Brie en Croute

Earlier this year, my husband and I went on a winery tour of Temecula, California. Temecula is no Napa or Sonoma, but its location and its charm makes is a great place to visit, especially if you fancy yourself a wine connoisseur on a budget. There are 20 Temecula wineries and a handful of them are internationally known. One of the most renowned and visited is Thornton Winery. Thornton is well known for its award-winning champagnes and premium varietals. On our trip there, we ate at Café Champagne (note: try not to go on a busy weekend, otherwise you're looking at a wait time in order to sit down and eat) and we each had a flight of champagnes and wines. With our tasting we ordered a Baked Brie Wrapped in Puff Pastry with Honey Walnut Sauce and, OH MY GAWD it was delicious.

Ever since our trip to Temecula, I've been trying to recreate the recipe. I found that they have their recipe online now, but you can try my version below. They taste very similar and it goes just divine with champagne. Go on now, go make it...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, pre-packaged
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Emerald Glazed Walnuts, original flavor
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (8-ounce) wheel Brie
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• Crusty bread, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Defrost puff pastry for approximately 15 to 20 minutes and unfold.

Here are all the ingredients you need: one sheet of puff pastry, 1 wheel of brie (8oz), 4 tablespoons of butter, 1/8 teaspons ground cinnamon, 1/4 -1/3 cup honey and 1/2 cup glazed walnuts (try Emerald Glazed Walnuts).

First, cut the white rind from the sides of the brie then, with a serrated knife, scrape some of the rind from the top and bottom of brie. You do not have to scrape it all off, just enough so there is still a light film of rind left.

Lay the puff pastry out on a flat surface. Place the brie in the center of the pastry. Leave about one inch on each side of the puff pastry (you may need to cut it to make it fit--see above picture). Gather the pastry as if wrapping a gift and gently squeeze together the sides of the dugh and press with your fingertips.

Brush the beaten egg over top and side of Brie. Place Brie on a cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Once your brie is down, place it on a shallow serving platter or a large dinner plate. Now it's time to make the honey butter.

In a pan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and add the honey and cinnamon.

Pour the honey-butter over the baked brie and top with the glazed walnuts.

Serve with toasted bread or crackers and enjoy!