a large round opening on the side that looks like a pig snout. A small spoon allowed the salt to be scooped out, or one could take a pinch with one’s fingers. Modern versions can be found on Amazon and elsewhere.
     
    Subsequently, salt and pepper shakers, also called salt and pepper pots, were purportedly invented in 1858 by John Mason, the man who invented the screw-top Mason jar. He created a receptacle that had several holes punched into a tin cap. Salt would evenly distribute onto the food, just by shaking it (source).

    Salt shakers became increasingly common after anti-caking agents were introduced by the Morton Salt company in the 1920s (source).

    The term salt cellar is used generically, to describe any container that holds table salt, thus encompassing salt shakers and salt pigs.

    These can be kept on the kitchen counter for cooking. Smaller sizes, two inches in diameter or less, are traditionally used on the table; although in these casual days, a large salt pig or salt cellar can be brought there, too.
     
      

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    RECIPE: Deviled Eggs For New Year’s Eve

    Why do deviled eggs endure as a party favorite?

    Of all the retro hors d’oeuvre—including stuffed celery and rumaki, a skewered chicken liver and water chestnut invented by “Trader Vic” Bergeron—deviled eggs keep holding their own.

    Even people who rarely, if ever, eat a boiled egg can’t help plucking a stuffed egg off the tray. And speaking of trays: how many other hors d’oeuvre have specially designed trays? There are even carrying trays, to help you safely transport your eggs to the party; and Spode porcelain trays shaped like Christmas trees and a Lenox butterfly stuffed egg platter.

    So join the stuffed egg lovers parade, and make a recipe for New year’s Eve:

  • Deviled Eggs With Smoked Okra
  • Crabmeat, Sturgeon & Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs With Caviar Caps
  • Mix & Match Deviled Egg Stuffings
  •  

    A party favorite with many recipe variations.
    Photo courtesy Zabar’s.

     

    Here’s a tip from Andrea Watman, catering manager at Zabar’s in New York City, to boil the perfect egg:

    The day before I am going to hard boil the eggs, I turn the carton on its side. First, make sure the carton is closed securely and second, be careful because eggs are more likely to crack on their side. (It has to do with Mother Nature protecting the eggs: The shells are harder vertically to protect them when they are laid).

    Then, place the eggs in a sauce pan and cover with cold water and add one tablespoon of salt. Bring water to a full boil, turn heat down and boil for one minute. Turn off heat and allow eggs to stay in pan for 15 minutes. Rinse eggs in cold water for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs under cold running water.

    There’s a key difference between “stuffed eggs” and “deviled eggs.” Deviled eggs refer to the use of hot spices or condiments in a recipe—paprika, mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, chiles, etc. The concept originated in 18th-century England.

      

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    TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: The Best Gourmet Food Of 2010, Part I

    The Brilliant Burger, above, is stuffed with
    prosciutto. Photo courtesy BuiltBurger.com.

    We end each year by naming “The Best Of 2010”: truly the “best of the best” of everything we tasted this year. Otherwise stated: If you don’t try them, you’ll be missing out.

    First we share, in alphabetical order, our favorite savory foods. Next week we’ll present the sweets.

    Just click on the links to read the original reviews and why these foods have become our favorite gourmet gifts and treats.

     

    Can’t wait for Part II, the sweet food winners? Here it is!

    See all of the Top Picks from 2010 and prior years.

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