Pickled Vegetables and Brie

One of my favorite so-simple-you’ll-shock-them appetizer recipes is with a melty brie. You just slice off the top of the brie, very thinly. Put the round on a plate and nuke it for 1 minute. Top with brown sugar and put under the broiler until the sugar starts to get warm and bubbly. Remove and serve with crackers or sliced baguettes. Super simple and guaranteed to impress, and growing up with a French mom, Brie is definitely one of my favorite soft cheeses.The other day on Rachael Ray’s talk show she did a similar recipe, with a completely unique twist. Instead of using a sweet topping, she went with tang, using up the dregs of several jars in her fridge. As part of our dinner with The Neighbors this weekend, I did the same thing. Foraging in the fridge, I ended up topping the brie with a mixture of hot banana peppers, capers and green olives. So, so, good. Warm melty goodness from the brie and the surprising burst of sharp tang from the topping, this will be a definite repeater. Unfortch on Saturday, I was the only Brie fan. No matter, more for me.

A year ago today… in the pink, and don’t worry, we’re celebrating pink this October too.
Two years ago today… all over the place.

Bottom-Of-The-Jar Pickled Vegetables & Brie
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Ingredients
1 round of brie, about 4 to 5 inches in diameter
Various bottoms of jars such as olives, pickled vegetables, capers, roasted red peppers, sweet or hot pepper rings
Slices of baguette or whole grain bread, whichever you prefer

Yields: 4 appetizer-size servings

Cut the top rind off of the brie. Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for about 1 minute. While the cheese is in the microwave, take all of the pickled and/or jarred vegetables from the bottom of the jars that you have and roughly chop them up — you want about 1 cup total of chopped goodness. Remove the cheese from the microwave and top the slightly melted cheese with the chopped vegetables. Spread on the bread and enjoy!

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