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.

Kid Tested, Mother Approved Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Nuggets are so unphotogenic. They could never make it on a cat walk or in Hollywood or in New York for that matter. What these nuggets lack in beauty, they make up for in taste and nutrition! Don't take my word for it, try them.

Sometimes a mother just wants to be loved. Instead of making my children my own personal taste-testing guinea pigs, tonight I made them what they want...chicken nuggets. There was no mutiny at the table. There were no tears. There was just lip smackin', finger-lickin' and wild begging for seconds. Alas, a harmonious dinner table!

Are you ready for the shocker? These chicken nuggets are good. They're so good, I think I may actually bake them for myself when my nest is empty and chil'ren are all grown (if I make it that long, God help me). Not only are they good, they are good for you. By adding some unexpected ingredients into the breading, they taste yummier than your standard chicken nugget and they have some nutritional value.

Tomorrow, I'm having leftovers for lunch Shhh! Don't tell the kids.

My recipe is a compilation of various recipes I have used in the past, but with an emphasis on Jessica Seinfeld's chicken nuggets from her book Deceptively Delicious.

Baked Chicken Nuggets with Lite Honey Mustard Dip

(or baked chicken breast for grown-ups)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 1" to 1 1/2" pieces

1 cup buttermilk,

1 T. hot sauce (Tabasco or the like)

1 cup bread crumbs or panko crumbs

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup broccoli puree (optional)

1/4 cup dijon mustard

2 T. lite mayo

2 T. honey

1. Mix buttermilk and hot sauce in one gallon Ziplock bag. Add chicken and marinate overnight in refrigerator or at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Mix bread crumbs & next 5 ingredients (through salt). Set aside.

3. Beat egg and broccoli puree in small bowl.

4. Dip chicken nuggets into egg mixture and then into crumb mixture until completely coated.

5. Arrange chicken on large cookie sheet or two 9x13 pans being careful to not crowd chicken.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

7. While baking, mix mustard, honey and mayo for a yummy dipping sauce.

Serve on paper plates, with paper napkins and with the T.V. on. You will be nominated for mother-of-the-year! (We don't really eat dinner with the T.V. on... that would defeat the purpose of all this cooking I do to make my family sit down and talk to me.)

This is powdered buttermilk. It is good to have on hand and lasts a long time. Don't just buy it for the chicken nugget recipe, make these pancakes with it.

The kids asked that I take a picture of their plates after they ate. I guess they are proud and since an empty plate is usually praised around here, why not take a picture? They must really be confused when they see me taking pictures of their dinner before we eat.

This is the honey mustard dip. Loooove it! Sweet and tangy. It is for the adults because the kids just use ketchup. Go figure.