Most people tend to have strong feelings about Brie Cheese... I've heard the flavor referred to as something akin to dirty feet! However, I strongly disagree and I fall in the camp of "I-love-it-and-will-eat-it-any-day-of-the-week"! Unfortunately, I can't eat it every day of the week without a serious all-out protest staged by my stomach (and my budget). Therefore, despite many a longing glance when I pass it in the deli section at the store, it has been relegated to rare and special occasions.
Just such an occasion rolled around last Friday night when I went to an engagement party for some friends and was asked to bring one of those puff pastry/brie appetizer-type dishes. Despite the fact that I love Brie and love to eat Puff Pastry and Brie that other people have prepared, I have always been strangely intimidated by Puff Pastry and have never attempted a dish that requires it.
After a little internal pep-talk, I conjured up some bravery, marched over to the grocery store freezer section and returned with a package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, an 8 oz wheel of Brie cheese and some walnuts. A little Rosemary from the garden and some honey from my bathroom cupboard (you'll have to scrounge through my older posts if you don't remember why I keep honey in the bathroom) all combined together into something that was really yummy. This recipe came right off of the Pepperidge Farm website:
Baked Puff Pastry with Brie, Honey, Walnuts & Rosemary
1 sheet of thawed puff pastry (pkg come with 2, pull out one and defrost on the counter top for 1/2 hour and return the other to the freezer until you are ready to use it)
1 8oz wheel of Brie cheese
1/4 walnuts, chopped
2 T honey
1 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg
1 T water
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix egg and water in a bowl.
- Mix honey, walnuts & rosemary in another bowl.
- Roll puff pastry sheet out into a 12 inch square. Trim off ends to make a circle.
- Cut the Brie wheel in 1/2 horizontally so that you have two matching discs.
- Place one piece of Brie on the pastry dough, cut side up. Spread the walnut/honey/rosemary mixture over cheese. Top with the other piece of Brie, cut side down.
- Dampen the edges of the pastry dough with the egg/water and fold the edges over the cheese, pressing to seal.
- Turn bundle over and place in a baking dish, folded side down. Decorate the top with pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with more egg mixture.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 or until the pastry turns golden brown.
(**The website said to bake for 20 minutes and after 30 minutes, I was starting to fear that my pastry was never going to puff and that I had somehow killed it. However, around the 35 minute mark, it began to puff and brown beautifully. So just go with your oven and take the dish out when it looks nicely browned and "puffed.")
I really liked the combination of sweet honey, rich walnuts and hints of rosemary in this appetizer! Despite what looks like kind of a lot of steps, it was pretty quick to throw together and I will definitely make it again.
Now I have a remaining puff pastry sheet in my freezer. Any ideas on something brilliant to do with it??
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Pumpkin Pie in August
Some of you might hate me for rushing the end of these last precious few weeks of summer, but I have gotten the itch for Fall early this year! We had about a week and a 1/2 of fierce afternoon thunderstorms here a few weeks ago and the dark skies and blustering winds just did me in. I started craving pumpkin pie and it was only mid-August!
I got online one afternoon to browse recipes and found one from The Joy of Baking website that had an interesting twist. Regular crust. Regular pumpkin pie filling. But a layer of crushed gingersnap cookies and toasted pecans pressed into the raw crust before you add the filling. This got me all excited so when my sister and her family were out for a visit last week, we tried it out. Actually, to be more accurate, my sweet mama tried it out because I had to work. She made the pie during the day and then we all enjoyed a piece that night. As far as pumpkin pie goes, it was awesome, but none of us could taste the cookie/pecan layer. We started brainstorming and thought it might be fun to scratch the regular crust and go graham-cracker crust style, but use gingersnap cookies and crushed, toasted pecans in place of the traditional graham crackers.
We are currently having another lovely Colorado-can't-make-up-its-mind-weather week. So when the temperature dipped down into the 40's last night, inspiration swept over me and I whipped up a pumpkin pie with gingersnap and toasted pecan crust. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Except it didn't turn out like I hoped.... The crust was soft, almost soggy and I wanted it to be crunchy. I don't know how I would pull this off though because I think it would burn if you cooked it first and then had it in the oven for another hour while the pumpkin filling cooked...
So here is my next idea. Normal crust. Normal pumpkin pie filling. Some kind of crumb topping that includes the gingersnaps and toasted pecans. What do you think? Any other brilliant ideas of how the gingersnaps and pecans might be incorporated? In the end, I might decide that plain old pumpkin pie is best, but I am having fun playing with new ideas at the moment!
Feedback please!
I got online one afternoon to browse recipes and found one from The Joy of Baking website that had an interesting twist. Regular crust. Regular pumpkin pie filling. But a layer of crushed gingersnap cookies and toasted pecans pressed into the raw crust before you add the filling. This got me all excited so when my sister and her family were out for a visit last week, we tried it out. Actually, to be more accurate, my sweet mama tried it out because I had to work. She made the pie during the day and then we all enjoyed a piece that night. As far as pumpkin pie goes, it was awesome, but none of us could taste the cookie/pecan layer. We started brainstorming and thought it might be fun to scratch the regular crust and go graham-cracker crust style, but use gingersnap cookies and crushed, toasted pecans in place of the traditional graham crackers.
We are currently having another lovely Colorado-can't-make-up-its-mind-weather week. So when the temperature dipped down into the 40's last night, inspiration swept over me and I whipped up a pumpkin pie with gingersnap and toasted pecan crust. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Except it didn't turn out like I hoped.... The crust was soft, almost soggy and I wanted it to be crunchy. I don't know how I would pull this off though because I think it would burn if you cooked it first and then had it in the oven for another hour while the pumpkin filling cooked...
So here is my next idea. Normal crust. Normal pumpkin pie filling. Some kind of crumb topping that includes the gingersnaps and toasted pecans. What do you think? Any other brilliant ideas of how the gingersnaps and pecans might be incorporated? In the end, I might decide that plain old pumpkin pie is best, but I am having fun playing with new ideas at the moment!
Feedback please!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Something New for Breakfast
Having food allergies can make you do some weird things. Or maybe I should spin that in a more positive light and say having food allergies has made me more adventurous! I walked into the kitchen at work a few months ago and overheard one of my coworkers telling another coworker that “Jenny eats weird food.” It made me laugh out loud. I guess I have kind of gotten used to eating some things that might seem weird to other people. In general though, I don’t think my food is that weird. Do you?
I was officially weird this week though. I went to Whole Foods last week to buy some sucanot (probably qualifies as a “weird” food, but it’s awesome – if you don’t know what it is, ask…) and got preoccupied with reading the nutrition labels on some of the grains in the bulk section (could also probably qualify as “weird” behavior). I am familiar with all the different kinds of rice and quinoa. However, I have never explored the realms of kamut, barley, buckwheat, amaranth, etc.
I was caught by the nutrition label for the amaranth… It outshines even my beloved quinoa! Get this… These tiny little seed grains pack (approximately) twice the calcium level of cow’s milk (nearly 30% of your daily need), nearly 40% of your daily iron needs, almost 8 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein along with a nice string of amino acids. I wondered why I have never heard about eating Amaranth if it is so healthy and concluded that it must taste disgusting.
Except, it doesn’t. It’s actually awesome! I bought about 2 cups at Whole Foods and played around with it for breakfast last week. It has a grain to water ratio of 1:3 when you cook it. The seeds are really tiny, close to the size of poppy seeds, and they cook up into something similar to the consistency of Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat – perfect for hot breakfast cereal. Here is what I tried out:
Wednesday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup chicken broth. Topped with some sautéed yellow bell pepper, red onion, turkey sausage and a scrambled egg. YUM!
Thursday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup of liquid consisting of ½ water and ½ apple juice. Cut up ½ an apple and added it to the cooking liquid. Topped with some brown sugar and toasted pecans. Turned out pretty good. The apple flavors were really nice, but it was too sweet. Next time I will cook it in the juice, but leave out the extra sugar.
Friday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup of water. Before cooking, added in about ½ tsp orange zest, a couple shakes of cinnamon, a splash of almond extract and about 1 tsp of brown sugar. Topped with raw pecans. YUM! YUM! YUM! This one was perfect and might become a breakfast staple!
Future ideas… My only other idea at the moment would be to try cooking it in part water, part light coconut milk and then topping it off with some toasted coconut and slivered almonds!
Proudly,
Your weird eater, Jenny
I was officially weird this week though. I went to Whole Foods last week to buy some sucanot (probably qualifies as a “weird” food, but it’s awesome – if you don’t know what it is, ask…) and got preoccupied with reading the nutrition labels on some of the grains in the bulk section (could also probably qualify as “weird” behavior). I am familiar with all the different kinds of rice and quinoa. However, I have never explored the realms of kamut, barley, buckwheat, amaranth, etc.
I was caught by the nutrition label for the amaranth… It outshines even my beloved quinoa! Get this… These tiny little seed grains pack (approximately) twice the calcium level of cow’s milk (nearly 30% of your daily need), nearly 40% of your daily iron needs, almost 8 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein along with a nice string of amino acids. I wondered why I have never heard about eating Amaranth if it is so healthy and concluded that it must taste disgusting.
Except, it doesn’t. It’s actually awesome! I bought about 2 cups at Whole Foods and played around with it for breakfast last week. It has a grain to water ratio of 1:3 when you cook it. The seeds are really tiny, close to the size of poppy seeds, and they cook up into something similar to the consistency of Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat – perfect for hot breakfast cereal. Here is what I tried out:
Wednesday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup chicken broth. Topped with some sautéed yellow bell pepper, red onion, turkey sausage and a scrambled egg. YUM!
Thursday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup of liquid consisting of ½ water and ½ apple juice. Cut up ½ an apple and added it to the cooking liquid. Topped with some brown sugar and toasted pecans. Turned out pretty good. The apple flavors were really nice, but it was too sweet. Next time I will cook it in the juice, but leave out the extra sugar.
Friday breakfast: Cooked 1/3 cup Amaranth in 1 cup of water. Before cooking, added in about ½ tsp orange zest, a couple shakes of cinnamon, a splash of almond extract and about 1 tsp of brown sugar. Topped with raw pecans. YUM! YUM! YUM! This one was perfect and might become a breakfast staple!
Future ideas… My only other idea at the moment would be to try cooking it in part water, part light coconut milk and then topping it off with some toasted coconut and slivered almonds!
Proudly,
Your weird eater, Jenny
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Chicken Pietro (Biaggis-style)
Biaggi's is one of my favorite restaurants in town. Their White Chocolate Bread Pudding, despite the fact that it is EVERYTHING that I shouldn't be eating, turns me into a blissful little puddle on the floor. It is my complete undoing and might be my favorite dessert of all time! As far as main dishes, the Chicken Pietro is my favorite. It is a dish of chicken and vegetables with a sauce that I have identified partly as balsamic vinegar and rosemary. I couldn't put a finger on what else was in it, but it is delicious!!
Last Sunday for my birthday, Jeff and I went to Biaggi's with one of my girlfriends and her boyfriend. We split the Chicken Pietro and when he enjoyed it as much as I did, I decided the time had come to finally try and figure it out!
Turns out, it was as easy as entering "Chicken Pietro" in the Google search engine and "poof", there it was. Why I didn't try this years ago, I have NO idea. Here you go:
Chicken Pietro
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown mustard (skipped this one because I didn't have it)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons rosemary
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 portobella mushroom, sliced
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, mustard, honey, rosemary, water and salt. Whisk together until smooth.
- Place chicken pieces in a large zipper-top plastic bag and pour half of the sauce over the chicken, making sure all pieces are evenly covered. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 24 hours. Reserve the remaining half of the sauce separately.
- In a bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons oil. Add portabella slices and toss to combine. Set aside mixture for at least 15 minutes so mushrooms can marinate.
- Bring reserved half of the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat. Keep warm.
- Sauté mushroom slices with their marinade in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Keep warm.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Using tongs, wipe the grill grate with a paper towel saturated with vegetable oil. (It is important to oil both the chicken and the grill because the honey makes the marinade especially prone to sticking.) Grill the chicken just until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Serve hot, topped with warmed sauce and sautéed mushrooms.
A few notes:
1. I don't have access to a grill so I just cooked the chicken in a pan with the mushrooms and it worked fine.
2. Even for someone who is a bit of a salt addict, I thought the final result was a little salty. Next time I will omit the salt completely from the sauce and just salt the final dish if I want it.
3. All around, the dish was YUMMY but not quite at the same level as Biaggi's. My guess would be that the quality of balsamic vinegar you use is key! I was finishing off a very old, cheap bottle of the stuff and my sauce was just a little bitter/sour, where as the sauce at Biaggi's is really sweet. So as much as possible, use a good quality of balsamic on this dish!
4. Its not in the original recipe, but I added a splash of Sweet Marsala wine to the sauce at the end when it was heating on the stove. I figure wine in sauce is always a good idea!
5. Because it is what they do at Biaggi's and I felt really cool doing the same, I served this with a side of sauted zucchini, summer squash, carrots and red onion.
6. Jeff's feedback was: "It's awesome! But more sauce and more mushrooms would be even better." So I may double the sauce portion and use two portobellos next time. See? With the recent addition of this man to my life, you all are going to get an extra opinion on all my recipes :)
Happy Sunday!
Last Sunday for my birthday, Jeff and I went to Biaggi's with one of my girlfriends and her boyfriend. We split the Chicken Pietro and when he enjoyed it as much as I did, I decided the time had come to finally try and figure it out!
Turns out, it was as easy as entering "Chicken Pietro" in the Google search engine and "poof", there it was. Why I didn't try this years ago, I have NO idea. Here you go:
Chicken Pietro
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown mustard (skipped this one because I didn't have it)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons rosemary
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 portobella mushroom, sliced
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, mustard, honey, rosemary, water and salt. Whisk together until smooth.
- Place chicken pieces in a large zipper-top plastic bag and pour half of the sauce over the chicken, making sure all pieces are evenly covered. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 24 hours. Reserve the remaining half of the sauce separately.
- In a bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons oil. Add portabella slices and toss to combine. Set aside mixture for at least 15 minutes so mushrooms can marinate.
- Bring reserved half of the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat. Keep warm.
- Sauté mushroom slices with their marinade in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Keep warm.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Using tongs, wipe the grill grate with a paper towel saturated with vegetable oil. (It is important to oil both the chicken and the grill because the honey makes the marinade especially prone to sticking.) Grill the chicken just until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Serve hot, topped with warmed sauce and sautéed mushrooms.
A few notes:
1. I don't have access to a grill so I just cooked the chicken in a pan with the mushrooms and it worked fine.
2. Even for someone who is a bit of a salt addict, I thought the final result was a little salty. Next time I will omit the salt completely from the sauce and just salt the final dish if I want it.
3. All around, the dish was YUMMY but not quite at the same level as Biaggi's. My guess would be that the quality of balsamic vinegar you use is key! I was finishing off a very old, cheap bottle of the stuff and my sauce was just a little bitter/sour, where as the sauce at Biaggi's is really sweet. So as much as possible, use a good quality of balsamic on this dish!
4. Its not in the original recipe, but I added a splash of Sweet Marsala wine to the sauce at the end when it was heating on the stove. I figure wine in sauce is always a good idea!
5. Because it is what they do at Biaggi's and I felt really cool doing the same, I served this with a side of sauted zucchini, summer squash, carrots and red onion.
6. Jeff's feedback was: "It's awesome! But more sauce and more mushrooms would be even better." So I may double the sauce portion and use two portobellos next time. See? With the recent addition of this man to my life, you all are going to get an extra opinion on all my recipes :)
Happy Sunday!
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