Mini Brie en Croûte with Apple Shallot Chutney

This one is fairly simple and pretty fancy! An easy way to provide your guests with the fancy brie en croûte, but in a more convenient bite size version.

Here's what you'll need:
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 wheel of brie, free of the rind (why? because it's gross.)
2 granny smith apples, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
egg, beat with some water
1/4 stick of butter

Here's what to do:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Pull pastry out of the freezer to begin to defrost.
3. Heat butter, chopped apples, shallots, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt over medium heat. After a few minutes, reduce to med-low. Allow to simmer until it reaches a consistency you like.. It took mine about 15-20 minutes.
4. While apple mixture is simmering down, it's time to prepare the pastry. Unfold the pastry and cut down the 2 creases. Also add 3 cuts, perpendicular to the previous cuts, so that you've produced 12 rectangles.
5. Take a rectangle, a chunk of brie (as much as you desire), and a spoonful of the apple mixture and wrap it up in the pastry. Don't expect to use all of the brie.. I used a little more than half. The remaining amount was perfect for the Thanksgiving pie. You will probably have to stretch the pastry and you will definitely have to twist the tops together. It will probably take you a couple to figure out how much will work and the best system to do this... or maybe it only took me a couple? :)
Here's what mine looked like at this phase, to give you an idea..

6. Brush with egg mixture and bake for about 20-30 mins, depending on your oven. Keep checking on it every couple minutes.
7. I'm not sure if it made a difference, but after I pulled the minis out of the oven, I put them on a wire cooling rack. Here's a shot of that...


Here's some of the final product and presentation...


Like I said, delicious and super cute! They were a huge hit.. almost made me wish I had made a double batch! Feel free to customize, but be sure to enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Pie

It's that time of year... it's post Thanksgiving and we've got leftovers. Everyone has leftovers. Everyone makes sandwiches. Everyone is bored!

So, I decided to go a route, not yet ventured. I took the idea of a turkey pot pie and made it my own. I essentially made a turkey pot pie/shepherd's pie hybrid. The beauty of it is, you can use what you have and do what you'd like. The most important thing, is to read this recipe all the way through, prior to preparing:

Ingredients:
stick of butter (I used light)
1-2 shallots (depending on size and amount desired)
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped leftover turkey
1 cup stuffing
2-3 cups of mashed potatoes (either leftover, from scratch, or from a packet)
1/2 cup cheese (I used brie, but I imagine mozz or provolone working well)
pie crust
salt
Optional: 1 egg, whisked with a tiny bit of water (for shiny pretty pie crust)

What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare mashed potatoes, if necessary (I made from scratch, but you don't have to)
3. Make sure you have your pie crust out and resting.. a pie crust just below room temperature is much easier to handle. (for sake of time, I use the kind in the refrigerator)
4. Sautée 1/2 stick butter and shallot over medium heat in moderate sized pan. Once translucent, add herbs. Once they are aromatic, add pecans. Once sautéed and smelling delicious, add carrots and turkey.
5. Time to start building the pie! Prepare the pie crust, by rolling out just enough so that it will be big enough to spread in a pie pan. Load up with the mashed potatoes.. as much as you'd like! Add in the pan ingredients and then top with your chosen cheese. Fold over the crust and brush with the egg mixture (if desired).
6. Bake for about 25 minutes. I say about because I have a convection oven, so that times may vary. Do yourself, and whomever else is eating this pie, check on it occasionally. Set a timer for 10 mins, and check. Then 5 and check. Then 5 and check. If it's getting close then set for 2 minutes and check. Seems annoying, but a perfect pie it totally worth it.
7. Slice and enjoy!!


The most important thing is to trust your gut. Pans, ovens, stoves, taste buds are all different. Just because something worked for me, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. If it's looking a little dry, add some more butter. If the temp seems too hot, lower it and vice versa. It is of utmost importance that you make decisions about your preferences first! This is your meal.. I'm only providing you with what I've done, a skeleton if you will :)

Here's photos of my product:

My favorite dessert lately..

I am mildly obsessed with these apples! It's the perfect season for them around here and the topping just enhances the deliciousness.

Baked Apples topped with Havarti



Ingredients (serves 2)
1 granny smith apple (or apple of your choice)
A couple slices of havarti cheese
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
2 tablespoons of marscapone
1/2 tsp cinnamon

- Preheat oven to 350°
- Slice apples in half
- Split the ingredients amongst the apple halves
- Bake for about 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your apples)

That's it! So simple, so delicious!