Did you hear of Holistic Remedy
goji berry plants ukAll about Brie Cheese
Brie appetizers are not only mouthwatering, but they are so versatile. It�s amazing what you can do with a Brie cheese. How did �real� Brie cheese come about in the first place? Well, according to cheese experts, producing Brie cheese started in the French province called, not surprisingly, Brie � a town 60 miles from Paris!
The oldest recorded evidence of its existence was found in the chronicles of Charlemagne. The Emperor at the time, tasted the cheese in the city of Brie around the year 774 BC. And here's another interesting tidbit about Brie cheese... Louis XVI�s last and dying wish was supposedly to have a final taste of Brie.
It is sometimes called Brie de Meaux and is considered one of the most popular of the 400+ cheeses from France. Brie de Meaux�s popularity can be attributed to a competition that took place around 1814. During a Vienna Congress, an argument broke out regarding which country made the best and finest cheese.
As a result, a Frenchman by the name of Talleyrand, suggested a competition between the different countries and their national cheeses, as he was convinced that France would win. And of course, they did! Brie de Meaux was the winner and became known as the �King of Cheeses� and as you can imagine, instantly became an overnight success that swept Europe and has retained that distinction ever since.
As a matter of fact, Brie Cheese from France won a gold medal from the Brie National Contest in both 2000 and 2001.
What makes it so darn good? Brie is made from unpasteurized cow�s milk and has an appealing combination of flavors including hazelnut, fruit and herbs. And it takes approximately 6.6 gallons of milk to make one round of brie cheese!
The process of making it consists of heating the milk to no more than 37 degrees C � but only during the renneting stage. Therefore, the cheese is never cooked. After being put into a mold with a special, perforated shovel called �pelle � Brie�, it is salted with a dry salt. This salting process is used to balance the sweetness that occurs because of the high quality of milk used.
Maturation takes place in a cool cellar. The cheese develops a white mold around it and the creamy part turns to a light straw color. The whole process takes at least 4 weeks and sometimes more.
In France, there are only 5 or 6 real Brie de Meaux producers left. Apparently it�s an economically-challenged industry to get into. Brie has a very fragile curd that is easily broken and requires a special room built only for the use of making Brie and Triple Cr�me. It has to maintain just the right temperature or the maturation process will not work. This, in itself, makes Brie hard to make and evidently requires quite an investment. Therefore, farmers are not as inclined to invest their time and money on such a delicate, not always reliable process.
To serve Brie cheese properly, it�s best to allow it to come to room temperature. Some good suggestions of wine to serve with any kind of Brie appetizer is a red C�te-du-Rh�ne, a red Bordeaux or Burgundy and it always goes well with a good quality Champagne.
In the United States, we don�t sell �real Brie� because of the pasteurization laws that have been installed in this country. US FDA regulations say that you can only make cheese with our pasteurized milk. Our �Brie� is not true Brie, but it's as close as we can get to make it taste like Brie de Meaux from France. If you were to put true French Brie next to Brie made in the United States, the difference would be highly noticeable. You would get hooked on the French Brie and have to make yearly trips to France to feed your new craving!
In lieu of going to France, try this savory Brie appetizer. You�ll be glad you did!
Amaretto Brie Appetizer
There's nothing like serving this yummy Amaretto Brie appetizer. Especially when you watch everyone diving into it without leaving a trace behind. Your friends and guests will beg you for this recipe. It's simple to make and the creamy almond flavor is fantastic with a baguette or gourmet-type crackers.
What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 oz. of amaretto liqueur
- 1 round of Brie cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds (chopped walnuts will work also)
- Toast points, sliced apples, baguette or crackers
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then melt the butter and add the brown sugar in a heavy sauce pan. Stir until heated through and consistency is smooth and thick.
Remove the pan from the heat and add cinnamon, nutmeg and the Amaretto. Mix ingredients well.
Next, place the Brie round (remove Brie from packaging) in an oven-safe dish. Take the sauce you just created and pour over the Brie. Then, top the sauce with the sliced almonds.
All you need to do is bake it for 10 or 15 minutes until the cheese is soft. You could also microwave it if you are in a big hurry. But only put it in the microwave for 30 second intervals until it is soft and warm. If you microwave it for too long you will end up with Amaretto Brie appetizer soup, and that is not what we want here!
You can serve the melted Brie on a pretty plate surrounded by apple slices, sliced baguette and crackers. It will fast disappear!
If you are interested in other Brie appetizers and other easy to make appetizer recipes, please visit Easy Appetizer Recipes found at the URL below where you'll be pleasantly surprised with the variety of choices.
Important: Feel free to republish this article on your website. However, you are not allowed to modify any part of its content and all links should be kept active.
Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipes where you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas and soup appetizers.
Turkey Time Treats
Well here we are again and it's time to indulge in the gourmet madness we fight off all year. Don't worry, the average American puts on at least 5lbs. during the holidays. You may as well let yourself go for awhile.
I myself like to slice fresh mushrooms and saut� them in butter with chopped garlic and fresh parsley. I also enjoy boiling baby carrots and coating them with butter and sprinkling on a little cinnamon. If you haven't tried it, your missing something special. To relieve the guilt I steam a few asparagus heads and work on self-forgiveness.
As for the Turkey; Coating it with a warmed butter and oil mixture before placing it into the oven helps keep the moisture in and the meat tender. They say that filling the bird with stuffing can be dangerous (I still do it and cross my fingers.) A way to solve that potential problem is to use a toaster oven to bake the stuffing in. You can place it into the mini oven about 25 minutes before the bird is ready. It keeps the stuffing crispy on top.
Then there is dessert... A lovely piece of Black Velvet Cake with a cup of espresso coffee is the perfect combo. A lighter alternative is a slice of New York Cheesecake and a cup of Sumatra Coffee. Dessert for the whole gang should entail a variety of sweets. A fruit Tart coupled with a Carrot Cake is a win win combination. Team them with a Chocolate Satin Cake and the gang's all here!
A little Beethoven and Bach make for some heavenly background music. It will also keep everyone calm while they wait for the food. The holiday specials are coming on T.V. so have the schedule ready in case your guests want to tune in to something fun. Loading the DVD player with classic movies is another idea to entertain the folks, just click click, and they're on. Add a beautiful candle to illuminate the room. Aromatherapy can keep people relaxed and in the moment. Well that's it for now; May there be all happy cheer to all as long as we all stay safe.
Article written by Kim Barbera. Her selection of gourmet foods and desserts can be found at: http://www.delightfulbiteful.com
She has worked in the food service industry for twenty years including her own Craft Service/Catering company.
Simple Dinner Sets Go A Long Way
The time has come when Christmas is only just around the corner and you still have to go shopping to buy presents, decorations, food, Christmas tree etc. You begin to panic as you have realised that you have to buy a completely new range of dinner sets as your old sets have chipped, washed out or cracked. On the other hand, maybe this is your first Christmas dinner to cook for the family and friends, and you have no dishware to serve your dinner.
This year I have noticed a new trend in simple dinner sets and fine crockery for special occasions. People prefer to purchase simple earthenware designs that match well with plain shades of place mats, napkin with a simple napkin ring and long tinted glasses. Putting a simple spread out for Christmas can be more effective than spending huge amounts of money on expensive dishware and tablecloths that will only be used once or twice in a year.
Dinner sets are something that have been around for more than a century, but have not always been a fashion accessory at the dinner table. Having the right set for a special occasion appears to be an essential part of the preparation process for a big meal such as Christmas. It is not enough now to view dishware as just a tool to eat food from; the design of the plate plays an important part in displaying the appeal of the food and its presentation. It is more common now to serve food on plain white plates than it was during the 1980s whereby flower patterned plates were more popular.
History
Historically dinner sets were made from wood, metals, pewter and even animal skulls. Modern dishware is made from stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, glass and melamine resin. The Chinese had discovered the process of making porcelain around 600AD and had begun trading porcelain objects with the European during the 1300s. Owning porcelain made plates was a must-have for the Europeans. It was not until 1708 that a German potter in Meissen discovered the Chinese porcelain making process, beginning a new range of great European potteries.
Some of the most popular and best-known potters were also founded during this period. Famous brands such as Royal Saxon, Wedgewood, Royal Copenhagen and Spode. The practise of collecting souvenir plates was not popularised until 1800s by Patrick Palmer-Thomas, a Dutch-English nobleman who impressed Victorian audiences with his public displays of plates. The first collectible items 'Behind the Frozen Window', was credited to the Danish namely Bing and Grondahl. Christmas designed plates were then produced by many of the European countries particularly that of Royal Copenhagen and the Rosenthal series in 1910. It was not long before the European designs were introduced to the U.S with sales going up in souvenir shops, department stores and gift shops.
Plates are still used as a collectible item, mainly for older generations rather than the younger culture. Some popular collectibles are usually from abroad with intricate paintings of the countries national customs captured onto the dish. With different shapes and thickness available, dishwares are an important element in keeping up a good appearance of one's efforts on producing a good spread and the most popular designs are simple with a few small accessories to jazz it up.
Anna Stenning has a large collection of dinner sets and designer plates from around the globe. She purchases her finest sets from http://www.denby.co.uk
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