Baked brie with pepper jelly and a little family history

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Our Best Bites. I found them from another blog (LollyChops) which I found from another blog (I can’t remember which one). My Google Reader is overpopulated and has so many entries starred it looks like the night sky. I think this internet thing is going places. Anyways, about a week before Thanksgiving OBB posted their baked brie with pepper jelly recipe and it quickly caught my eye (and my stomach) because 1) it contains brie and 2) I had a few jars of pepper jelly in my pantry.

Now this pepper jelly is extra special. My cousin McKenzie got married this past August in Salt Lake City and my dad and I took a weekend road trip out there to join in the celebration. A few days before the wedding, Aunt Pammy had gone to the farmer’s market in Wanship to get food for the day-after-wedding BBQ and bought some of this jelly from Pepper Lane. It turns out that the people of Pepper Lane are family friends and they use a recipe for pepper jelly that my grandfather gave them many many moons ago. I brought home a couple jars of the pepper jelly but hadn’t figured out what to do with it until I saw the recipe from Our Best Bites. The recipe is fairly easy and super delicious. Below is the instructions copied from Our Best Bites, but I strongly suggest you read the full post on their blog because in addition to being great cooks they are highly entertaining bloggers.

Baked Brie with Pepper Jelly
Recipe on Our Best Bites

1 8-oz. wheel of baby Brie
1/2 package puff pastry, thawed for about 40 minutes at room temperatures
About 2-4 tablespoons pepper jelly (try to find some without onions, garlic, or other spices; fruit juice is okay; Tabasco is a great, widely available, reliable choice.)
1 egg white mixed with about 2 teaspoons cold water

Preheat oven to 400.
Gently unfold the puff pastry sheet, mending any broken spots. Cut the brie in half lengthwise and place one half, rind down, on the pastry. Spread with jelly and then place the other half of the brie, rind up, on the cheese. If necessary, trim the excess pastry and then fold it over the cheese, sealing the edges. If desired, decorate the brie with decorative shapes cut from the excess dough and brush it with the egg white/water mixture.

Place the bundle, seam-down, on a lightly greased baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with crackers, bread, and fresh fruit (like strawberries, apples, pears, and grapes) if desired. This is perfect as an easy, elegant holiday appetizer.