Best holiday recipe
At the risk of being considered a ‘girly blog’ ( just kidding, no hard feelings, Howie, I think it’s funny!), I’m going to post my number one most requested recipe ever. I usually make a large batch of cranberry chutney around about Thanksgiving and use it all through the holiday season. We always have this for Thanksgiving (perfect while waiting for the turkey to cook), Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and many parties in between. Enjoy!
Brie with Cranberry Chutney
For chutney: Combine 2/3 cup water and 2/3 cup white sugar in a small saucepan, boil without stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 1/3 cups fresh cranberries (rinsed and picked over), 4 tsp cider vinegar, 1/3 cup raisins, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, 2 tsp light brown sugar, 1/4 tsp ground ginger (or 1/2 tsp fresh, minced ginger), 1 small clove garlic, minced. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes or so. The chutney can be made well ahead of time. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350, place 1 large or two small wheels of brie on a foil-lined baking sheet, top with chutney, and bake fir 8-10 minutes, until cheese is hot and runny. Serve immediately with a sliced fresh baguette (or use crackers or pita bread, it would probably taste good on cardboard!).
This recipe came from a friend of a friend, it might have originally appeared in a Connecticut newspaper or one of the cooking magazines. I’ve been making it for 20 years and have tweaked it a little bit during that time.