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Columnists - Columnists: Kerry McCray

Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008

When it comes to cheese, there's no contest

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News flash: The best cheeses in the world have just been named.

What's that? You didn't know there were a bunch of people sitting around a table with nothing better to do than name the world's best cheeses?

What's that? You want that job? So do I.

Each fall, some 100 "cheese specialists" with the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association gather in a different European city and taste a few thousand cheeses with the goal of naming one the world champion. Tough life, isn't it?

I don't need to taste cheese after cheese to name the best in the world. My world champion cheese would be brie, that rich, creamy white cheese you often find at holiday parties.

Although I love brie, I had never cooked with it until now. Just plopping it down on a plate with a handful of crackers worked for me.

Then I found this recipe for sugar and nut glazed brie by Paula Deen. Leave it to the celebrity chef to make brie, already full of fat, even more over the top.

I picked this recipe because it seemed easy and the ingredients weren't expensive. Sure, brie costs more than cheddar, but at about $6 per round, it's a lot cheaper than crab or shrimp.

I substituted walnuts for the macadamia nuts or pecans the recipe called for. They're grown locally, so I like to use them when I can. All the ingredients are available at the grocery store — no special trips.

When I got the ingredients home one day after work, they all looked so good that I couldn't wait to make this dish. So I ignored the part of the recipe that says to chill the nut/sugar/brandy mixture for at least 24 hours. I just piled it on the brie and stuck the whole thing in the oven. It didn't seem to hurt the dish.

The brie was perfect — oozy and creamy and flavorful. The spiked nut mixture added an adult flavor.

My husband and I gobbled up our brie with apple slices, but you could use anything as a brie vessel. Try pears, crackers or thin slices of crusty bread.

Oh, and if you are with the cheesemakers association and need another judge for next year's competition, look no further.

Bee staff writer Kerry McCray can be reached at 578-2358 or at kmccray@modbee.com.

The four of us who nibbled on this brie and its accompaniments thought it an excellent dish to enjoy either before dinner or after. Before dinner, you might want only crackers with the brie; after dinner, you might want only the fruit. The problem with the fruit is the time it takes to slice, core and brush with lemon juice to preserve its color. Perhaps you could give each diner a half fruit and a sharp knife and let her slice her own. Note: Be sure to read the whole recipe, for refrigerating the sugar and nut mixture for at least 24 hours is essential to allow the nuts to soak up the brandy.

The cheese seemed a little overwhelmed by the sweetness of the sugar. Loved the apple and pear slices with the brie, though.



I love baked brie with anything on it, so I'd have to say that this was pretty yummy. Very simple to throw together, and I loved the sweet sugar/salty cheese combination of flavors, though I have to admit I only made the sugar/nut mixture an hour or two ahead of time rather than the 24 hours recommended. Quite a different review with my family though ... that it unfortunately was too reminiscent of the cheese fondue we tested a while back, and that what was the point of baking it as it ruined a good brie?



I have made variations of this recipe in the past. Despite my lack of planning for having forgotten to premake the sugar and nut mixture, it turned out great. I had to cook the brie wheel a bit longer to get that ooze-like texture, but this recipe was very simple. I recommend serving it with roasted garlic and a baguette. Oh, and also wine!