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Frito Pie Cheesecake

Much madness has ensued today in the geeme kitchen. Started off this morning with initial prep of Frito Pie Cheesecake, and am now on to my Throwdown meal. This is the cheesecake as it stands right now - final plate-up will come later, after the TD.

This came from an earlier discussion about Frito Pies - a childhood staple in Texas. I started thinking a Frito Pie cheesecake might be good. Although I had no specific recipe, I have relative experience making cheesecakes, so gave it a go. Here's teh initial prep:

Frito Pie Cheesecake

Preheat over to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with a circle of parchment paper.

Crust
******
1-1/4 cup well-crushed Frito corn chips
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg white
Cayenne and/or other powder to taste

Whisk the egg white, then whisk in melted butter and seasonings. Stir in crushed corn chips. Press into bottom of springform pan. Bake in oven 10 minutes, then remove and cool.

Filling
*******
3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Cayenne powder
Naga powder
Cumin
Garlic powder
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup coarsely crushesd Frito corn chips
1 medium onion, chopped
Red and Green peppers, deseeded and placenta removed, coarsely chopped (I used 6 fresh green jalapenos, about 3" long, plus enough small red jalapenos from my freezer to balance out the color)
Olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)

Heat olive oil in a sautee pan, then sautee onion until a bit soft. Add peppers, and sautee just a bit longer. The peppers should just start to soften, but don't overcook. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, eggs, whippng cream, and spices until smooth. Stir in cheddar cheese, corn chips, and sauteed onion and peppers. Pour into cooled crust, and smooth out to edges.

Put in the oven, close door, then turn the heat down to 300F. Bake about 1 hour, until toothpick inserted in center comes out just moist. Let cheesecake cool on wire rack still in springform pan to room temperature.

Piccys:

Cream cheese base made, ready to stir in final ingredients:
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In the pan, ready for the oven:
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Can you seriously look me in the eye and honestly tell me you done want some of this already?1?
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Yep, TB, I'm sure you know what's coming!

Edit: Clarifying some of the directions.
 
Have mercy! I could eat that hot blue and righteous cheese concoction face first off a garbage can lid as is. Will chili con carne be coming to this party? Great work Geeme!
 
Looks good to me. Pretty creative with the Fritos. Is that a southern thing? I've never heard of a Frito pie before.
 
Looks good to me. Pretty creative with the Fritos. Is that a southern thing? I've never heard of a Frito pie before.

Somewhat southern but more of a Texas 'thang. Frito's are made just down the road from me in Plano, TX. When we were kids at school in the cafeteria you'd get a bag of Frito's, and the lunch lady would open the bag and ladle chili right into the bag on top of the Frito's. Sometimes with cheese. Either way, ate it right out of the bag with a spoon. Even back then they called it Frito Pie. I eat Frito's about 5 times a week and pour them into a bowl and pour Pace Picante on it and eat it just like cereal. mrs. blues thinks I'm loony bin material.
 
Somewhat southern but more of a Texas 'thang. Frito's are made just down the road from me in Plano, TX. When we were kids at school in the cafeteria you'd get a bag of Frito's, and the lunch lady would open the bag and ladle chili right into the bag on top of the Frito's. Sometimes with cheese. Either way, ate it right out of the bag with a spoon. Even back then they called it Frito Pie. I eat Frito's about 5 times a week and pour them into a bowl and pour Pace Picante on it and eat it just like cereal. mrs. blues thinks I'm loony bin material.


Well, you are I think, but then Dani is a wonderful woman and Missylou, well, you know how I feel about her. You have a good life sir. Frito pie is just a benefit.

PS, my mom was on here today and said she would vote for you in the throwdown if she had a vote. Maybe I will give you mine in the spirit of Mom's day.
 
For me, Frito Pies are a crowd-control thing. Envision lots and lots of kids and parents at a gathering - swim meets, little league anything, school sports.... and Frito Pies were there. The goal was food - fast! So huge cans of chili into crock pots, tons of bags o' Fritos, pre-shredded cheese, pre-cut onions, and sporks (or foons, if you prefer....) Lots of eating, but little effort or clean-up. So my re-imagined version includes..... yep, canned chili. You may prefer yours with or without beans - doesn't really matter - it's all good! But definitely top with a little foo - more shred cheese, and more fritos.....

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Holy moly..... I think my tummy may explode!
 
When I talked with my daughter yesterday and told her about this, she initially said it sounded just weird - but she was thinking about sweet cheesecakes, and the idea of mixing Frito Pie with sweet. (Frankly, ick.) This is not sweet at all, but rather savory. Probably the closest description I can give is that it is like a cross between a popper and a Frito Pie - if you like cream cheese filled poppers, you would definitely like this.
 
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