Winner: Easiest, prettiest, most impressive appetizer.
Also Winner: Least planned blog post.
The week before Labor Day, I headed back to my family’s house on Lake Michigan. You may recall my trip from last year, when I posted about 10 Tips and Techniques That Improved My Food Photography, and told you about delicious grEATings™ as I launched my greeting card line. Last year, I spent a full week decompressing, and exploring Southwest Michigan with Tazewell. I had some very quality introvert time last year.
I expected the same for this year … but it was different. It took me a lot longer to decompress when I arrived, maybe due in part to somewhat unexpectedly wrapping up my job of 11 years in the days before vacation. I am still in the same office, but have been promoted to a new and different role, and it all happened very quickly – especially for the federal government! I am very much looking forward to my new job, and even after four days so far I can see how great of a fit it is for me. But travel to Charlottesville for a presentation the week before, wrapping up projects to not leave my coworkers and clients in the lurch, and tying up so many loose ends, not to mention quite a going-away happy hour after my last day of work, took a lot out of me and required intense down time.
Another difference? Added extrovert time: A girls’ weekend! Three friends from college, plus a friend who has become an honorary college friend, came to visit for the weekend. This is us at dinner our second night together. Never has a group of friends dressed more differently, but had more similar taste in food. We laughed when we saw what we all chose to wear. But that’s my friends: unique, comfortable with who they are, and darned good-looking.
Look at me, pushing fall. I do love a thin sweater.
But back to the brie.
The first night, we weren’t sure when everyone would arrive, with flights and Labor Day traffic out of Chicago; but as it turned out, the weekend was meant to go well, and there were no delays. My mom had dropped off some food she thought we might like, and included was a small wheel of brie. She said she had read that you could put fruit on top and grill it. I was suspicious, but figured we would certainly find use for a wheel of brie.
Another difference this year was that I got pretty comfortable with a gas grill – having lived in an apartment since college, I haven’t had much access to grills – so I thought I would give it a whirl. I did a little internet fact-checking, got out some foil, and sliced some fruit with a friend. The added pressure of somehow not having gotten to the grocery store, and being on the hook for appetizers to kick off the weekend, helped with confidence in this melty cheese situation.
And it went very well.
It did that melty thing all by itself, swear.
We sliced 2 figs (from my dad’s fig tree) and 4 strawberries. This seemed like it wouldn’t be enough, ratio-wise, for the full wheel of brie, so I put more sliced figs and strawberries in a foil packet. While the brie was on the grill, the foil packet went up on the second rack to heat.
As soon as the brie felt a little jiggly, I knew it was done, scooped it off the grill, and served it up with some of my mom’s signature crackers (she re-bakes pre-made crackers or lavash to make them extra crispy) and some take-n-bake french bread.
With uber-minimal prep, we had an elegant appetizer on our hands, and were ready for the grilling (and wine) feast that awaited us at dinner on the balcony. From the second we layered the raw fruit on top until we opened the foil packet after grilling and melted brie started oozing, as well as at other times during the demolition, we were snapping photos and knew we had a winner.
- 1 wheel of brie
- sliced figs and strawberries {for a small wheel of brie, try 2 figs and 4 strawberries}
- Heat gas grill to medium.
- Lay out a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, and place the unwrapped wheel of brie on top.
- Add fruit to the top. Sliced fruit around the edge will help keep juices from dripping while cooking. But it's ok if they drip; it will stay in the foil.
- Close the foil around the brie. Try to make the packet tight. Give the cheese a little squeeze so you can see how firm it feels, which will help you determine when it has melted.
- Grill for 5-7 minutes. When the cheese feels soft when you push on the side, it's done. Scoop off the grill with a spatula.
- Serve with crackers and chips.
Mom gets credit for this recipe!
Tell me what you think!