Baked Brie Night

Easy to make, incredibly versatile, and deliciously filling-- I can't believe I've never tried baked brie before!

I used chopped dates and walnuts, simmered with brown sugar and barleywine. I've seen recipes with other fruits as well as savory ingredients. I used five sheets of phyllo dough and had some leakage-- possibly due to the brie I chose being too soft, although someone at Wally's recommended it, so that's on them.

The end result was a melange of textures and flavors- crunchy phyllo, creamy cheese; the sweetness of the date mixture balanced by the mild taste of the cheese, served on sourdough toasts and pita chips. The leftovers were surprisingly good cold! It was then possible to cut it into neat little slices and eat it that way.

Homemade Noodles

Having recently swiped my mom's never-used hand cranked pasta machine, I made my first fresh noodles today. So much easier than you think--

1. Lay out parchment paper or use clean wooden surface; flour lightly

2. Make a mound of 2 cups of flour, with a crater in the middle

3. Break 3 eggs into the flour crater

4. Using a fork, break the yolks and mix the eggs together before starting to incorporate flour; then slowly start adding in the flour

5. When you can no longer use the fork, use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour and start kneading the dough; I did this for about 6-7 minutes.

6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or foil and let it stand 15-20 minutes.

7. Use the pasta machine to roll out dough, starting from the widest setting(1) and working your way up to the thinnest(10 or wherever you choose to stop; I felt my pasta was thin enough at 6). You'll want to break the dough into smaller pieces and/or cut the dough after rolling so it's manageable.

8. Use the linguini or spaghetti side of the machine to cut the pasta; or use a pizza cutter, ravioli cutter, or other method for the pasta shape you prefer. I chose linguini.

9. Lay out cut noodles on floured parchment paper, sprinkle with a small amount of flour(through a sieve if available)

10. I cooked them immediately and they were al dente in 4-5 minutes.

I served this pasta with a TJ's marinara sauce simmered with onions and garlic, sauteed mushrooms, as well as an arugula and tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette and red wine.