White Chocolate Cheesecake

Oh My Goodness! You would think I completely forgot how to blog. . .in fact, I think I did. I have been taking pictures of food for the last 2 months, trying desperately to find time to post. I wanted to start with Pressure Cooker recipes because I am making myself learn how to use my Fagor Pressure Cooker with Canning Assessories. I also have a smaller pressure cooker with two pans; one lid. Everytime I have conquered a fear in the kitchen, the true amazement has been about how easy the new skill actually was. Hhhhmm, the motto to so many things in life.

Okay, so my first blog for the new year 2009 will be the all-time haunting white chocolate cheesecake. The stories that have circulated over the combination of white chocolate and cheesecake have all been good. Recipes have been studied and altered. For 1 full year, I have sought after baking my 1st white chocolate cheesecake but the recipe HAD to match all the hype of creaminess with tons of white chocolate flavor. I messed with recipes. . .not having taste tested a one of them. . .until I came up with what felt like the perfect combination of ingredients. Sour Cream is not a highlight for me in cheesecake, yet the chosen combination included 8 ounces (1 cup) of sour cream. Worried? Yeppers but undaunted. I moved forward, ready to conquer.
Mistakes:

• I forgot to take enough pictures. . .Including a final cutting of the cheesecake. . .
• I took 1 year to force myself to make "the" white chocolate cheesecake
• I didn't believe the end result could be as good as what was pictured in my mind

Things Gone Right:

• The Flavor was extrodinary
• Creamy and Delicious
• Only 1 Small Crack on Top
• I shared!

Enough Talking! Here is the recipe =)
Crust Ingredients:
3/4 c. Blanched almonds; Ground (I found Red Mills carries ground almonds)
3/4 c. Quick Oats; uncooked
3/4 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. PLUS 2 T. Butter; melted
Cheesecake Ingredients:
2 packages Premier white chocolate baking bars "or" (3) bars of Ghirardelli White Chocolate
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
2 t. vanilla extract
Garnish: White Chocolate Curls

Directions:
Combine first 5 Ingredients in medium bowl; blend well. Press into bottom and 2" up sides of 9" spring form pan. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Cool.

Melt white chocolate bars in aheavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Set aside, letting it cool slightly.

Beat cream cheese at high speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in melted white chocolate, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour mixture into prepared crust.

Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour. Turn oven off; leave cheesecake in oven for 30 minutes with oven door partially opened. Remove cheesecake and cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove from pan; garnish with White Chocolate Curls, if desireds.

To Make White Chocolate Curls:
You will need 2 packages - 6 ounces each - of Premier White Chocolate Bars.
To keep chocolate from being hard and breaking when curled, put each bar, on at a time, on waxed paper in a microwave on high for 20-30 seconds - -just until chocolate is slightly tacky. The chocolate will not curl if it is too soft. Then carefully pull a vegetable peeler across the length of the baking bar to create a curl. If the bar breaks, just use pieces to form curls. Refrigerate curls until ready to garnish the top of the cheesecake =o].

**I am going to have to get back on the wagon for blogging. . .forgetting pictures. . .Really? I suck!