Fruity Baked Brie

This stuff is SUCH a treat! I love brie - anytime I see it appear on a cheese platter at any event I might be attending, I gravitate straight towards it. Smear some on a hearty cracker or a french bread round, and I am a very happy girl!

My sister and I picked up a wedge of french brie when we were at Sam's Club not long ago, and decided to use half of it in a baked brie dish. We cut the larger wedge in half, then split that piece in half horizontally and generously slathered apricot preserves in the middle. Put the "brie sandwich" back together and lay atop a sheet of thawed puff pastry, with more preserves on top, then wrap with the dough, seal, egg wash, and bake. It couldn't be simpler, nor any tastier!

The original recipe calls only for the preserves in the middle of the "brie sandwich", but I think it is better with a little more of the fruity flavor added between the cheese and the puffed pastry for a little extra sweetness to cut the richness of the cheese - you can decide what works best for your taste preferences.

Yesterday my sister and I got a few more errands run, Kent and I got our annual eye exams, and Lindsey refused her mid-day nap. I listened to her cry for over an hour. That about killed me. What is it about the sound of your child crying that pierces your heart and makes you just ache! I was exhausted after watching her on her monitor and trying to decide if I should wait her out, and see if she'd sleep, or give up and go "rescue her". I gave in eventually and picked her up. She was in good spirits the rest of the day, but obviously tired and we had to be in extra "don't let the baby kill herself" mode. She tends to start tripping over herself and running into things a lot more when she's tired!

We all survived though, and once Lindsey went to sleep I parked my backside on the couch and watched a couple episodes of Supernatural with my sister and then gladly went to bed around 10:00pm and was probably sound asleep a few moments later. I was wiped out!

We're hoping to get out to the Chattahoochee at some point this weekend - maybe today or tomorrow - with a picnic lunch and our walking shoes so we can splash in the river and hang out a little. I haven't been in ages, but love walking down by the water. It's so pretty there.

Fruity Baked Brie adapted from Susan Jackson on AllRecipes

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) wheel Brie cheese
1/4 - 1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/2 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Slice one wheel of Brie cheese in half so you have 2 circles of cheese. Spread about half of the apricot or peach preserves on the inside half of one circle of brie, then top with the other half to create a "sandwich" with the preserves in the center. 
3. Lay out the sheet of puffed pastry and spread the remaining preserves in the center, and place the brie atop the preserves.
4. Wrap the entire wheel of Brie with the puffed pastry, gently pressing seams to seal, and flip the entire concoction onto the prepared cooking sheet so the seam is on bottom. Brush the puffed pastry with the egg white.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the pastry in golden brown. Serve immediately with hearty crackers, rounds of french bread, and crisp apple and pear slices.