Baked Brie

A couple years ago, my husband and I went on a little vacation to Saint Petersburg, Florida -- just the two of us. It was the first time we had done such a thing since our honeymoon, over 30 years earlier. We spent the week visiting art museums and shops, strolling through botanical gardens, and relaxing on our hotel balcony with coffee and pastries. One day, we visited Florida's largest new and used bookstore, Haslam's, which has over 300,000 books in 30,000 square feet. Book lovers that we are, it was almost like being in Heaven. We ate at local restaurants and tried new foods. But one restaurant, in particular, had something on their menu that lured us through their doors every single day.

The Moon Under Water, located on Beach Drive, serves British Colonial cuisine in the atmosphere of a cozy English tavern. For those who prefer dining outdoors, there is seating on the porch and at tables along the sidewalk. The first time we ate there, we decided to try the baked brie, listed among the appetizers. Wrapped in puff pastry and served with crackers and a delicious spicy raspberry sauce, this delicacy had us returning again and again for more.

This recipe is very simple and will give you impressive results. As you slice into the papery layers of pastry, you will discover a luscious, melted cheese that can be spread on crackers along with warm apricot preserves or seedless raspberry jam. The recipe calls for an 8 ounce round brie. I only had on hand a 16 ounce brie, which I cut in half, so the brie in the picture above is wrapped a little differently than it would be, had I used a circle-shaped one. No matter how you wrap it, the flavor is heavenly.

Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

1/2 (17 oz.) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 (8 oz.) round brie
1/8 Cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted in skillet
1/4 Cup preserves (apricot, raspberry, etc.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Roll thawed pastry until large enough to wrap around brie.
Place cheese in center of pastry, and sprinkle almonds on top.
Wrap or bundle up the pastry around brie and press to seal.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with crackers and warmed preserves.
Serves about 4.

One Holy Night

One holy night a Child was born;

A tiny Son was given.

The shepherds rushed to see His face,

And angels sang in Heaven.

His name was Jesus, Savior;

He came to set us free

From sin and death and Satan's pow'r;

The blind, He made to see.

He healed the sick; He raised the dead,

The leper, He made clean.

The wind and waves obeyed His voice;

Such pow'r had never been seen.

Yet tenderly, He blessed each child;

With those He loved, He wept.

This gentle Shepherd led His sheep;

In poverty, He slept.

One dreadful day they took Him,

And nailed Him to a tree.

He'd said, "If I be lifted up,

I'll draw all men to Me."

His body lay inside a tomb,

And guards stood watch nearby.

Three days and nights His friends asked God,

"Why did He have to die?"

One wondrous day He came alive;

An empty grave to prove

That He had conquered sin and death

Because of His great love.

One day He's coming back again,

The Prince of Peace, our King.

We'll worship Him before His throne,

And with the angels, sing.

Copyright © 2015  Judy Strattan

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree

Christmas is a very special time of the year. It's a time filled with music, family, friends, and traditions. Many of us have our own set of traditions for celebrating the holiday. For our family, Christmas time begins on Thanksgiving Day. After the turkey has been gobbled up, along with the accompanying side dishes, everyone's name goes on a gift tag to be placed in a hat. As each person draws a name, we begin thinking about what to give the chosen person for Christmas. We started doing this as the family grew, since it was just too difficult to take each child shopping for every other child. The kids could really put some thought into what they would give as a gift, and it was possible to have two or three children at a time accompany us on a shopping expedition. The day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas music comes out and we put up the Christmas tree. Some people like trees with flashing lights; others have trees that revolve. I prefer a quiet tree, with no blinking lights. It is so much more peaceful, and much more conducive to sleeping under the Christmas tree.

Years ago, when the kids were little, some very dear friends told us about this tradition. It seemed like so much fun, we started doing it ourselves. The night of the last day of school before Christmas, the whole family would sleep under the Christmas tree. We would spend the evening at the dining room table with boxes of graham crackers, assorted candy, and royal icing, assembling individual "gingerbread" houses. And that night, the living room would be filled with sleeping bags, pillows, music, and lots of laughter as we camped out around the tree. We didn't get much sleep, but we sure had fun! As the kids got older, they continued the tradition, the teenagers laughing and playing games around the tree as Mom and Dad slept peacefully in our room.

Most of these traditions cost very little money, but these are the things that the kids enjoyed most. Making homemade cards for each other, baking cookies, caroling and stringing popcorn for the tree are little things that create lasting memories. Long after the presents are opened, and the Christmas candy is eaten, children will remember the special things you do as a family to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Take some time this year to make some memories. You may just find yourself sleeping under the Christmas tree!

The Nutcracker Years

This morning, as I had my coffee and browsed the internet, I saw a video of two people (check out glassduo.com) playing "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Instead of being played on a celesta, however, this version was played on wine glasses, filled with water. The music was so beautifully interpreted, that I could imagine a sparking ballerina dancing before my eyes. And I remembered the Nutcracker years.

For many years, The Nutcracker was a central part of our lives, beginning in September and ending shortly before Christmas. My two girls performed every year with a regional ballet company whose production was top-notch. From scenery and costumes to choreography, everything was professionally done. The dancers performed impeccably, right down to the littlest angel. Every mother beamed with pride as their daughters and sons took the stage and danced to the music that had filled our ears every day for the last four months. And as the dancers took their final bows at the end of the last show, we breathed a sigh of relief. Another successful season was over.

As soon as school started each year, everyone at the ballet studio turned their thoughts to The Nutcracker. Little boys and girls would eagerly anticipate their first performance in a real ballet. They would be angels, dressed in pretty costumes and carrying battery-operated candles as they would glide around the stage in perfect formation. Older children would play the part of party girls and boys, and everyone wondered who would be the lucky ones chosen to be Clara and Fritz. The teenagers, many of whom would go on to professional ballet companies when they graduated, looked forward to their performances in the snow scene or the "Waltz of the Flowers" and wondered who would win the coveted role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Auditions began in September and, as soon as the cast list was posted, rehearsals began in earnest. Ballet classes continued as usual, but evenings and weekend afternoons were dedicated to rehearsal time. Costumes were fitted and altered, pictures were taken, scenery and props were mended, and soon it was time for dress rehearsal. This was a time for the mothers to practice their roles backstage, helping with costumes and makeup. And then it would be showtime!

Working backstage was a real eye-opener for me. Some of those costume changes had to be done very quickly. As young girls dashed to the dressing room after the party scene, we hurriedly got them out of their dresses and into mouse costumes for the battle with the toy soldiers. The audience never imagined the chaos that was going on behind the scenes as Drosselmeyer worked his magic and the Christmas tree on stage grew to an enormous size. When the show was over, we would congratulate each other on a job well done and plan how to improve our efficiency for the next show.

Each of us, of course, would have the opportunity to see the show at least one time each season. That's when we would dress in our finest clothes and take our places in the theater. Bouquets of flowers filled the arms of many who attended, and the seats began to fill. The audience browsed their programs, and soon the lights dimmed. And as the music began, we would breathlessly await the opening scene of The Nutcracker.

A Christmas Tradition

It started with two little wooden birds on a borrowed tree. It was our first baby's very first Christmas, and we wanted to do something special. We had borrowed the tree from my husband's band room after school finished up for the holiday break. It was just a little tree, about two feet tall, that we placed on the piano. We had no ornaments. I made a pretty paper chain with some wrapping paper and fashioned a few bows with red ribbon. The effect was delightful. Then one evening, we decided to go shopping and enjoy the Christmas displays. That's when I saw them: two wooden birds, one blue and one yellow, that were the perfect size for our tree. And they were only one dollar apiece! I decided to buy them for our little girl to commemorate her first Christmas. And so it began.

Every year we went shopping to find a unique ornament for our daughter. As God blessed us with more babies, we bought more ornaments -- and a bigger tree! And as the children got older, they each chose their own special items. The little ones usually found something unbreakable that they could admire and play with, and the older kids would sometimes choose very fragile decorations. By then, we had decided that each child would take their ornaments with them when they grew up and moved away, and we began to keep a list of each person's collection. Every year, when we put up the tree, the kids eagerly unwrapped the decorations and hung their own pretty things on the branches.

The ornaments usually reflected the current interests of each family member. Little girls often chose ballerinas or pretty birds. Little boys chose toy horns, toy soldiers, or snowmen. One year, we had to find a fire truck for one child and a tank for another. These were found in the toy department instead of the holiday display, but that was what they wanted. A few years later, we noticed the tiny writing on the gun of the tank: Eve of Destruction! A rather incongruous inscription for a Christmas celebration! We had a good laugh and positioned the thing front and center.

Our Christmas tree is filled with memories. Some of the ornaments are unusual, and some are silly, but each one is special. As the kids grow up and take their collections with them for their own trees, my husband and I will still have the things we purchased for ourselves. And they are filled with memories, too.

This month, as you celebrate the birth of Christ, spend some time with those you love. You don't have to spend a fortune on gifts to make memories. And those are more precious than silver and gold!