French Onion Bacon Cheesecake

I wanted to create a special appetizer for Thanksgiving, something other than spinach dip, stuffed mushrooms or a typical cheese ball. As I was talking to a friend, the idea of a savory cheesecake hit me. I've been curious about the idea since reading about Emeril Lagasse's lobster cheesecake with caviar in his first New Orleans Christmas cookbook, literally 25 years ago. (So it took me some time....)  

Then the idea of a French onion cheesecake, loaded with caramelized onions and Gruyere, struck me. And of course, bacon makes everything better! Ritz crackers seemed to be a natural for the crust. To make it vegetarian, omit the bacon and use the sauteed onion base instead of beef. 

DO NOT RUSH the onions! This is not a "30-minute meals" kind of thing. Caramelizing onions the right way takes TIME! 

This is NOT A cheesecake you eat by the slice, except maybe a small slice with a green salad as lunch. Think of it more as a cheese spread with a crust. Serve it with more crackers, pita chips, toast rounds or whatever floats your boat. 

If you're used to baking regular sweet cheesecakes, you know the standard formula is 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar for every 8-ounce block of cream cheese. In this one, we're obviously leaving the sugar out and reducing the eggs to increase the spreadable creaminess of the cheesecake. IF you want to serve it in slices, add that 3rd egg! 

As always, the rules for "no crack cheesecakes" apply: 

• Put a pan of hot water in the oven before baking anything to create steam. 
• Add a tablespoon of cornstarch for stability. 
• Let cream cheese and eggs come to room temperature before mixing.  
• Regrease the ring of the springform pan after baking the crust. 
• Let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the heat off and the door cracked at least an hour before exposing it to cooler air. 

You can serve the cheesecake at any temp you like. Chilling is fine but not remotely required! 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 5-6 slices hickory smoked bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled 

Crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed Ritz or Town House crackers 
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Onions: 

• 3 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced  
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves  
• 1/2 cup water blended with 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillion Beef Base or Sauteed Onion Base 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Filling Base: 

• 3 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened for at least an hour (It's easiest to unwrap them cold and let them soften in the mixer bowl, covered with plastic wrap!) 
• 2 large eggs, at room temp 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 2 cups grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese (a blend of the two is less expensive - both Trader Joe's and Aldi sell it in bags, or you can grate your own. Swiss alone is perfectly fine, but I ALWAYS prefer Gruyere if I can get it!) 
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided 

Cook the bacon, crumble and set aside. 

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add thinly sliced onions to the butter and cook, covered, to let the onions sweat and soften. Stir occasionally. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Let cool. You can do this up to three days in advance. 

Add thyme and water with BTB base. Continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. You may not want any additional salt at this point. Remember that the bacon, if used, will add more to the finished dish. 

For the crust, combine crumbs and butter; press in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. 

Beat cream cheese on medium speed for 2 minutes and then on high for another 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and then add the eggs, one at a time. Don't overbeat the eggs! Stir in cornstarch. 

Add the cooled onions, crumbled bacon, 1/4 cup parsley and shredded cheese to the cream cheese base. Mix gently but thoroughly to combine. Pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parsley. 

Bake 50 minutes and start checking. You want it to be still a bit jiggly in the middle. When it gets to that stage, turn the oven off and crack the door. Let the cheesecake cool slowly in the oven for at least an hour before removing it. At that point, you can serve it as is, chill it or let it come to room temp. It's good at every temperature! 

When you unmold it from the ring, you may get some loose crumbs from the crust. Just throw them on top of the cheesecake with the rest of the fresh chopped parsley!