Baked Brie en Croute with Strawberry Fig Jam and Roasted Almonds

Description:

Baked Brie en Croute with Strawberry Fig Jam and Roasted Almonds

Ingredients:

This recipe is sinfully delicious, jammed with flavor and fat. Don't be intimidated with the idea of making jam: this is the easiest recipe you'll ever find, but if you'll win points by pretending that you slaved over it for hours, go right ahead. The baked brie is soft and melty, perfectly paired with the tart-sweet flavor of the jam. Add the salty crunch of an almond, and the combination is sublime. Who says being bad is no fun?

Prepare:

Cheese:

4 oz round of Brie
3 sheets of phyllo pastry dough
1 tblsp. butter

Jam:

1 pint strawberries, chopped
1 pint black or green figs, chopped
2 tblsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Almonds:

Raw almonds
1 tblsp. butter
Salt
Butter

How to Serve:

In a heavy saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and water. Heat over medium until thick and bubbly, then add fruit. Stir well to coat fruit. After 2-3 minutes, reduce heat and cover. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for 60-90 minutes until fruit is soft and reduced.

To roast the almonds, melt the butter and toss the almonds in it, coating well. Lay almonds out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt, then place in a 325 oven for 30-45 minutes, stirring twice, until golden brown and crispy. Cool.

Experiment: Place the brie in the center of a platter, preferably a round one, and spoon the jam around it. Sprinkle the almonds over the jam and around the edges of the plate. Lightly puncture the pastry dough so that the brie oozes out, and place a small cheese spreader in front of it. Spread cheese and jam onto wide, flat crackers or thin wedges of apple or pear.