Friday, December 19, 2008

Homemade Fig Preserves over Brie

This was a delicious appetizer served with some crispy whole wheat Carr's crackers!!!

A couple of months ago I was in Whole Food's and they were sampling Thanksgiving food. Loved the chestnuts dressing and a couple of other things but the one that really stood out was the brie that they were serving with fig preserves!

There was no way I was going to spend whatever it was they wanted on something that I thought I could really easily make. So I tasted it and tried really hard to remember what the flavor was like.

I thought I would go to the grocery store and get some figs and make it myself. They had no figs so I had to come up with another plan.

I had some dried figs so after scouting around and checking a bunch of different recipes here is what I came up with!

Dried Fig Preserves

  • 2 cups dried figs (chopped)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1-1/4 water
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

Directions:

  • Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved add the lemon juice and simmer for about 1 minute.
  • Add the figs and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring often.
  • Once it has thickened and will coat the back of a spoon remove from heat and stir in the chopped walnuts.
  • At this point you can put it in a jar for canning but I knew I was going to be using it soon so I put it in a plastic container for storage in my fridge.

To serve all I did was bring the brie to rooms temperature as well as the fig preserve and then poured the figs over top and served with some crispy whole wheat crackers. This made for an elegant and simple appetizer for Thanksgiving and will be served again for Christmas!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

19 comments:

sj said...

Looks amazing Judy!

Elle said...

Incredible!!!

Anonymous said...

Love this flavor combo!

Jill@SimpleDailyRecipes.com said...

So badly, I want to be your next door neighbor!!!

*sigh*

A nice glass of wine, your figs & brie, and a goodlookin' hubby would make for a perfect evening together.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This sounds like a greta flavour combination. I do a similar baked brie or camembert with cranberries and walnuts:D

Peter M said...

Brie is decadent anytime of the year but it's exquisite with stewed/plumped dry figs.

Aggie said...

Oh yes, this looks perfect. I'll take some with a glass of wine anytime!!

Thistlemoon said...

I almost fainted! That looks so good, Judy! Pure heaven!

Half Baked said...

Yum yum yum!! that looks divine!!

Jen said...

Fabulous idea, Judy. I never thought to make the preserves. This would go over very well at my place.

Court said...

Oh delish! I love brie and I love figs.

Terri said...

I love figs! I love brie! I am going to try this. But I will also try it during the summer when I can get fresh figs, too. Yum!

RecipeGirl said...

Oh Lord, does that look great?? I think any sort of preserves really kicks Brie up a notch, but fig preserves makes it rather wintery and holidayish. Wonderful idea!

Diet Dramatic said...

Wow! I love the fig preserves, but they are crazy expensive. The last one I bought was a mix of orange marmalade and fig. I will absolutely be indulging in this during the holidays.

Proud Italian Cook said...

Hi Judy, Love this! I once had a sample of the brie and figs from WF's and I've been hooked ever since. Why not make your own, great idea! Happy holidays to you and yours.
Marie

Anonymous said...

This really does look amazing I bet the figs are an excellent contrast to the rich brie. Can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness that looks absolutely divine! I'm going to make this for my wine and cheese party I'm having in a couple of weeks.
Mel - The Kitchen Enquirer

Anonymous said...

Hey Judy ... this looks like a real winner!

Denise
http://WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com

Deeba PAB said...

That's a gorgeous recipe Judy...totally yum looking & so simple! Thanks