One of my favorite parts of the holidays is spending time with
family and friends. An easy party we have enjoyed is a mix of
appetizers and desserts.
This recipe comes from my friend Ann and is the best
brie en croute that I have had. Flaky golden crust,
soft melted cheese and crunchy brown sugar and nut
filling makes an amazing appetizer.
Use a 1 1/2 lb. brie. (Costco's is perfect and a great
price.) Remove the rind with a sharp knife and slice it
in half horizontally.
Place the brie on puff pastry rolled into a circle and top
with the brown sugar mix.
Gather pastry up into a purse, tie with kitchen string
and brush with beaten egg. Decorate with leaves
cut from extra dough.
Sugared pears and grapes make a nice accompaniment.
Mix up powdered egg whites with water according to
package directions. Brush on clean fruit with a pastry
brush. Sprinkle on sugar and let dry.
Brown Sugar Baked Brie en Croute
1 1/2 lb. wheel of brie (peeled and split horizontally)
1 pkg. puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
1/2 C. chopped, toasted pecans
3/4 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. dried cherries, craisins or other dried fruit
Let the frozen puff pastry dough thaw on the counter
for about 30 minutes. Unfold them and use the
egg to help seal the two pieces together.
Mix the pecans, brown sugar and fruit together.
Flour the counter and roll the pastry out in a circle
so that it is big enough to cover the brie and wrap it
up and around it. Trim. Place one piece of brie
in the center of dough. Top with half the brown
sugar mix. Place the remaining piece of brie on
top and place the remaining brown sugar on.
Brush egg on the dough and brie. Bring the dough
up and gather into a purse. Be careful to not tear the
dough or the cheese will melt and flow out. Twist
the top into a purse. Seal well. (I would tie it with a
little kitchen string.) Use remaining dough to cut
decorations. Use the egg to secure the decorations.
Brush entire purse with egg.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until brown. Serve with
crackers and sugared fruit.
I am posting this with Joni (my sister) at
Red Couch Recipes for her
It is truly a wonderful life. Yesterday at church a
woman a few years older than me shared her
Christmas Miracle. She was found with a tumor
a few weeks ago. The doctor told her she probably
had 5 to 10 days to live. She got a second opinion
and this doctor agreed.
She went home and laid in her bed and began
to ponder her future. She looked at her TV and
thought that she wouldn't be needing that. She saw
her computer and thought she wouldn't be needing
that either. She went around the room thinking
the same. She even thought to herself that she wouldn't
have to deal with a few annoying people that she
knew. She called her husband up and shared
her insights (trying to be positive about her future).
He began to cry and told her that he didn't want
her to leave. Later she had a dream and she
saw herself in the backyard by the roses with
her husband and they were smiling. She decided
she needed to focus on living. She began praying for the
blessing of life. The doctor could not
biopsy the tumor for 12 days, so she wondered
if she would even make it to the surgery.
She made it to the surgery and when she woke up
the doctor wanted to know if they had left the country,
if they had tried some Chinese herbs, etc. When he
was performing the surgery he could no longer find
the tumor! He now had to explain on the insurance
forms why he had performed this expensive surgery.
She had been blessed with an amazing miracle.
May you experience miracles during the time when
we celebrate the greatest miracle, the birth of
Jesus Christ who came to the earth as a newborn
babe to save us all.
WISE MEN (AND WOMEN) SEEK HIM STILL
