Baked Brie

I hosted a baby shower in my home last week. Or rather, I feel like I should say, "A baby shower was hosted in my home last week." I don't think I had much to do with the process. Jodi planned the food and Michelle sent out invites and Becky did the decor. All I had to do was prepare my home. I enjoyed that. 

And then I thought about Baked Brie and had to add it to the menu. It's a recipe that I discovered in high school when my newly married cousin came to Thanksgiving dinner, toting a wheel of Brie and a bag of brown sugar. As she pulled it out of the oven, I eyed the dish suspiciously because it looked...interesting...but one bite and I was hooked. It's a mix of savory from the cheese, sweet from the brown sugar and crunch from the almonds, all piled onto a crisp cracker of your choice. It felt like a very grown-up dish. I thought I was pretty sophisticated to be enjoying Brie. 

And while it may taste sophisticated, it's probably one of the simpler appetizers you could make. The Brie is positioned in the center of an overproof dish and covered with sugar, nuts and butter before being tossed in a hot oven where all the ingredients melt and meld together. Perfect for a tasty appetizer to hold back the gnawings of hunger before the Thanksgiving feast or to add the lineup of miniature hors d'oeuvres and sweet somethings as you celebrate the imminent arrival of baby. 

Granola

A few years ago, my friend Lucy and I were in charge of the menu for our church's ladies' brunch. We decided on a delicious spread of french toast casserole, fresh fruit and puffed pastry tarts. One tart was layered with slices of juicy, red tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil before being drizzled with olive oil, and baked in the oven until puffed and golden. The other was inspired by a loaded baked potato--a potato and onion mash spread over the pastry, sprinkled with cheese and bacon and topped with splotches of sour cream after baking. So yum. 

The last part of our feast was yogurt topped with granola. We were going to go the simplest route and buy granola at the wholesale store. That is, until we saw the exorbitant prices and immediately decided that it couldn't be that hard to make granola. And we were right. Upon research, I found that making granola was as simple as measuring out oats and some spices, tossing with honey and oil and baking for 30 minutes in the oven. Really. That simple. And much cheaper than anything we could have bought in the store. Based on the reaction of the ladies, I think they thought it was tastier too.

Bruschetta

We attempted a very small garden this year. Just a cherry tomato, a few pepper plants and some herbs. However, looking at my small plot of earth you don't even notice the little pepper plants and ground-hugging herbs. The tomato has completely taken over. It's almost comical. These minuscule tomatoes growing on this gargantuan plant. It has scrambled over the edges of the cage, reaching long with its branches. It has spilled over onto the sidewalk and is creeping up my back steps. The other plants are hidden in a kind of tomato bower, probably feeling smothered and wondering if the sun will ever shine again.