Brie En Croute

John and I just love Brie cheese (honestly we love most all cheese). I spent a few weeks in France after my sophomore year of high school, and I developed a love for all French food, especially the cheese!  I saw some Brie on sale at the store and decided I wanted to do something a little special for a mid-week appetizer. John was a little skeptical of me playing around with his Brie, but he absolutely loved the end result. This recipe comes from Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. I made a few modifications based on John's preference (the original called for nuts, which John isn't too fond of when mixed in dishes).  I think you'll find this is great for a weeknight appetizer or for hosting a party. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
*1 sheet frozen puff pastry
*1 small wheel of Brie (7-8 ounces, I used the "light" Brie)
*1/2 cup raspberry jam (honestly I didn't measure, I just spread!)
*1 egg, beaten

Preparation:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 *Defrost one sheet of puff pastry for about 20-40 minutes and unfold.

*Gently roll pastry with a rolling pan to increase size by about 1-2 inches. Be sure to flour surface and rolling pan! Brush both sides of the sheet with beaten egg.

*Center the wheel of Brie on top of the pastry sheet. Spread jam on top of cheese, more or less depending on your preference. Bring all four corners of the sheet together above Brie and twist slightly to form a "bundle."

*Place "bundle" on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Serve with crackers.

Brie wheel on the pastry.

Egg wash - pictures are out of order, sorry!

My "bundle" before going in the oven.

Voila! So simple!