Bizu's Brie Flambee {Recipe-Hack}

I had brunch with a group of friends in the early days of October. The "ber" months only mean that there are many more get-togethers to follow. Afterall, the holidays is fast creeping up on us; and one of the things I love most about this season is that I get the chance to meet up with different groups of friends. Catching-up over brunch with long-time friends is definitely one of my favorite things to do.

This particular group of moms I’ve been with since about 8 years ago, when our kids were just about upto our waists. Now our girls are all taller than us.:) We’ve all seen our kids grow up, and have similar problems dealing with teenage daughters. But I still walk away from every get-together learning a lot from our shared parenting experiences.

Anyway, apart from the company I was with, this particular brunch was made more enjoyable by the scrumptious brunch menu of Bizu Patisserie. For my girls Bizu is synonymous with macarons, so I  made sure I have a box for pasalubong.

Everything looks so good that I had a hard time choosing. But I ended up ordering clam chowder. And we had several more orders to share making sure that everyone left the restaurant with muffin tops.:)

 

I remember having brunch at Bizu with these same ladies a year ago, and having the same Brie Flambee. We loved it so much, we had it again this year. And I love it too much that I had to try to recreate it at home.

 

Via

Here’s my take on Bizu’s Brie Flambee. It doesn't look as nice as Bizu's, but then again, I didn't have to pay almost P700.00 for it. :) But it tasted just as heavenly.  I think it is very hard to mess-up a good quality brie. 

Brie with Truffled Mushroom and Caramelized Almonds

small wheel of good-quality brie cheese
truffle oil ( I used the black truffle oil which I was told was more intense in flavor than the white oil )
Truffled Mushroom (recipe below)
Brown sugar for sprinkling
Roasted almonds, chopped coarsely

Directions:
1. Chill cheese well.
2. Cut cheese in half horizontally
3. Spread mushroom mixture over the bottom half of brie evenly
4. Place top half of cheese over mushroom mixture.
5. Sprinkle almonds and brown sugar generously on top of Brie cheese
6. Bake in a 400F oven until sugar starts bubbling, about 15-20 minutes
7. Let cheese set about 10 minutes before cutting into wedges with a sharp knife.
8. May serve as is or with assorted crackers

Truffled Mushroom
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 onion (finely diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1cup fresh mushrooms, any kind (cleaned and quartered)
1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup white wine or broth

Heat the oil in a pan.
Add the onion and cook until it starts to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and saute until they start to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the wine/broth, deglaze the pan and cook until it has evaporated.

Here's how it looks like before I placed it in the oven

Enjoy!

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