Cheese and cheesy items make up the largest portion of my list of comfort foods. Even just saying the word makes me smile...and not in that creepy look-in-the-camera-and-pretend-you're-happy sorta way. Cheeeeeese...say it with me...
~cheeeeeeeese~
Did you feel that? Did you notice how you couldn't stop yourself from singing it? I'm telling you...cheese is magickal.
Today's focus, though, is beautiful brie. I don't think Brie evokes the same quality of cheerful comfort that the word "cheese" does. In fact, when I hear the word out loud, I think of some snooty ivy-league hausfrau who does nothing all day but consider what tiny temptations she'll ask her caterer to provide for her next social gathering. Mind you...there's nothing wrong with that. I'm quite fond of considering tasty treats to serve my friends when they visit. It's just not my ideal vision of cheerfulness and comfort, you know?
But I digress....
Ri-Ra's in downtown Portland does a lovely Brie en croute (like in the pic above) with some sort of yummy cranberry compote/jam stuph inside. Gooey brie with warm cranberry compote...are you drooling? I am!
Everyone knows Brie is delicious with fruit. It's one of those sweetie-cheesies. Lots of restaurants serve Brie for dessert (okay, maybe not the restaurants you and I frequent, but lots of restaurants DO, I SWEAR.) It's also quite num-nummy with the dessert wines, like mead, eiswein, muscat or riesling. The following is a Brie Tart recipe I'd like to try. If you get around to it before I do (highly likely), please let me know how it goes. Or make extra and bring me some. Yeah, do that. And bring the wine, too.
(I love my Puddlewackers...
heeheehee!)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
- 1/2 (8-oz.) Brie round, rind removed
- 3/4 cup seedless red grapes, chopped
- 1 green onion, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs
Preparation
1. Place walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Increase oven temperature to 425°.
2. Unroll piecrust on a flat surface. Cut into 24 rounds using a 2-inch round cutter. Press rounds into bottoms of ungreased miniature muffin cups (dough will come slightly up sides, forming a cup). Prick bottom of dough with a fork.
3. Bake at 425° for 6 to 7 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans, and cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°.
4. Meanwhile, cut Brie round into 24 pieces. Stir together grapes and next 4 ingredients.
5. Arrange pastry shells on a baking sheet. Place 1 Brie piece in each pastry cup; sprinkle Brie pieces evenly with toasted walnuts.
6. Bake at 300° for 4 to 6 minutes or just until cheese begins to melt. Top tarts evenly with grape mixture. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.
Sheri Castle, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2007
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