Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions

By á-23515

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 8 cups sliced white onions (about 4 large)
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves (minced or chopped)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or brandy)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 8-inch diameter 32 to 36-ounce French Brie, packed in wooden box (reserve box)****
• 2 French bread baguettes, sliced

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 75mins

Preparation

Step 1

Melt butter in heavy very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until just tender, about 6 minutes. Add minced thyme, reduce heat to medium and cook until onions are golden, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add ¼ wine (or brandy); stir until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over onions and sauté until soft and brown, about 10 minutes. Add remaining ¼ cup wine (or brandy); stir just until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap Brie, reserving bottom of wooden box. Cut away only top rind of cheese, leaving rind on sides and bottom intact. Return Brie to box, rind side down. Place box on baking sheet. Top Brie evenly with onion mixture. Bake until cheese just melts.

**** An alternative to using the Brie box, is using a round or oval day-old (1 pound) French bread. With a serrated knife, cut down through top of bread to leave a shell about ½ inch thick on sides; do not cut through bottom crust. Slide your fingers down alongside the center of loaf and pull free in a single piece, leaving about a ½ inch-thick base in the shell. Around the rim of the shell, make cuts 1 ½ inches deep and 1 ½ inches apart. Cut bread from center of loaf into 1/2 –inch-think slices (or use baguette).

When using bread bowl, place Brie in hollowed out bowl, cutting rind off top, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until cheese melts.

Place on plate with grapes and other garnishes and sliced pieces of baguette.