Nope, this is not some crazy dessert. This is a wicked savory, very rich appetizer cheesecake.
As a matter of fact, I usually cut the recipe in half – partly because it is so very rich, and partly because I want to offer other munchies to pass and still leave room for folks to enjoy dinner – but we’re going to a pot luck picnic tomorrow afternoon with a 
friend’s volleyball group in Milwaukee; and I figure we’ll have a big enough group of folks with healthy appetites that I can get away with a full sized batch.
To be honest, I can’t recall where I found this recipe; I’ve been making it for close to twenty years, so it predates my access to the internet and da Google. More than likely, I came across the original recipe in some holiday magazine or other. I believe that the 
original concept was to serve slices of this as a sit-down appetizer course, and you could most certainly do that, but I have always served it on a platter – garnished with salsa and fresh guacamole – with chips. The ‘look’ goes all to heck in a minute or three – but by then most people have tried it or have heard how very tasty it is, and so they continue to attack the ruins with wild abandon. Yup. Sounds like the holidays to me.
INGREDIENTS
Cheesecake:
•16 oz. cream cheese – softened
•8 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese
•16 oz. sour cream (divided)
•3 eggs, lightly beaten
•1 cup salsa
•4 oz. diced chiles
Toppings/Extras:
•Guacamole
•Corn chips (if you decide to dip)
Cream cheeses until fluffy. Add 8 oz. sour cream and eggs. Beat on low just until mixed.
Stir in salsa and chiles.
Turn into a 9” springform pan and bake at 350º for 40 – 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and immediately spread remaining 8 oz. of sour cream over the top. This is quite handy at covering any cracks that may have occurred.
Cool on a rack and chill.
NOTE: this cheesecake might ‘weep’ – so do keep it on a plate or platter in the fridge – this won’t affect the flavor and most of the weeping fixes I’ve read on da Google look to be more trouble than I personally care to deal with.
To serve: bring to room temperature, slice, and serve with guacamole; or arrange on a platter with the guacamole on top and chips around the edge for dipping.
Tasty looking, no?
The guacamole is quite nice as well – THAT recipe will be up tomorrow 🙂