Monday, December 5, 2011

Brie Bites





One of the appetizers Amy made for Saturday night was 
Brie Bites. 
   
They were not only pretty but yummy too!  
I must explain that these are leftovers from the night before so they do not look nearly as pretty and fresh as they did right before serving.  
Forgot to take ANY pictures of the party! 
We need to hire someone to do that. :) 

Here's the recipe:
Tart shells {those ones you buy frozen...super easy, right?}
Brie 
Cranberry Chutney {recipe below}
Sugared cranberries {recipe below}
Fresh Mint leaves

How to:
Put a small piece of brie in each shell,  add a teaspoon or so of the chutney over the brie.  
Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes or till brie is melted.  
Add 1, 2 or 3 
{or however many you can put on there!!}  
sugared cranberries on top of the chutney.
Add a fresh mint leaf.  
Serve.  
Enjoy.


The little sign at the party.




 Everything goes in one sauce pan…
Bring it to a boil and then simmer it.
About 10 minutes later…
Done. 

{Amy used dried apricots in place of the mango.} 
from 

Sparkling Cranberries

For the simple syrup, raw cane sugar or real brown sugar lends a nice molasses flavor to the cranberries, but regular granulated sugar (or a blend of brown/white) will work.
2 cups cranberries, picked over
2 cups water
2 cups sugar (see head notes)
More sugar for coating: I do a mix of medium-grained organic sugar for the first coating, and then a second toss with regular granulated white sugar. You don't want a huge grain for that first toss, just something larger than standard sugar, smaller than most turbinado sugars. You can sort of see the different grain sizes in the third photo in the main write-up.
Place the cranberries in a medium glass bowl and set aside.
Make a simple syrup by bringing the water and sugar just to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Let the syrup cool for a couple minutes and then pour it over the cranberries. If the syrup is too hot the cranberries will burst, so be careful. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, drain the cranberries and toss them with larger grained sugar until they are well coated. I only use a scoop of sugar at a time, and small batches of cranberries, so the sugar doesn't get too damp. Place the coated cranberries on a baking sheet to dry for a few hours.
Do a second toss with the regular granulated sugar, this typically takes care of any sticky spots on the cranberries. Let dry another hour.
Makes 2 cups of sparkling cranberries.





These were the card holders for the cheesecake buffet.  
They didn't stand up as well as I would have liked them to.  
I did have fabrics under them so I suppose that didn't help.  
But they did look pretty.  




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