Pump up the jam

After some tremendous soul searching and completely objective evaluation of my self-worth, I've realized that I am very dumb.  I finally figured out how to efficiantly efficiently (thank you Swan for pointing on the authenticity of my blog, being that I truly am as dumb as I describe) put pictures on this blog and deliver entertainment to the masses (i.e. my four cherished members).  I've had to take the pics on my cell phone because I was way too lazy to jump through the hoops between my camera's WiFi - to Facebook - to iPad set-up.  So just deal with these horrible pictures.

To follow-up on that much-anticipated teaser from my last blog, I gots to talk about cheese and jam/sauce pairings.  I few weeks ago our friends Jake and Meredith came down to visit from NYC.  Since we're all pretty big wine enthusiasts and we were looking for some place relatively casual to get a light dinner, we took them to Chesapeake Wine Company in Canton.  This place has got it all figured out.  It's a wine shop with, no kidding, like five tables and they're always filled leading you to think this is a busy joint.  They only serve cheese, some charcuterie, and a handful of items than can be popped in a toaster oven behind the bar (I assume it's a Sonja Home toaster oven).  Chesapeake is the very definition of a Baltimore City gem.

While there, we sampled a couple of the cheeses from their changing selection.  We tried (shocker) the brie and some kind of aged white cheddar that I never caught the name of.  To accompany all of their cheeses, CWC serves a pile of crostini and some dried figs.  Maybe they're candied?  It doesn't matter, they're just really good.  One of my favorite things about Poppy, Jake, and Meredith is that they don't like dried figs...

I feel like sweet dried fruits and jams go pretty well with both sharp cheeses and semi-soft cheeses, like cheddar and brie, respectively.  I tend to prefer crumbly cheeses, smoked cheeses (mmm smoked gouda), and a lot of the Italian cheeses like parmesan, mozzarella, and asiago paired with more savory condiments like herbed crackers, bacon or prosciutto, and olives.

While my all-time favorite brie pairing is with a seedy raspberry jam (the seeds that get stuck in my teeth double as a snack for later!), I recently decided to try something new.  I was inspired by a Kahlua baked brie recipe I saw on Pinterest and, with a little help from my sister Nicole, made a Frangelico Baked Brie en Croute.

We were having a kiki at her house and made a bunch of snacks to compliment the fine 2012 Sparkletini Nicole carefully selected for the evening.  I made a glaze out of Frangelico hazelnut liquer, chopped hazelnuts, and brown sugar.  Just drizzle it over the top of the brie and wrap that beast in puff pastry.  It was pretty good, but I encourage Nicole to provide a more eloquent commentary on the merits of using Frangelico over raspberry and almond.

Here's the recipe and crappy picture to accompany it.

1 Puff Pastry sheet
1 8 oz wheel of brie
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons Frangelico
Pepperidge Farms Wheat crackers are the best for this.  Don't question it.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Defrost one puff pastry sheet according to directions on the box.  In a bowl, mix together the hazelnuts, brown sugar and Frangelico and let chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Slice the rind off the top of the brie and lay on top of the puff pastry sheet.  Then, top the brie with the hazelnut mixture and fold the puff pastry over top the brie.  If you find you have too much excess puff pastry after folding, just cut some off and bake it along side the brie en croute - you can use it for dipping in your cheese later!  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  If you want, you can always use an eggwash on the pastry prior to baking to give it that golden, shiny exterior.  Me - I didn't want to waste the egg.

If you look carefully, you can see the real bits of friendship in there

Disregard that little piece of foil on the brie.  It, surprisingly, does not add any flavor

So friends, what is your favorite cheese and jam/condiment combination?