Friday, December 12, 2008

Brie en Croute



Several weeks ago, I saw Wee Brie on one of the blogs I read. I just can't remember which one and I have gone to several blogs search through several posts and can't find it.


When I first saw Wee Brie, I knew there had to be many fun and unique munchies to make with this wonderful cheese and being so close to the holidays, I didn't need any coaxing. I usually make a Brien en Croute to munch on before Christmas dinner and I thought I would play around and see if I could make individual Brie en Croute with the Wee Brie. This wasn't a slam dunk and is still a work in progress. Most of my blogosphere friends are far more talented and creative than I am so many together we can knock this out of the park.




Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. When butter is melted add 1 cup of chopped pecans. Brown the pecans in the melted butter for 3 to4 minutes, being careful not to burn the butter.






On a whole brie wheel, I use a sheet of puff pastry. With the Wee Brie, I started off using crescent rolls because they are buttery and I thought the shape would work well with the brie. This wound up being too small to wrap around the brie.





We moved on to the larger crescent rolls in a can and the size was much better. Top the brie with the buttery pecans, a little sprinkle of cinnamon and a little sprinkle of brown sugar.







Wrap the dough around the brie. On a brie wheel I pull the dough up to make it look like a bundle. The bundle wrapping did not work with the triangle shape of the dough. As you can see, the wrapping didn't come out real pretty. Bake at 375 degrees in a greased baking sheet for 13 to 15 minutes.






The little bundles browned very nicely.





I think when I make these for Christmas, I am going to top them with fig preserves. Fig preserves would put this over the top. These were still amazing.


Suggest a topping you would like to see on the Wee Brie bundles.

My thanks go out to Duckie for awarding me with the Proximity Blog Award. Duckie is the most fantasitc, taleneted writer next to John Grisham that I have ever read. She's whimsical and imaginative and makes me think I can Twirl. This award means: "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!



Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."I'd like to pass it on to these fine folks:



1) Michele
2) Ralonda
3) First, Make a Roux
4) Aggie
5) Margie
6) Gigi
7) Lisa
8) Greg



Susan at Yum Ninja tagged me to mention 7 random things about myself. If Susan's blog is on your daily stops, you need to check out her blog. She is an amazing cook and baker; so very talented. I've done this tag once before, but instead of passing it on to 7 people, if anyone who stops by would like to continue this tag, please feel free to be tagged by me...it's the holidays not pressure. Ok, there's pressure because my mind is blank..I've asked the homegirlz for help, here they go....


1. Her favorite color is red.
2. She won't stop singing Christmas songs (she can't sing, really she can't please help us stop her).
3. She buys us pajamas every year for Christmas because you have to sleep in new pajamas on Christmas Eve.
4. She quit smoking in July! We are happy about that and so is our dad.
5. She drinks two glasses of red wine every night when she's cooking.
6. She likes to look at trees in the fall.
7. She always kisses us twice at bedtime and before she leaves for work and pretends like she forgot she kissed and hugged us all ready; we play along.


I'll be under floor dying of embarrassment but ya'll have a wonderful weekend.



19 comments:

gigi said...

I'm not a fan of Brie, be it Wee or not. But the pecans browned in butter a different story.

That you for the award. It is an honor to think someone likes my blog enough to give me an award. I really appreciate that fact.

Isn't it interesting that we would never think of things about ourselves to write on a tag but others and especially our children could come up with so much more. I love those things from them and I LOVE the fact THAT YOU QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!! That is an awesome accomplishment and a hard one too. Way to go girl!

Have a blessed weekend. Merry Christmas.

Stamp (verification word)
Wonder if that's a sign??

April said...

I have never made anything with Brie cheese, but have seen several different variations and have wanted to try it. I think I will now! Also, have you seen the cresent rolls that arent cut into triangles? I think they may be cut into squares. Those may work in this. Contrats on quitting smoking!! That is fantastic!! Oh, and I think that it is very sweet that you kiss your girls twice each time. Our babies will never be too old for some momma lovin!!

John Roberts said...

Love the new look!

Reeni said...

I never do anything to my brie except eat as is or make a grilled cheese with avocado. The fig preserves sound outstanding. I wonder how cranberry or cherries would be with it. I am very proud of you for quitting smoking. And how sweet that you find reasons to give your kids extra kisses!! That's the best.

Marjie said...

Your little cheese nibbles are cute!

I love your girls' "7 things". My dearly beloved has quit smoking about a million times, but it never sticks. Sad.

And thanks for the award. I truly appreciate it, although I'm sure Thor deserves the credit for being such an adorable giant baby.

Pam said...

Oh how I love brie. The addition of pecans is fantatic. I think your bundles look cute and who cares if they aren't perfect if they taste good.

Congrats on your awards - you deserve it. Also, congrats on quitting smoking - it's a tough one to beat.

Debbie said...

Very nice bundles of brie. I've never done much with brie. I think the fig preserves are a great idea! Congrats on the award!

jesse said...

Those brie packets look sooooooo good! Fig preserve sounds yummy... I like to eat my brie with a generous slathering of caramelized red onion conserve. Mmmm~

vanillasugarblog said...

Oh yes this is so good. Next time you do this try putting a little bit of chutney in there. The sweetness of the chutney goes so well with the brie.

Anonymous said...

Ohhhhh, I'm hungry for supper and could do with some Brie right now for an appetizer. I've wrapped a wheel of Brie in puff pastry before and it was sooo good. I like to top it with Chutney or Jalepeno Jelly.

Bring it on!!

BTW, I finished all my shopping today, with the exception of a couple of gift cards I've yet to buy. Still, I consider the day a success. The traffic was awful!! I'm glad to be home.

Thanks for visiting my Blog.

Hudson said...

I am all over this recipe. I have a very busy weekend with about 50 relatives coming over and the food is set but by the middle of next week I will have given this recipe a whirl. Thanks for all these great recipes. Thanks for checking out my site. Hudson and "mom"

The Blonde Duck said...

Thanks for the kind comments! You're so nice! John Grisham is pretty high praise...I hope I can live up to it!

Your sussy goes out today!

Megan said...

I love brie! I melt apricot jam with some pecans and cranberrys and pour the warm sauce over the top. That combo would work great in pastry. Fig sounds awesome too! Oh shoot!, now I think I NEED to make some! :)
Two glasses of red wine everynight whie cooking sounds like my kind of girl! ;)

nicole said...

Love your blog. Can't wait to look around.

Steph said...

Katherine, I love what you did to your blog. It looks so pretty! I actually made the brie en croute in my food and nutrition class in high school.. yummy!

Congrats on your award.

priscilla joy said...

yummy, looks so good. I LOVE your new look!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Love the wrapped brie and I LOVE your new blog look. Thanks for passing the award to me and congrats.

Anonymous said...

Katherine, I was drooling over your lovely brie recipe, then I found that you had given me an award. Thanks again for supporting and visiting my little blog. I continue to be amazed and inspired by yours. :) I especially enjoy your posts on the foods we grew up with.

BTW, I love that you had your homegirlz respond to the questions about you. You sound just like my mom, -- she used to do that thing where she acted like she'd forgotten to kiss us goodnight!

As for the mini brie en croute -- I love the idea of the pecans and brown butter. Oh, and do try it with figs! I make some fig and havarti toasts that are simple as pie, but my guests (and I) always go crazy for them. Good Louisiana figs + soft cheese = goodness!

Thanks again! I'm off to pick my 8 bloggers!

tavolini said...

Those look really, really dangerous. I could easily picture myself sitting next to the plate and eating as many as I could before getting caught ;)