Dude. I'm hammered. The Bourbon Brie was a HIT!

First off, thank you, thank you, dear Cassie, for extending the invite to guest blog. I can only hope I do your site justice.

For those of you who do not frequent the comment section of the Soused Chef, you should know that recently when Cassie described her journey with Drunken Pumpkin Bread, I commented that I, too, had a bourbon recipe, mine with brie. There was an invite to guest blog and a subsequent jumping at the chance. It was only the next post, her fifth total, that I began to notice a theme and wondered if I should slip a pamphlet for a twelve step program in the mail truck up to Philly. I wrote a comment to the affect, she wrote one back, I googled the term “soused”, and then felt pretty stupid.

Why am I always the last to get it??

Sigh.

Anywho, I give to you:

(Ta-da!)

Brie with Bourbon

First off, I need to give credit where credit is due. This recipe originated from the Junior League of Wilmington Cookbook, which I was given several years ago as a kind-of-joke, but has since proved itself unsurpassed, in terms of giving me smug, brag-worthy, party hit recipes. If you have ever had my hot onion dip, take a moment to pay homage to the ladies of the Junior League and their hoop skirts. It came from them.

The recipe from the book is as follows:

1 large wedge of Brie, room temperature

1/2 c chopped pecans

1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 - 2 shots bourbon* and **

sliced french bread and/or crackers

Combine ingredients 2 - 4.

Spread on a microwave safe serving platter. Nuke dat shit (really, the ladies of the J.L. actually do say that) for 30 - 45 seconds. Place Brie on top of mixture, nestled all awesome-like. Nuke it again for another 30 - 45 seconds, until the brown sugar mixture is slightly bubbling and the Brie is just starting to melt out. Serve hot with crackers/bread in one hand, cocktail in the other. Discuss how this season the country club is “going downhill fast, now that they’re letting just anyone in.”

A few learnings/ modifications.

1. The cheese lady at Whole Foods let me know that if I’m topping my brie with something, I can somewhat sacrifice the quality. That being said, I went with a mid-grade, 70% brie blend, that ran for roughly $4.00 a wedge.

2. Since I was rolling into a dinner party of approximately 20 people, I tripled the recipe. As you will see from the before and after photos, that was the right call.

3. * The bourbon amount called for is ridiculously off, as my first attempt through I tripled the pecans and brown sugar, but started with just the 2 shots called for in the single recipe. The result was a soupy mess that smelled like a drunk hobo who just found himself kicked out of Cold Stone Creamery. Luckily, I had enough ingredients to start over. Add the alcohol 1/2 a shot at a time, until you get the consistency and strength you want. It should look like this:

4. ** I actually used brandy instead of bourbon, because this is what I happened to have in my house.

5. Pack everything up to assemble at the hostess’s house. (Side note, anyone wanna weigh in on the paint samples I have up?)

6. It is preferable to slice your bread ahead of time, just before you leave, as nothing irritates a crazed hostess more than another person getting in the way in her kitchen. However, if a lazy Saturday afternoon prohibits this, well, I suppose it can’t be helped.

I give to you, the final product:

....aaaaaaand about twenty minutes later:

Thinking Cassie’s on to something with this drunk cooking thing,

khop