Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Brown Sugar & Pecans

In honor of my brother Greg turning 50 years old today I am posting two dishes I know he will love. The first is a dish I watched him devour the last time he was home (visiting). He didn't realize it was a "dip" and was to be eaten with slices of apple and pear. Instead he ate it like a main course. I can't say I blame him much. Since stumbling upon this Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Brown Sugar & Pecans recipe in a magazine several years ago, I have enjoyed it often and have dreamed of how to make it into a main course.

The second recipe I am going to share was my dream actualized. I'll call it a Greg Special because I finally figured out how to make the above mentioned appetizer into a dish deserving to be called dinner (or at least lunch)!


Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with Brown Sugar & Pecans
originally from Southern Living magazine

¼ cup firmly packed Light Brown Sugar
¼ cup chopped pecans
1 T bourbon
½ (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff-pastry sheets, thawed
1 (13.2-ounce) round Brie
apple and pear slices (for dipping)

1. Stir together first three ingredients
2. Place puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface; roll out fold lines. Spread brown sugar and pecan mixture in a 5-inch circle in the middle. Place Brie round on top of sugar mixture. Fold in corners and rub seams tightly to prevent leaking. Turn upside down so the folded portion is on the bottom. Make sure Brie and sugar mixture in sealed to prevent leakage.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and cheese is melted.
4. Let cool 10 minutes.


Brie Quesadilla
otherwise know as A Greg Special

In a desperate attempt to feed my family I resorted to my usual Plan B (Or is it Plan C? Plan B is breakfast for dinner; this must be Plan C.), quesadillas. I made the kids the standard cheese & whatever-meat-I-can-find quesadilla. I customized the husband's version to include roasted red peppers, olives, mushrooms and fresh cilantro (fancy, I know). I made myself what I will forever call a "Greg Special" - a Brie, Sliced Granny Smith Apple, Pecan and Bacon Bits Quesadilla.

Place tortilla on flat griddle on med-high heat. Add grated (or thinly sliced) brie cheese, a few sprinkles of Real Bacon Bits, a few pieces of pecans and some slices of Granny Smith apple. Sprinkle more cheese on top so the next tortilla with stick well. Slap on top another tortilla shell (there, Paula, I said it Tortilla SHELL. Go ahead, correct me. I couldn't hold it back any longer.) Grill until tortilla is browning and flip. Brown the second side and eat as a main course if you are me or my 50-year-old brother.

And by the way, it was really good!
Happy Birthday, Greg.

1 comment:

Jess said...

Now I am sufficiently hungry! Where are my pictures?? How can I fully judge the recipe without any pictures? hmmmm I will forgive you, I haven't posted in well over a week...or has it been two?