Anyone facing an occasional dinner for one, making solo brown-bag lunches, or living alone will find Toni Lydecker's Serves One invaluable. She shows you how to make tabbouleh and ratatouille in modest amounts so you don't have to eat them for days. She even gives a recipe for pizza dough you can turn into perfect, single-size pies.
2 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapeno peppers
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
1 (4-ounce) can green chiles, drained, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
Combine the tortilla chips with the butter in a bowl. Press into a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan. bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool a on wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Beat the cream cheese at medium sped in a mixer bowl for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the Monterey jack cheese, 2 tablespoons olives, green chiles and red pepper. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Release the side of the pan and let cool completely. Spread the sour cream over the top. Chill, covered, until serving time.
To serve, remove the side of the pan. Place cheesecake on parsley-lined serving platter. Arrange the bell peppers, green onions, tomato and 2 tablespoon olives on top as desired. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.
Note: These toppings can also be used to make decorative arrangements on top of the cheesecake for holidays and other special events, such as a tree for Christmas, a heart for Valentine?s Day, etc
