Brie!

Picture038.jpg,
originally uploaded by dibranchia.

The Brie turned out so pretty! I was supposed to make the bread, braid it and form it around the container of the brie and then place the brie in the center. But: #1 I was making the bread ahead of time and the warmth of the bread wouldn't have been warm enough to warm the cheese as the recipe wanted and #2 I made half the recipe. I ended up braiding the bread (as I posted earlier) and served the brie on the side. I wanted to something to make it look a bit more festive so I made a quick what I call a chutney, but I guess it really is more of a sauce. It originally came from B. Smith. I saw it on a show of hers as I was flipping through channels years ago, not even sure if it was her own show or if she was on another show. Anyway, it's really easy to make, and I love taking the leftovers and having them with cream cheese on bagels the next day. :)

Cranberry-Apricot Sauce

1 bag Fresh cranberries
1 cup dried Apricots, diced
1 1/2 cups sugar (I've used as little as 3/4 cup with no problems, and even used 1/2 Splenda also)
3/4 cup Orange juice
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, diced
(this year I also added 1 Tbsp orange liqueur)

Combine everything but ginger in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring and cooking until sugar dissolves and berries pop. Stir in ginger. Chill.