Brie Bites and Collard Green Spinach Farfalletti from the Winter Fancy Food Show

We had a blast at our first Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last weekend! Among the celebrities, it was a thrill to meet our purveyor of fine brie, Christel from La Fromagerie Henri Hutin!

We continue to find ways to enjoy our brie—in our Portland kitchen, Andie made brie bites!

These delicious bites were delicious paired with a glass of pinot noir, but could also be brunch-ified with Mimosas, eggs and good espresso.  The combinations of the crunchy phyllo surrounding a bit of salty ham and sweet honeyed pear, topped with the brie hot and melty and a sprinkle of the oat crumble. Oh my gosh, let the holiday season just start over, risk accepted!  Thank you, Belletoile, for extending the holiday!

Sweet and Savory Brie Bites

20 sheets phyllo dough thawed

6 tablespoons butter melted

12 slices thinly cut mordello ham or proscuitto

1/3 cup honey

2 pears thinly sliced OR diced apples

3/4 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup raw walnuts roughly chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon whiskey

4  2 ounce wheels French brie cut each into 16 equal wedges

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease two (12-cup) muffin/cupcake tins.

Take a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and repeat until you have five phyllo sheets stacked up. Cut the sheets into 6 equal squares and push into the prepared cupcake tins, fitting the phyllo snugly into the tin. Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough.

Now take the prosciutto and cut each piece in half lengthwise. Fit the prosciutto in a single layer inside the cups.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden just set. Watch carefully and don’t let them burn. Remove the cups from the molds and place on a baking sheet.

Meanwhile, add the honey to a skillet with sides and bring to a boil, boil 3-5 minutes or until the honey just starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the pear slices. Turn off heat and add the whiskey. Let the pears sit in the syrup for a few minutes, but no longer. You don’t want the pears to become too soft to work with. Remove the pears from the honey.

In a bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, brown sugar and flour. Use your hands to mix in the butter until the mixture is moist and crumbly.

Place a few pears inside each phyllo cup. Add 1 wedge of brie and top with a tablespoon of the walnut-oat mixture.

Place back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving plate.

Always nice to pair cheese with something green. I used Al Dente spinach farfalletti pasta with red onions and collard greens cooked down with some garlic and red chili flakes. Finished with olive oil. Literally a 15-20 minute dinner, and delicious. This brand of small batch noodles cooks so very quickly, and had a nice texture and taste. I like that they say the noodles are made in small batches by real people, I think I can taste that difference.

Collard Green Spinach Farfalletti Pasta

1 package Al Dente spinach farfalletti pasta

½ red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB olive oil

2 bunches collard greens, chopped

1 TB Paleo Powder spice

½ TB red chili flakes

Cook down onion with olive oil in cast iron pan until translucent and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic in last minute and saute one minute until fragrant. Add collard greens and cook down until soft, about 10 more minutes. Add Paleo powder and chili flakes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water per package instructions (really does only take about 5 minutes, so fast!) After water strained out from noodles, toss with a finishing olive oil (about 1-2 TB) and add the collards mixture. So green and delicious! A Vitamin K and Omega-3 bomb.

And then, shout out to the Swedish Sugar Buster sparkling water drink Good Idea, which has the added bonus of amino acids and chromium. Way more flavor than La Croix, and the Swedish Flag on the can which pleases KP.

We learned so much in San Francisco and can’t wait to share some of the new trends of fancy food for the coming year! 2019 promises tastiness and health!