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Baked Brie
 
 
Since Denise has been so kind to leave nice comments and asked for the baked brie recipe, I decided I would post it here.

It really couldn't be more simple and the options are limited only to your imagination.

You can do both savory and sweet baked brie and I often do both when making them for a party or just on days when I am feeling particularly cheesey.

 
The basic idea is you take an entire wheel of brie and skim the skin off the top.  Don't take any off the sides - just the top - the sides keep it all together and prevent a total meltdown.  Now, some people leave this skin on (it's totally edible) but I like to skim the majority of it off so the flavors can meld into the cheese and you get a better "gooey" factor.    

 
All cheese must have a good "gooey" factor.

 
So you remove the skin from the top of the brie and then you add your toppings directly on to that.   The pesto brie I just made was simple -  prepared pesto spread on top of the brie, with the addition of more chopped garlic, a little shaved parmesean (I know - but cheese upon cheese - how can that be bad??)  and a good drizzle of olive oil.  The amounts are up to your taste and preference (Read:  I don't measure when I cook and have no idea how much I used) Then you  bake that in a 350 oven until the cheese is good and gooey.  When I bake mine I place it in something like a pie plate - you need something with sides.   (By the way, that 350 looks funky with this font - it looks a bit like 35 degrees instead of 350 degrees - three hundred fifty degrees - that it should be,  just to clarify.)

Oddly enough, the microwave works fabulous for this as well.   You prepare it the same and cook it at 1-minute intervals until the gooey factor sets in.

Time this takes depends entirely on the size of the brie.  Just keep checking it by pushing on it and when it's gooey - it's done.

Then you simply serve it with chunks of bread like ciabatta or any kind of bread.  It's also very good with a good cracker.

Some other ideas for toppings include;

honey and almonds with a hint of orange zest

Pecans, brown sugar and butter.

 
Chopped garlic, butter (yes, butter on cheese is to die for),  herbs like basil and oregano - either fresh or dried.

Chopped sundried tomatoes with chopped olives, a little oregano and a splash of olive oil.

 
Honestly, I could go on.  But like I said, the options are only limited by your imagination.  The basic idea is the same, skim the skin off the top, put your toppings on, and cook until gooey.

Also, if you don't eat it all - which, seriously, that's never happened to me - but if you don't eat it all, simply cover what is left and refrigerate.   Then you can put it in the microwave to re-melt when you're ready to finish it off.

Simple - easy - gooey. 

3 words I love.

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Posted by Foodwhore at July 22, 2004 10:25 AM