Mmmmmm. Goooey, stringy cheese.  

Baked brie. Ooey gooey baked brie. The first time I had it it was “en croute,” (which is basically baked in a puff pastry with a jam or chutney lining the inside of the dough) and it was orgasmic.  Sadly, I’m now going gluten free and I’m also trying to cut out dairy. Ha. That’s going really well as you can tell from this recipe.

No, but seriously. As a goodbye to cheese (for now, I’m taking this day by day lol) I decided to make a baked brie and just go hardcore and have a cheese-gasm. But I didn’t use crackers, I had it with sliced apples which are actually better because they provide a nice tart crisp-ness that goes so well with the salty, gooey cheese.

I used a small wheel of brie, 4 dried figs, a small handful of pistachios and Manuka honey active 20+. I dunno what the hell that means but it’s supposed to be healthier and this was the highest active number I found. So, I mean, technically this is a super healthy baked brie. Ahem.

Preheat your oven to 350F and place the wheel o’ brie on a lined baking sheet.

Cut the dried figs into slices exposing their pretty little seeds.

I laid them around the edge of the top of the wheel thusly:

After adding the pistachios in the center, drizzle on as much honey as your inner child tells you to. My inner child was on her best behavior today, so I didn’t go too crazy. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Below is a ‘before and after baking’ picture-situation.

I love how the drops of honey caramelized and got dark. Myyy prettyyyyyyy (in you-know-what voice)

Immediately after taking the brie out of the oven, slice a green apple or two into thin wedges.

Side note: Below are pics of a quick apple-coring method I use. Who needs a corer? Not moi.

Arrange the apple slices around the baked brie and slice it open and let the cheesy goodness ooze out.

*shuddering in ecstasy*    

Dip the apple into the cheese first. Then have it with a fig, or honey roasted pistachio. Or both. Enjoy this with drinks this weekend or everyday. Same thing. Whatever.

Or subscribe to my blog. You know, same thing. Whatever.

[subscribe2]

[yumprint-recipe id=’37’]

So. I have a confession to make. I hate avocados. If you live in California like I do then you know that saying you hate avocados gets the same reaction from Californians as saying you straight up hate Cali. 

I mean, if you read my blog you know I hate bland food. Avocados are bland. Most guacamoles I’ve tried are bland. I find that the chunkier a guac is, the more bland. So I knew the only way I could eat avocado without gagging is with lots of flavor.

So I decided to make something flavorful with avocado. I wrangled these items (I don’t know why I used the word ‘wrangled’. I didn’t wrangle anything to be honest.):

I used 3 avocados, a poblano pepper, 3 green onions, a bunch of cilantro, grated parmesan cheese, the juice of a lime and a little bit of olive oil. Plus good ol’ S&P.

So first thing you wanna do is chop up the pepper and onions. Just rough chop them, but be gentle as well. 😉

Throw them into a blender or food processor. You don’t have to throw them. You can just place them in the blender. I’m having a hard time accurately describing how to handle food today. 

Avocado time. Cut them in half and remove the seed in the middle.

Then scoop out the flesh and throw that into the blender also. I’m sticking with throw. 

Add the juice of a lime. 

Add the parmesan and oil. I eyeballed the amount but if I had to guess I would say about 1/4 cup of the parmesan and two drizzles of olive oil. Drizzle is a technical term btw. I swear. Ahem. 

Add water about halfway up the ingredients in the blender and blend it, blend it, blend it. 

The picture below shows the consistency you want. Smoooooooth.

You can enjoy this on tacos or nachos. Or like guacamole with tortilla chips. Or maybe with some pasta with a bit more parmesan on top. Or drink it straight up. Ok no. Don’t do that. Ever. That shit is nasty. 

Enjoy!

[subscribe2]

[yumprint-recipe id=’35’]