Cherry Cheesecake Pie

I call this my New Orleans Pie recipe. I have no idea why it got saddled with the ``New Orleans'' part of the name, unless it was some offhand remark from the person who first gave me the recipe that it came out of a cookbook she'd bought there. It's really more of a cherry cheesecake, with a twist.



Ingredients:



Unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell 20 oz. [560 grams] can cherry pie filling 8 oz. [225 grams] package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. vanilla Sour cream and nutmeg to top and garnish



Directions:



Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit [220 C]. Pour the pie filling into the pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.



Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.



Remove the pie from the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F [175 C]. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the pie. Put the pie back in the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely.



Spread sour cream on the top in a very thin layer (this cuts down on some of the sweetness), and sprinkle the top with nutmeg.



Comments:



I haven't found anyone yet who hasn't enjoyed this. I might suggest that the entire can of cherry pie filling doesn't have to go in, if you're concerned about spilling, because the cream cheese mixture takes up all the rest of the room in the pie. Personally, I usually make sure all of the cherries in the can make it into the pie shell, and don't use all of the thick liquid ``base'' in the can.



VR: The Grey Lady