100 Recipes - #30 Mushroom and Gruyere Cheesecake
Tonight I had a potluck to attend and wondered what to bring. So I turned to the What Can I Bring? Cookbook.
#30 Mushroom and Gruyere Cheesecake I was pretty nervous about this one. First, I used panko instead of regular breadcrumbs and was concerned that they weren't fine enough to really stick together as a crust. But they did! And then the top layer was really hard to spread and it seemed as though there might not be enough of it. The bottom layer is half the batter mixed with spinach and scallions, then there's a layer of sauteed mushrooms, to which I added a few leftover artichoke hearts, and then a top layer of the rest of the batter mixed with gruyere. But it spread out during baking and got all golden brown and beautiful! And then I was concerned that it would be just too weird. But everyone at the party raved about it and it disappeared very quickly. And, like all cheesecakes, it takes relatively little work to put together, just a bunch of time waiting while it bakes and then sits and then cools. Next time I think I'd go ahead and put four things of cream cheese in and up the other ingredients accordingly--it could have been taller and still fit in the pan. And I'd probably go ahead and add some garlic to the mushrooms. But even without garlic, it was fantastic!
Now I'm thinking of other variations to try. I've seen basil and tomato ones and once a recipe for one with salmon that would make an awesome brunch dish. The recipe suggests going with broccoli and cheddar, but that's not really exciting me. If you've got other ideas, let me know--maybe I'll show up to your next party with one!
#30 Mushroom and Gruyere Cheesecake I was pretty nervous about this one. First, I used panko instead of regular breadcrumbs and was concerned that they weren't fine enough to really stick together as a crust. But they did! And then the top layer was really hard to spread and it seemed as though there might not be enough of it. The bottom layer is half the batter mixed with spinach and scallions, then there's a layer of sauteed mushrooms, to which I added a few leftover artichoke hearts, and then a top layer of the rest of the batter mixed with gruyere. But it spread out during baking and got all golden brown and beautiful! And then I was concerned that it would be just too weird. But everyone at the party raved about it and it disappeared very quickly. And, like all cheesecakes, it takes relatively little work to put together, just a bunch of time waiting while it bakes and then sits and then cools. Next time I think I'd go ahead and put four things of cream cheese in and up the other ingredients accordingly--it could have been taller and still fit in the pan. And I'd probably go ahead and add some garlic to the mushrooms. But even without garlic, it was fantastic!
Now I'm thinking of other variations to try. I've seen basil and tomato ones and once a recipe for one with salmon that would make an awesome brunch dish. The recipe suggests going with broccoli and cheddar, but that's not really exciting me. If you've got other ideas, let me know--maybe I'll show up to your next party with one!