Can It Brie So Simple?

It can brie Goat brie!

Shane and I entertained our first couple for supper yesterday evening. Wanting to serve our main course hot (or at the very least, fresh), I waited until our guests arrived before searing three plump and tender pork chops to serve in my Shane-requested port wine cream sauce. However, our newly arrived and ravenous guests would not go hungry, and chips and dip a la Emilie were quickly devoured.

I wanted an impressive, yet fuss-free appetizer to fend off impatient hungries. Goat brie, conveniently packaged in an edible crust and gently heated, lends its tangy, creamy qualities to an instant dip. On its own, the cheese's flavor works well with apples and plain water crackers or slices of baguette, spread with butter and lightly toasted. As acceptable as these alternative appealed to me, I wanted to try an appetizer I'd been concocting in my head -- a dinner party-worthy cheese dip, sans any shelf-stable jar or box of cheese product. Fresh herbs, a few chopped scallions, and freshly ground pepper are all the components for an appetizer casual and elegant -- enough to complement burgers and beer on the lawn or pork chops around the dining room table.

So Simple Thyme and Brie Dip

Serves 4 guests, hungry and awaiting the supper that sizzling on the stove.

1 round brie, goat or cow (about 4.5 - 5 ounces)
Handful chopped fresh thyme
4 scallions, chopped, including some green from the tops
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Carefully slice the top off the brie. Discard it, or save it for later (or just eat it when no one is looking). Place cheese in an oven save dish (and for ease of removing dish from the oven, place dish on a baking sheet), and bake it for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is soft and runny.

Remove dish from the oven, and add the thyme, chopped scallions, reserving a few green pieces for garnish) and freshly ground pepper to the cheese and mix into the brie, being careful not to break through the crust. Place dish back into the oven for 10 minutes. Remove dish from oven 5 minutes before serving, and over the top of the cheese, scatter the remaining scallion greens. Serve with gourmet potato chips.