bethanie's Journal: Homespun Holiday & A Recipe

Well, I'm just getting really excited about Christmas. This morning I finished burning a CD for my dad using my own collection and filling in with stuff from Rhapsody. It's the first CD I've burned with the new computer, and it was incredibly easy, if extremely time-consuming (I had to let my computer run all night to download 10 tracks from Rhapsody). Now I can cancel my subscription, but before I do, I want to burn *one* more for myself.

I also made Kiddo her one and only requested gift from Santa Claus. When she sat on his lap and told the old guy what she wanted him to bring for Christmas, there was just one thing on her mind: Hot pads (aka oven mitts, except not mitts, just the pads, but with a pocket like the ones Momma has). I have lost track of how many $100s we have spent on gifts for her, and her request ends up being essentially free. Par for the course.

So after I finished burning the CD (and printing out the custom label & track list, of course!!), I went upstairs to my handy-dandy sewing machine, which I hadn't even plugged in since we moved into the house in July. I pulled some scraps out of my collection of things that live in my "craft" closet, and whipped out a pair of very cute, very "rustic" one-of-a-kind (i.e., freehand, asymmetric, somewhat crooked, but from the heart) Kiddo-sized hot pads in about an hour. They're pretty damn cute and I'm looking forward to seeing if she likes them. If not, then I'll let her pick out the fabric for the next ones and give me more specific instructions as to what she wants.

And I have promised y'all a recipe. First, a bit of a preface. My folks are visiting. They arrived late Friday night, and I'm beginning to feel impulses of sanity... It's Tuesday? We'll see how I am doing a week from now when they leave.

In any case, as I have mentioned before, for my family, the holidays are ALL about the food. So I've been letting them cover the basics (one or two meals a day -- including planning and shopping!) while I have fun. Last night I made Bibinka, which came out OK, but next time I'll use rice flour instead of the all-purpose flour called for by the recipe. Today I made a wonderful treat that is *extremely* easy and sure to impress. So make sure the paper's loaded in your printer (or just your your mouse to copy & paste into your e-recipe collection!), 'cause it's good!

Raspberry Brie en Croute
sounds fancy, looks fancy, tastes fancy, but makes *easy*!!!
Serves anywhere from 4 to 12, depending on what else you're feeding folks

Ingredients:

• One round of Baby Brie
• One sheet of puff pastry (make yourself, or easy way: buy it frozen in the store)
• ~1/2 cup seedless raspberry jelly/fruit spread (I use Polaner All Fruit, but that's just personal preference)
• Cream or melted butter, for brushing pastry (optional)
• Granny Smith apples, about 1 per guest (to make sure you have plenty), and maybe some crackers, depending on how many folks you're trying to serve

Instructions:

1. Thaw puff pastry (folded) to room temp for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Unfold puff pastry sheet on a non-stick surface.
4. Spread raspberry jelly over the top of the brie, and invert the brie onto the pastry.
5. Wrap the brie with the puff pastry, folding pastry corners to meet at the center of the cheese, and tuck the pointy angles up over it (you'll see what I mean when you get to this step), so when you turn the bundle over, all the seams are pretty well hidden on the bottom.
6. Place brie/jelly/pastry package onto a greased and/or foil-lined cookie sheet, seams down.
7. Brush liberally with butter or cream and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden.
8. Transfer pastry to the middle of a serving dish using a spatula, and allow it to cool/set up while you slice the apples.
9. Slice and core the apples (about 16 slices per apple) and place them decoratively around the pastry. As I said, it looks really fancy, but it takes minimal effort but makes a BIG impression. Mix in some crackers, too, if you have more of a crowd to feed.
10. After you have the apples sliced & laid out around the pastry and everyone has had sufficient time to admire your artistry and obviously formidable skills as a gourmet, use a sharp knife to cut away wedges of the pastry/cheese and serve on plates, with apple slices. Your masterpiece will no longer look pretty (chances are, if it's still warm, the brie will be *really* runny), but it'll eat good!

One of the nice things about this recipe that works well for gatherings is that even as it cools to room temperature, it's still delicious to eat, and brie is "supposed" to be served warm or room temp. If you want to make it ahead, try sprinkling lemon juice on the sliced apples to keep them from turning brown.

And now, I think I'm going into my kitchen and get me another slice! :-)

Merry Christmas!

Well.

[SuiteSisterMary]

Speaking as the proud pappa of three little girls; 6, 4 and 2, here's my observations.

1. The unwrapping is the fun part. Whatever's inside is of no consequence. Until later, at least.
2. It's much more fun unwrapping somebody else's presents, regardless of the contents.
3. Once the contents are examined, the packaging is far more fun than the actual toy.
4. Whatever you got for the 2 year old, the 6 year old will want to play with. Whatever you got for the 6 year old, the 2 year old will love.
5. In fact, label the

Pics!

[NaveWeiss]

I have no idea what's raspberry brie.. brie is usually that molded french cheese, isn't it? So it doesn't sound good when you combine it with raspberries. So, do you have pics of the final product?

Re:Pics!

[bethanie]

RTFR. ;-)

You take a regular brie and spread raspberry jelly on the top of it. Brie is very frequently combined with things like brown sugar, pecans, and various fruits. It's a very soft, mild cheese, and lends itself very well to these kinds of combinations. You really should try it before you turn up your nose at it.

No, I don't have any pics, but as it looks like a big lump of pastry when it's finished, that wouldn't help much. The impressive part is how you present it, with the apples and crackers arr