12 oz brie, -- room temperature
1 lg egg
1 lg egg yolk
2 TB brandy
6 TB butter
1/4 c sugar
1 lb firm ripe pears, -- peeled
: and sliced
2 sheets (1 pound package)
: frozen puff pastry
1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon
: water for wash
Preheat oven to 450. Remove rind from brie. In food
processor combine brie, egg, yolk, and brandy. Process
until smooth and chill. In a large skillet, melt
butter. Add sugar and cook on high for 1 minute. Add
pears and cook over med-high heat until crisp tender.
Remove to a plate to cool. On floured surface, roll 1
puff pastry sheet to 10-inch square. Cut a 10 inch
circle out of this. Roll second sheet into 11-inch
square and cut an 11-inch circle out of this. Place
10-inch circle of dough on baking sheet. Spread cheese
mixture over pastry to within 1 inch of outside edge.
Spoon cooled pears on top of cheese. Brush 1 inch edge
with egg glaze. Score 11-inch pastry circle halfway
through with sharp knife. Do not cut through pastry
all the way. Place on top of pears and using fork,
seal top pastry to bottom. Brush surface with egg
glaze. Vent top with knife and chill about 20 minutes
before baking. Bake 10 minutes and turn down heat to
375. Bake another 30 minutes or until puffy and golden
brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. *If you
don't want to use alcohol in this recipe, just use
brandy extract or a flavoring of your choice.
