10 oz. box frozen strawberries, thawed
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. whole almonds, with skins on
12 vanilla wafer cookies, about 1/2 c. crumbs
1 c. plus 3 tbsp. sugar
2 lbs. room temperature cream cheese
2 tbsp. cornstarch
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 drops red food coloring (optional)
1 c. sour cream

Puree strawberries, with their syrup, in a food processor or blender. Put pureed strawberries in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup, approximately 10 minutes. Cool. Butter a 9 inch spring form pan. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Grind almonds and vanilla wafers separately.

Combine 1/2 cup of the ground almonds, the wafer crumbs, the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Press into bottom of prepared pan and coat sides with remaining ground almonds. Chill.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of the sugar and the cornstarch until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at time, and add vanilla. Beat in strawberries and food coloring, if using. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out slightly moist, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine sour cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Spread evenly to within 1/8 inch of the edge of cake. Return to the oven and bake until topping is set, 5 to 8 minutes. Cool and then refrigerate until ready to serve. 12 servings.