2010 Baked Brie recipe

This is the dish that I take every year to a good friend's holiday party. It is different every year by a little, depending on what I have and what mood I am in. This year I made a balsamic onion jam to top the brie in the crust. This recipe requires buying and planning ahead. I like making the onion jam the day before. I also keep the brie in the deep freeze until time to assemble and bake so that it can bake long enough to brown the crust without totally melting and exploding the cheese. This recipe will make what you see here: 2 large wheels of brie. This fed quite a large crowd of 50+. Halve the recipe for a smaller party. If you do not have the time to peel the pearl onions, just use red onion sliced in rings or half rings. 1 medium onion should do it, but the pearl onions are prettier.

1/2 pound red pearl onions, skinned by blanching and peeling
3 T olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup orange marmalade
ground pepper and salt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 T frozen OJ concentrate
2 6-inch rounds of good brie, frozen until ready to use.
2 Pillsbury All Ready pie crusts, room temperature (or homemade if you have time)
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Using a medium saucepan with a lid, saute onion in olive oil until very soft over low heat, about 30 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, marmalade, OJ concentrate, and garlic. Simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes until thick and reduced. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 425. Remove brie from freezer and unwrap. Unwrap one of the crusts and roll out a little with a rolling pin. Place 1/4 cup of sliced almonds in center of crust, about as big around as your brie and place the unwrapped brie on the top. Pile about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of onion jam on top of the brie and start bringing up the crust around, pleating and pinching as you go, sealing with a drop of water before you pinch. You should have an opening at the top about 1-1/2 inches in diameter or so. Drop in another T of jam if you have a lot, and sprinkle the top with 2 Tbsp toasted almonds. I like to cut natural parchment paper into a circle to fit in a pie plate with overlap (see picture) and usually give it a decorative edge. this will contain any oozing jam when it bakes. Set this aside and assemble the 2nd one in the same manner. You should use all almonds. Bake in the hot oven for about 20 minutes until nicely browned. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least half an hour and up to 1-1/2 hours before eating, as the brie can still be cold in the middle.

Variations I have made:
___ Add 1/2 teaspoon curry powder to jam
___ Use other nuts
___ Add cranberries to the jam

I hope you like this!

Best Thin Crust Pizza Dough!

This is adapted from a recipe in Saveur Magazine, Nov 08. This is best made the day before and proofed in the refrigerator. It will also work to make at 3:00 for later that night!

1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp bulk)
1 tsp honey
1/4 c warm water

Mix these 3 ingredients together and let sit until foamy.

3 c bread flour
3/4 c warm beer (I prefer a dark beer for added flavor)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt

Place flour in the bowl of a heavy stand mixer. Create a well in the flour and add beer, yeast mixture, olive oil and salt. Start mixer on low to blend, then knead for 10 to 12 minutes on a low setting with the dough hook. Allow to rise for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or refrigerate in a large zipper bag (divide into 2 pieces and put each in a bag - it will continue to rise in the refrigerator). Allow at least 1 hour to come to room temperature and have a final warm rise.

This will make 2 large pizzas or 4 smaller pizzas. When making pizzas, this dough should be rolled out very thin and baked on a pizza stone. Alternatively, I prebake the crust by itself on a Caphalon pizza pan for about 8 minutes, then remove from the pan to my peel. I add toppings and then slide onto the oven rack directly (or grill) to finish baking and crisp up the crust.