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["Since THE day for sweethearts is coming up I thought maybe I'd get us started on recipes for Valentine's Day....from ""The Perfect Cheesecake""....serves 8-10.", "1.", "Place oven rack in center of oven; heat to 350 .", "Place almonds in single layer in ungreased shallow baking pan.", "Bake, shaking pan occasionally, til almonds are golden brown, about 6min.", "Remove almonds from pan; cold completely.", "2.", "Brush a baking sheet very lightly w/ oil; reserve.", "3.", "Combine 1-1/4C of sugar and the water in heavy non aluminum 1-1/2qt pan.", "Cook over medium heat til sugar is dissolved.", "Cover pan; simmer 3min.", "Uncover pan.", "Cook over medium heat, swirling syrup constantly, til it begins to smell fragrant and to color slightly.", "4.", "Add in 1-1/4C of almonds to syrup and stir quickly w/ metal spoon.", "Continue cooking, stirring gently once or possibly twice, only til mix is golden brown.", "Immediately pour onto reserved baking sheet; cold praline to room temp.", "5.", "Coat bottom and sides of 8x3"" cheesecake (not springform) pan w/ butter.", "Chill pan.", "6.", "Cut cream cheese into 1"" cubes; place in large mixer bowl.", "Beat at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, til smooth.", "Gradually beat in remaining 1/2C sugar, the lowfat sour cream and vanilla.", "Continue beating, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, til mix is smooth.", "7.", "Continue beating at medium speed while gradually adding Large eggs, about 1/4C at a time, to cheese mix, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition.", "8.", "Break cooled praline into small pcs.", "Grind in small batches in motar & pestle or possibly food processor til coarsely minced; fold thoroughly into cheese mix.", "9.", "Pour batter into prepared pan; spread top smooth.", "Gently rotate pan several quarter turns to settle batter.", "10.", "Place pan in 13x9x2"" baking dish or possibly pan.", "Pour warm tap water into dish til it reaches a level halfway up outside of cheesecake pan.", "Bake in center of oven at 350 til center of cake is set and top is light brown, about 1-1/2hours.", "11.", "Remove pan immediately from water; transfer to wire rack away from drafts.", "Let cold undisturbed til sides and bottom of pan are completely cooled to room temp.", "12.", "To unmold, carefully loosen sides of cheesecake w/ sharp thin knife.", "Center an inverted serving plate over cheesecake; invert and tap bottom of pan gently to release cake; remove pan.", "13.", "Chill cake uncovered overnight or possibly at least 8hrs.", "Cover cake loosely w/ plastic wrap; chill til serving time.", "14.", "Chop remaining 1/2C almonds.", "Sprinkle almonds in border around top of cake.", "Serve cake cool."]
