What’s Cookin’? SHAKE ‘N’ BAKED BRIE!

CAN YOU SAY, “FROMAGE! OOOH-LA-LA!!”??……I was rifling through my old recipe files, stolen…er…inspired by girlfriends’ parties, and I found a wonderful treat that just SCREAMS “Comfort-Food” in this cold weather…and yet you can save it for that barbecue at the beach when Summer rolls around again!…It’s SHAKE ‘N’ BAKED BRIE!!!! A Recipe For All Seasons, you might say!!!….and it’s sumptuous enough to serve to Paul Scofield and the Brits at tea time, or to your MahJong Gang in Boca in January!!…and EA-ZY!!!!..There’s absolutely no “quelle dommage” in this swell fromage!!!!…all you need is an oven, a pie plate, and “no experience necessary”!!!….Now for the bad news: It’s not a low-cal recipe….remember? “Comfort-food” in the second sentence above????….well, do what the French do! Eat fabulous food, drink wonderful wines, and, can you say “Purr-jay vous, s’il vous plait”?….Ballerinas and models do it!!!! Or maybe the Mayans are right, and we don’t need to worry about our girlish figures anymore! Enjoi, mes amis!!

Shake ‘N’ Baked Brie
Serves….???..it depends on how piggy everyone gets!

INGREDIENTS

• A 6” to 8” round of fine Brie (Do NOT skimp!)
• Loaf of Raisin Pecan Bread, Cinnamon Raisin, or any fabulous bread with extras!! A French baguette would work too…Warmed at serving time and sliced!
• ¾ cup of dates-chopped fine
• ½ cup of currants (or chopped dried cherries or apricots)
• ½ cup pecans-chopped fine (or experiment with YOUR favorite nuts!)- set aside a generous TBSP of the nuts for sprinkling on top at the end right before baking.
• ½ cup of rose wine or apple juice
• 1 apple-peeled and diced
• 1 pear-peeled and diced

Combine the fruit, nut, and liquid mixture in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes (stirring occasionally!) or put in the refrigerator for overnight, covered with cellophane pushed down onto the fruit mixture to keep it very moist until ready to assemble.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Take the wheel of brie out of the refrigerator, and while it is chilled, carefully slice it horizontally with a large, very sharp carving knife. This can be done best by slowly turning the wheel while the blade rests against the side tracing the “equator” of the cheese. This will keep both the top and bottom layers completely equal! Separate them quickly, and place them on wax paper to keep them from sticking to anything, or each other! Allow it to start to move towards room temperature, but NOT completely, as you assemble the final treat for the oven. You DON’T want the brie running all over before you get it into the oven!

Place the bottom round of the brie in a pie plate, rind side down. Spoon half of the fruit mixture evenly over the cheese. Cover with the 2nd disc of cheese rind side UP, and cover with the remaining fruit mixture. Sprinkle the remaining set-aside TBSP of crushed nuts in a very thin, even layer over the fruit, and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted slightly and soft. Serve immediately with the sliced bread warmed and wrapped in a cloth napkin, preferably gingham, in a decorative basket. Call me! I’ll be right over!….oh, and throw your bathroom scale out the window before I get there!!! Xoxo!