Smoked Salmon Cheesecake & Pomegranate w/ Saffron

Ingredients:

3 TBL    Fine bread crumbs

5 TBL    Freshly grated parmesan cheese, Divided

2/3 Cup    Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Cup    Sweet green pepper, finely chopped

3 TBL    Butter

3 1/2     8-oz Packages (28 oz) cream cheese, softened

4    Eggs

1/2 Cup    Heavy Cream

5 oz    Nova Scotia salmon, cut into small pieces

Dash    Chipotle Tobasco Sauce

1 jar  La Maison Signature Pomegranate w/ Saffron Sauce

Garnish w/cherry tomatoes cut in half, fresh dill or other fresh green herbs

1    Box of butter-flavored crackers

How to Prepare:

• Preheat oven to 300ºF.

• Butter an 8” spring form pan.

• Combine break crumbs and 2 TBL parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle into butter pan and shake crumbs to coat bottom and sides of pan.

• Sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender.  Set aside.

• In food processor combine cream cheese, eggs, and heavy cream until smooth:  add remaining 3 Tbl Parmesan, and sautéed mixture and process.  Add salmon and tobacco to taste, and process until fully incorporated.

• Place spring form pan in larger pan and filled larger pan w/boiling water until it comes 1/2 way up the sides of the Spring form pan.

• Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes.  Turn off oven, DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR, but let cake sit in oven 1 hour longer.

• Lift cake out of larger pan:  cool to room temperature on wire rack.  Refrigerate at least overnight.

• To serve:  remove from refrigerator 1 hour before serving.  Loosen around edge with knife:  unmold.  Garnish with herbs and sliced cherry tomatoes, if desired.

• Place a thin wedge of cheesecake on each plate and put a spoonful of Pomegranate w/Saffron Sauce (unheated)

• 0ver each slice of cheesecake.  Place crackers around wedge on each plate.