Sunrise, A Nest, and Baked Brie

Here are the first pictures taken with the new camera. 

Husband took this one of the sunrise from inside the sunporch, thus the flash reflection on our neighbor's house.

This is the first photo I took.  I like the dimension, but you really can't see the nest, which is what I was going for.

And here is the brie.  The recipe follows.

Baked Brie


1         sheet of frozen puff pastry
1         round of brie, rind trimmed on one side
1         pear, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1         tablespoon of butter
½        cup chopped walnuts
½        cup dried cranberries
½        cup golden raisins
1         tablespoon honey or brown sugar
1         tablespoon bourbon  (Optional)


Preheat oven to 425°.

In a microwave-proof bowl, mix butter, walnuts, dried fruit, honey/brown sugar, and bourbon.  Microwave for only about a minute.  Mix well and set aside.

Defrost puff pastry.  Roll on a floured surface (turning often) so that pastry is about 4" larger than brie.  (Pastry will be square or rectangular).


Place brie, trimmed side up on pastry.


Arrange thinly sliced pears atop the brie.  Pour fruit/nut mixture on top of pears.  Fold pastry corners over brie as you would wrap a package.  Place on ungreased baking pan.  (Pan should have slight sides -- there's a lot of butter in puff pastry!)  Gently vent the top with a fork or small slits with a knife.   Brush with a beaten egg.  Bake in bottom half of oven for 10 minutes.  Lower the oven temp to 375°.  Continue baking for 25 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

And On The Lighter Side...

Again, I'm really touched by all your good wishes and condolences.  The funeral is this weekend and the good news is that I'll be seeing my brothers, my mom, and the rest of the family.   

Yesterday was my husband's birthday.  He didn't want a cake, but had asked for baked brie and a salad.  In this house birthday wishes are honored.  We took a picture of the baked brie and as soon as I figure out how to download the photos from the new camera, I'll post it and my recipe, if anyone is interested.

Monday, while I was working out on the elliptical at the gym, an older man came in and mounted the bike directly in front of me.  He was dressed so spiffily:  biking shorts, cross-training shoes, a biking shirt that had pockets for his water bottle, and IPod,  state of the art exercise gloves, and the latest in sound-blocking ear phones.  He was working hard and I thought it was so nice to see a man his age taking care of himself and his appearance until he took out his teeth and stuck the towel in his mouth.  I fought the urge to laugh aloud and/or to yell, "EEEWWW"!  So much for appearances.