Amazing Baked Brie

The other day I mentioned that I had hosted my book group recently.  The morning I was to host, I woke up thinking that I needed to make a baked brie for everyone to nosh on before we actually sat down to eat.  Great idea, wouldn't you say?  Normally, when I make a baked brie I do it in puff pastry.  This time I didn't want to go the puff pastry route, I wanted to try something different.  Ages ago, I made a brie without pastry but I have no recollection as to what it was, just that it was pastry-free.  So I did a little searching to find a recipe that looked good and boy, did I find one!  How about Baked Brie with Pecans, Brown Sugar, and Kahlua??  Ahh, you've got me!

This takes no time at all to prepare.  If you happen to live by a Costco, during the holidays (and possibly at other times too) they have ginormous wheels of brie.  They are literally 19 or 20 ounces of cheesy goodness!  I recommend getting one of those bad boys and maybe doubling or 1 1/2-ing this recipe for the mega-brie.  Whatever guests you have will not complain.  The brie you see here is also from Costco, but it is a smaller 13.4 ounce-er.  The bigger the better with this thing, as it is amazing! 

Anyway, take that wheel of creamy deliciousness out of its packaging and set it on your cutting board.  Score a circle on the top of the wheel, 1/4 inch in from the edge.  With a spoon, scrape the white rind off of the middle of your circle.

Toast some pecans and mix them with brown sugar and Kahlua.  Seriously, with that combination, what could possibly go wrong?  Nothing, I say.  Put that heavenly mixture on top of the brie, staying within that circle you made.

Stick it in the oven for a few minutes, pull it out and KA-POW, you have created a scrumptious appetizer!  Serve with crackers and/or tart apple slices.  YUM. 

Now that I have made this brie, I am not sure I'll do the pastry-wrapped one again.  That one is delicious, I agree, but this one is not only delicious but EASIER.  No defrosting, rolling, wrapping of puff pastry.  And you could totally switch this one up in all sorts of ways.  Add some dried cherries or cranberries!  Use walnuts/almonds/hazelnuts, whatever your favorite nut might be!  Not a fan of Kahlua?  Use maple syrup!  Or honey!  Seriously, you could make endless renditions of this baked brie, and I think they would probably all be amazing. 

Try this.  It's so simple, and so good!

Baked Brie with Pecans, Brown Sugar, and Kahlua
adapted from many online sources

Ingredients:
13.4 ounce wheel of Brie
2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 TB Kahlua
crackeres
1-2 tart apples, sliced

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Using a knife, gently score a circle on the top of the wheel, 1/4 inch in from the edge.  With a spoon, scrape the white rind off of the middle of your circle.  Place the brie in the center of an oven-safe platter.

Mix the pecans, brown sugar and Kahlua in a small bowl.  Spoon the mixture into the center of the brie, covering the circle you created and staying within the 1/4-inch rim.  Bake for 8-15 minutes, until the topping begins to bubble.  Be careful not to overcook the brie - it will melt and lose it's shape if you leave it in the oven too long! 

Serve while warm, with crackers and apple slices.
Printable Recipe

This was a total hit with my book group, as I think it would be with any group!  Is there anything yummier than gooey melted brie?  Mmmm....

Enjoy!

A Pumpkin Cheese Ball!

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have gotten into the fall/halloween spirit and as such went with the theme when preparing snacks for church last week!  Here is a pumpkin cheese ball!  No, there is no actual pumpkin in the cheese ball, it just looks one!  When looking for a pumpkin cheese ball, I found many recipes that used crushed nacho chips on the outside.  While I am sure that could be quite good, when I found this one I knew it was a keeper.  The recipe is based on a Cook's Country cheddar cheese ball.  All that is added is a bit of paprika around the outside to make it a bit more orange in color! 

Pumpkin Cheddar Cheese Ball
adapted from Cooks Country

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 TB mayonnaise
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
paprika
1/4-1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
greens to set the cheese ball upon
crackers, chips,veggies for serving
stem of a bell pepper

Instructions:
Mix the cheddar, cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and cayenne in a food processor until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the center of a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into a mound with a spatula.  Bring up the four corners of the plastic wrap  and twist tightly to form a round ball shape. Set the plastic-wrapped ball in a small bowl if you have one, to help maintain the round shape on the bottom, and place in he refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days. 

Remove the cheese ball from the refrigerator and reshape as needed while still wrapped in plastic.  Unwrap, leaving the ball on the plastic wrap.  Gently sprinkle paprika all over the outside of the cheese ball an then roll in the toasted almonds.  Press the bell pepper stem into the top of the cheese ball, making a pumpkin stem.  Set on some greens in the center of a platter.  Let it sit out a bit before servings so it is not too firm.  Serve with crackers, chips, carrot sticks, red pepper slices, etc.
Printable Recipe

Obviously, you do not need to make this cheese ball look like a pumpkin.  It is a delicious cheese ball for whatever event you might plan/attend that needs a great appetizer.  Why purchase a cheese ball from the store when this one is so easy and so delicious? 

Mummy Dip

I love getting into a theme for food, and what better one than Halloween?  I provided the snacks at our church this past Saturday so I decided to get a little into the spirit, without getting too scary or potentially offensive.  I made a Mummy bread bowl filled with yummy green dip.  Easy peasy, you can do this!

Shaped pizza dough

I found the idea at the Kraft website, though I didn't actually use the dip they suggested.  It was a spinach dip and sounded fine, but this yummy green dip was recently sampled at my grocery store and it hit my two criteria for dips:  (1) easy and (2) the kind you can't stop eating!    Sold!  Now since my green dip recipe is from my grocery store, it calls for their particular products.  If you do not live in Texas and thus cannot get to an HEB, the "Relish that Corn" is a relish made of corn, pepper, vinegar and spices, and "That Green Sauce" is a creamy salsa containing jalapenos, poblano peppers, green tomatoes and sour cream.  If you can come up with some similar products in your area, you are good to go!


Mummy Dip
adapted from Kraft and HEB grocery stores

Ingredients:
1 package frozen pizza dough, thawed (mine was 14 oz.)
1 egg, beaten
2 sticks mozzarella string cheese
1 12 ounce container whipped cream cheese
1 jar "Relish that Corn", juices drained
1 jar "That Green Sauce"
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Pat the dough into an oval of approximately 6-in by 12-in.  Indent the dough about 3 inches down from one end to form the mummy's head.  Let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes or until doubled in volume.

Heat oven to 375F.  Brush dough with the beaten egg and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Pull apart the string cheese to make thin strips and arrange the strips on the mummy's head an body for the wrappings.  Put back into the oven for 1-2 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.  Allow to cool.

Make the dip:  Combine the cream cheese, corn relish, green sauce and cheddar cheese in a medium bowl.

Use a sharp knife to remove an oval from the top of the mummy's body/stomach.  Scoop out the bread from the center, leaving a thin shell of crust on the bottom and sides.  Reserve the bread top but discard the bread crumbs.  Fill the bread with dip just before serving and cover with the top of the bread/belly.  Serve with crackers/chips/veggies.

Note:  For mummy's eyes, I cut small circles out of a red bell pepper, and then also cut small circles out of the mummy's face and set the pepper into the eye sockets.  You could also use an olive slice, in which case you could simply press the olive to the mummy's face while the bread is still warm from the oven, no need to cut out holes.  Or use whatever you desire to make an eye!
Printable Recipe

You could put any sort of dip inside your mummy.  If you wanted to get a bit more creepy, you could use some sort of red pepper hummus or some other red colored dip so that the guts are more "festive" looking.  Just an idea...

If you do live in Texas, I suggest trying this dip.  Super easy and I can't stop eating it!

Happy Halloween!

TWD: Baking with Julia - Eastern Mediterranean Pizzas

This week's TWD recipe is Eastern Mediterranean Pizza!  You start with a pita bread and then put yummy toppings with an eastern Mediterranean flair and there you go!  Eastern Mediterranean Pizza! 

I rather liked the pita dough.  It was simple enough to make and used both white and wheat flours, which I like.  The dough itself starts with a sponge that can rest for 30 minutes up to 8 hours.  I let mine rest for about 4 hours.  The flavor was quite good, so I do wonder what it would be like if I had the time to let it rest the entire 8 hours, and if I only let it rest for 30 min...  I hope some of the other bloggers share their thoughts on that one! 

The toppings to this "eastern Mediterranean" pizzas are shallots, garlic, lamb and tomatoes.  This is mixed with some cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper for the Mediterranean flair.  I did not use lamb.  I just don't like it.  I don't like the idea of lamb, and I don't generally care for the taste.  Lamb is just not my thing!  Early on when I first started dating my husband, I went to his parent's house for dinner and was served lamb with mint jelly.  I know lots of people love this combination.  I truly don't get it.  Mint jelly?  Blech.  On MEAT?  Ack.  Anyway, as a newbie in the family unit (we were only dating!) I forced myself to eat what I could.  Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for my husband since I won't cook lamb) his parents love lamb and cook it often.  I, however decided that once we were married, I did not have to eat lamb any more.  And I haven't!  And if his parents have noticed, they must not care.  (They will notice now though, as my father-in-law follows my blog!!)  It's all just personal taste, right?

So, to end my long story about lamb, I did not use it in these pizzas, I used ground sirloin instead.  You just cook the shallots, garlic, meat and tomatoes together, add the spices, and plop some on each pita circle (8 total).  Sprinkle pine nuts on top (I love pine nuts) and into the oven they go for about 7-8 minutes.  Done!

We liked them, but mine would probably have been better if I had used (gasp) canned tomatoes.  I used fresh ones and they didn't have much flavor.  Pitiful to think canned ones would have been better, isn't it? 

Gotta run - off to visit  the in-laws....  I hope there isn't any lamb!!!

TWD - Baking with Julia: Cheese and Tomato Galette

This Cheese and Tomato Galette was supposed to be posted on June 18, but I just didn't get to it on time.  I did get the recipe made, but not on time.  Since there are 5 Tuesdays in July, I have an extra chance to post it now! 

This is pretty much a sort of fancy pizza, with a yummy pastry crust!  I made the galette crust once before, for the Berry Galette last summer.  At that time, I was not very impressed with the dough. I found it difficult to work with and a bit greasy.  The recipe suggested using sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk, so this time I used sour cream and it was a lot better.  Did the sour cream do the trick?  There could be other factors involved, but at the very least, it worked!

The toppings for this galette are very simple - Monterey Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, basil and tomatoes!  A Margarita pizza, right?  My favorite!    I made sure to use fresh mozzarella cheese, which I think makes a huge difference.  When mozzarella is a main flavor ingredient, fresh is the only way to go! 

The galette itself is a tiny thing - more of an appetizer or personal sized "pizza", though the galette dough makes enough that you could make two of them.  And you can use the dough for a variety of toppings, savory, like this one, or sweet, like the berry one last summer.  Now that I have had some success with the dough, I may just have to try it again with other toppings! 

By the way, if you look closely to the photo on the top, you will see that my "cooling rack" was actually a rack from my oven.  This is the very last thing I baked before moving and almost everything in the kitchen was packed at that point!  I had to improvise!!

Cheese and Tomato Galette
adapted from Baking with Julia, page 429

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe Galette Dough - recipe follows
2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 ounces fresh mozarella, shredded
1/4 cup basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
2-3 firm but ripe plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Instructions:
Position a rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place the galette dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into an 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick.  The dough is pretty soft, so you will need to lift it periodically to toss some additional flour underneath to help prevent sticking.  Place the dough on the parchment covered baking sheet.

Toss the cheeses and basil together and then scatter over the dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border.  Place the tomatoes in a concentric circle over the cheese, with each slice slightly overlapping the last.  Fold the border over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you lift it up and work around the galette. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp and the cheese is bubbly.  Keep the galette on the baking sheet and rest upon a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Gently remove the galette from the baking sheet with a large spatula, and slid it onto the cooling rack to finish cooling.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Galette Dough
Baking with Julia, page 371

Ingredients:
3 TB sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
1/3 cup (approximately) ice water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 TB cold unsalted butter, cut into 6-8 pieces

Instructions:
Stir the sour cream and ice water together in small bowl and set aside.  Put the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.  Drop the butter pieces into the bowl and pulse 8-10 times, until the butter pieces vary in size from bread crumb to pea.  Add the sour cream mixture with the machine running, and process just until the dough forms soft curds.

Remove the dough from the processor and divide in half.  Press each half into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.

The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or frozen for a month.  Thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator. 
Printable Recipe - dough only
Printable Recipe - dough plus filling

Spinach Gruyere Puff Pastry

A while back, I was asked to provide a recipe for several people to make for appetizers at a church function.  It had to be something simple, that could be made in advance, but that was a bit of a step up from the average appetizer.  So I decided upon Spinach Gruyere Puff Pastries.  The recipe is originally from Paula Deen, though I added a bit.

Spinach Gruyere Puff Pastry
adapted from Paula Deen (my additions in italics)

2 (10-oz.) pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 TB butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (box should contain 2 sheets)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Drain spinach well, removing excess moisture by pressing between paper towels.

Melt 4 TB butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.  Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir together spinach, mushroom mixture and cheese; set aside.  Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13x11-inch rectangle.  Melt remaining  4 TB butter and spread half over the pastry.  Spread 1/2 of the spinach mixture over the butter.   Roll up, jelly roll style, starting with a long side.  Repeat procedure with remaining puff pastry sheet, butter, and spinach mixture.  Wrap rolls tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes, until the rolls are stiff.  Cut rolls into scant 1/2 inch slices.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, or a baking sheet covered with parchment.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

You could also add crumbled bacon to the spinach/mushroom mixture, though you would need to adjust the salt accordingly.

You could brush the tops of the pinwheels with an egg wash before baking, if you desire.
Printable Recipe

Make these, and make a bunch.  It is hard to eat just one!

A Bacon Bonanza

It was a bacon bonanza!  I am in a dinner group with some friends and we recently had one of our dinners.  In our group, whomever is hosting can decide the plan for the dinner, whether that means a general theme, choosing the actual recipes, etc.  This time, the hosts decided to do a "secret ingredient" dinner.  After we each chose what course we wanted to create, they emailed us all with the secret ingredient that each course must include.  BACON!  Mr. Clever Mom and I chose the appetizer course this time.  We usually choose dessert but decided to shake things up a bit and picked appetizers instead.  We created a bacon bonanza.

Above, starting from the top left, we made Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches with Basil and Peach Balsamic Vinegar, a Goat Cheese, Herb, Pecan and Bacon Pop, and a Bacon Cracker topped with Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam.  Mmmm.  I wish I could say "definitely try X recipe as it was the best" but really they were all so different and all really good.  The peaches were sweet and crispy and juicy, and the bacon pop paired with a crisp Granny Smith apple was really great, and my goodness that bacon jam was delicious.  Sweet and smoky and perfect atop a flaky bacon cracker.  I have to pat the two of us on the back a bit.  We made three great appetizers!  So here are the recipes for you to try!

Daring Bakers: Crazy for Crackers!

Our Jully 2012 Daring Bakers' Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers!  Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged us to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

While I knew it was possible to make crackers, I must admit it was not something to which I had given much thought.  So when the July challenge was announced, I was intrigued!  Crackers!  Hmmm.

There are several methods for making crackers, and part of our assignment was to try two different methods.  Crackers can be made by hand rolling, using pasta rollers, and by putting them in the icebox and slicing.  While I do own a pasta roller, I opted to use the two other methods for my crackers:  hand rolling and icebox.  Crackers are surprisingly easy and fun to make!  Why didn't I think of this sooner? 

I was thrilled to discover a recipe for homemade Ritz crackers.  We eat a LOT of Ritz crackers, or "circle crackers", as the clever girl calls them.  To make my own without the bizarre unpronounceable ingredients from the packaged Ritz would be fantastic!  Stef, of the Cupcake Project, went on a mission at one point to create the perfect Ritz cracker.  Yahoo, because she baked about a zillion crackers before figuring it out!  I benefited from her mission!  Thanks, Stef!