Baked Brie with Quince and Apple Compote

Thanksgiving prep got pretty hectic for what with flag football in the morning, feeling very old and sore after flag football, prepping and making food and cleaning and decorating the house so I'm low on pics of much of the Thanksgiving food.  When I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats, I knew I had to try it.  When I saw a quince at Eastern Market I knew I had to alter this recipe a bit to try it.  So I did.  And it was good.


Baked Brie with Quince and Apple Compote


Ingredients
1 Tbs Unsalted Butter
1 Golden Delicious Apple
1 Quince (or just use 2 Golden Delicious Apples)
1/4 Cup Sugar
Pinch Grated Nutmeg


1 Puff Pastry
1 5 - 6 inch round Brie
1 egg beaten


Directions
1.  Peel and core apple and quince and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.


2.  In a medium Saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.


3.  Add the diced apples and quince, stirring occasionally, until the they have released most of their juices, about 5 - 7 minutes.


4.  Mix in the sugar and nutmeg, stir well to combine and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 12 - 15 more minutes


5.  Remove from the heat and let compote cool to room temperature.


6.  Preheat oven to 375.  


7.  Roll Puff Pastry to around 1/8 inch thickness.  Conventional wisdom says to line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Jaimee wisdom says to just use a pie dish, line it with parchment if it makes you happy, cleanup will be easier.  Transfer puff pastry to cooking vessel.


8.  Using a sharp knife (I use a bread knife), cut the disc of brie in half horizontally to create to thinner discs.


9.  Place bottom disc in the center of the puff pastry.  Spread half of the compote over the surface of the cheese, top with the remaining disc and layer with the remaining compote.


10.  Bring the puff pastry around the edges of the brie/apple layers.  Fold and pinch the edges and cut off the excess pastry.  Use it to decorate if you want.  I cut out a little apple shape to put on top of this brie to differentiate it from the Pecan Brie.  Brush the surface of the pastry lightly with egg wash.


11.  Bake until the puff pastry is golden all over and crisp 40 - 45 minutes, left rest 5 minutes and serve.  Yum!

Pecan Baked Brie

Because I can never make a decision and because I love sugar and cheese (not usually combined, but here it works) I decided to make two bries for Thanksgiving apps.  This recipe inspired by Martha Stewart's Baked Brie is one of the reasons I couldn't eat as much Thanksgiving dinner as I wanted to.


Pecan Baked Brie


Ingredients
2/3 Cups Pecan Halves or Pieces
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tbs Honey
1 Sheet Puff Pastry
1 5 - 6 inch wheel of Brie
1 Egg, beaten


Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Either line a cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat or be lazy and just use a pie dish.


2.  In a medium bowl, combine pecans, sugar and honey.  Thoroughly mix with your fingers.  Lick your fingers.  Wash your hands again.


3.  Roll puff pastry to thickness slightly less than 1/8".  Transfer pastry to cooking vessel.


4.  Cut brie in half with a sharp knife horizontally so you get two thinner discs, I use a bread knife for some reason.


5.  Place one of the brie halves on the puff pastry.  Top with about half of the pecan mixture, place the other half on top and finish with the rest of the pecan mixture.  Lick your fingers, wash your hands.  Fold the puff pastry over brie pile and cut off the excess.  Use it to cut out shapes and decorate if you want.


6.  Bake Brie about 40 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden all over and crisp.  Serve and try to get some before it disappears.

Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce

This is probably one of the best Cranberry sauces I've made and has been my go to for leftovers this year.


Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

3 1/2 Cups Cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 Cup Pomegranate Juice
3/4 Cup Sugar, I like turbinado
1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tbs Finely Grated Lemon Peel


Directions
Note:  Wash off citrus before zesting or peeling (or putting into drinks for that matter)


1.  Combine ingredients in a large saucepan

Save yourself some cleanup and dishes by grating right into the saucepan.

2.  Stir over medium/medium-high heat until sugar dissolves


3.  Bring mixture to boil then reduce to medium.


4.  Simmer until berries begin to burst, stirring often.


5.  Optional - Simmer until desired consistency.


6.  Transfer to serving/storage dish and chill until needed.

Thanksgiving Table

Thirty minutes before people were scheduled to arrive for Thanksgiving I still had no idea what I was going to do about making the dining room table look presentable.  Here's what I ended up with:

I made the table runner from burlap for last years Thanksgiving table.  I love the fact that it's so neutral it can be used for any occasion (when I put the extra leaf in the table) any time of year.

Tips for sewing a table runner:

*I made this table runner about 13 inches wide and gave myself six to eight inches at either end of the table.

*Give yourself 2 inches on every side (so get a 17 inch length of fabric for a 13 inch wide runner).

*When I sew a straight seam, especially a long straight seam, I always iron it down first rather than just pinning it.  I think it keeps things straighter, it stays better and it's easier to fix a mistake when it's ironed than after you sew it.

I got these cute napkin holders last year:

I used what I had available for the centerpiece, clementines, granny smith apples, birds, pieces of a berry vine and some candles in a wood platter that I love.

Thanksgiving Plate

I stuffed as much as I could on my Thanksgiving plate... and in my stomach.  Most of the menu is represented here.  Clockwise from the top we have:

Mashed Cauliflower by Z

Stuffing by Eric

Fluffy Sweet Potato Casserole by Courtney

Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce by me

(Not shown is Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce, also by me)

Roasted and Fried Turkey by Eric

Carrots and Parsnips by Pam

New Orleans Corn by Pam

Green Beans by Courtney in the center.

Everything was really, really good.

Thanksgiving Menu

So, I know it's a bit late to talk about Thanksgiving planning, but here goes.  We're having 8 people over for Thanksgiving (for a total of 10!).  Thankfully our guests are helping out by bringing over a dish or two.  Here's the plan:


Eric and Jaimee
-Baked Brie en Croute
  -1 with Quince and Apple Compote
  -1 with pecans, brown sugar and honey
-Fall cookies
-2 Turkeys
  -1 Organic free range for roasting
  -1 From Harris Teeter for frying
-Stuffing
-Fresh bread
-Cranberry Sauce
  -Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
  -Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce


Courtney (and Dave)
-Green Bean Casserole
-Sweet Potatoes
-Personal Pumpkin Tartlets
-Personal Pecan Tartlets


Zeina
-Salad
-Roast Cauliflower (Pureed?)
-Pear Apple Cranberry Crisp


Martins (really just Eric's mom)
-Corn side dish
-Carrot side dish
-Pecan Brittle


You can probably tell what I'm cooking by my inability to make a decision when it comes to delicious sounding food.  I'll be back next week with some of the recipes and pictures of what we made.