I discovered a great appetizer yesterday at a friend's bridal shower. The hostess always puts on a great spread with dips, breads, a cheese platter, a variety of sandwiches, mimosas, Susie Cakes desserts, etc.Cheeses of the Manchego, Parmesan, and Brie variety – just to name a few – are some of my favorites. While I love incorporating them into new recipes, I also love finding appetizer recipes where the cheeses can truly shine. It may sound ridiculous, but sometimes there is nothing better than just enjoying the flavor of a truly wonderful, aged cheese like Parmesan.
Yesterday's appetizer focus was on a fantastic combination of Brie cheese, fig jam and wafer crackers. It's a sweet combination, but one with a great crunch of the wafer, sweet earthiness of the fig jam and creamy saltiness of the brie. Best of all, it's super simple. Here's what you need to make it.
- 1 box of wafer crackers* (I got Trader Joe's Belgium's Butter Waffle Cookies)
- 1 round of soft ripened brie
- 1 jar of fig jam (e.g. Ficoco)
I cut a few slices of the brie and arranged it on a plate next to the wafers. I placed the jam container between the two with a cheese knife for spreading. To make the wafers, spread about a teaspoon of the fig jam on the wafer and top with a small slice or two of brie.That's it! If you prefer appetizers on the sweet rather than savory side, this is the way to go. The brie adds a nice touch of salt, too. It's pretty delicious.
*Note: The bridal shower hostess had smaller, round wafer cookies and I would rather use those than the crackers I bought. They were lighter, thinner and smaller and worked better for a bite-sized appetizer.
Hey Christie,
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned your love of Manchego (amongst other cheeses), a favorite of mine that might be a cousin to your Brie & Fig jam:
*Toast (or grill!) good crusty baguette slices
*Spread on some membrillo aka Quince paste
*Top with manchego
*Drizzle with a good olive oil
*aproveche
Lovin the new food blog! Don't think I'm not going to try the short rib pasta...because I am.
Peace, Happiness, and a Merry Christmas to you and Brian.
Tim
I find this interesting because I have been eating the white trash version of this for many years. When I was a teenager a Polish (not sure if this fact is relevant or not) friend of mine and her family would toast some thick crusty bread, shmear on some cream cheese and top that with preserves - usually apricot or raspberry. We usually had this for breakfast with some strong coffee.
ReplyDeleteHer family introduced my typical southern palate to some interesting things, as their remaining family in Poland sent many care packages full of great cheeses, chocolates, and of course vodka.
Love the blog and have a great rest of the holiday.
Oh yeah, it it just good genes or do you 2 have a secret for not getting fat around all that amazing food?
Tim your recipe sounds amazing. Don' think I'm not going to try it, because I am!
ReplyDeleteAnd to "Anonymous"...Boy, would I LOVE to get shipments of cheeses, chocolates and vodka! Holy cow, to be Polish... Bryan and I eat pretty healthily (if that's a word) every week, so we are able to indudge occasionally. But I go exercise several times a week, too, so that helps me a ton! It's all about balancing the good with the bad! :)
A nice addition to the fig jam and brie combo is camelized walnuts. PS... I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren! I love writing it and am thrilled you love reading it! Caramelized walnuts are delicious; you're absolutely right about them being a great addition to this quick snack.
ReplyDelete