Despite my deep love of cheese to the point that one of my favorite things to do on a weekend in New York City is go to Murray’s and indulge in something crumbly or stale or rich and runny I don’t like cheese boards. It feels really good to get this off my chest. At first it was just a budget issue; I still feel the price shock of the first time I tried to put together one of those cute boards with five or six different wedges on it plus the crackers bread pickles dried fruit toasted almonds olives cured meats and all the other bare minimum requirements of our modern-day cornucopia. But I was also put off by the waste. Even though so much was left unfinished the leftovers were beyond salvage as fingers forks knives and crumbs ended up everywhere (a particularly horrifying thought in the age of Covid). Instead when people come over or what I remember about them I prefer to focus on one or two decadent attention-grabbing things and nothing grabs attention on a cold winter's day like warm runny cheese.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
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 smitten kitchen | 2021-12-29 17:00:30 |  33,563 Views |
Baked Brie with Balsamic Red Onions | Smitten Kitchen with Deb Perelman
NEW: Watch me make this baked brie on YouTube!
Baked brie was all the rage in the 70s and 80s. Nothing was more glamorous than an accessible imported cheese that everyone knew and could pronounce. But as Americans became increasingly sophisticated about imported cheese—manchego! Humboldt Fog!—brie fell from grace in a crashing fall from grace to the antithesis of chic. And here’s where my interest was piqued—dated and unhip you say? Where do I sign up?
So this is baked brie my way. First I use my easy galette dough for a flaky pastry that tastes a million times better than most frozen puff pastry and doesn’t require an extra trip to the supermarket. I’ve never been a fan of the sweet compotes and fruity jams that usually accompany brie but I do love a light dusting of sweet sour jammy red onions under and over the cheese — here softened in butter and then further wilted with salt pepper balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. A wafer-thin layer of smooth Dijon mustard balances out the sweetness a sprinkle of thyme gives it an herbal element a sprinkle of sesame seeds sprinkled on top adds a little extra crunch or you can leave out all three and it’s still delicious. Brie — and yes even commercial supermarket brie works well here — is affordable and even the basic stuff reheats beautifully so there’s no need to spend a fortune here. Plus it often comes in 8-ounce rounds absolutely perfect for our little New Year's celebrations at home this week to wrap up 2020.
