Serves 9-12
Wine Pairing: Rose D’Anjou
Ingredients
1 whole small Camembert cheese
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper, freshly ground
For garlic toasts
1 baguette
1 garlic clove
Extra virgin olive oil
For grapes
1 large bunch of red seedless grapes, washed and stemmed
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves pulled from stems
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Olive oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the Camembert from its packaging, pierce the top of the cheese with a sharp knife, then stuff the incisions with the garlic and thyme sprigs. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the cheese in parchment paper like a present and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake for about ten minutes, to melt the cheese.
To make garlic toasts:
Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 minutes, while the cheese is baking. Remove the toasts and lightly scrape each one on one side with a clove of raw garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
To make the grapes:
Turn the oven to broil 500 degrees F (when you are finished baking the cheese or before). Place cleaned grapes on a greased baking sheet, and sprinkle the thyme leaves over the grapes. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, turning the grapes with a spatula to coat evenly. Broil in oven until grapes start to “pop†and get slightly charred. Cool slightly before serving with cheese and toast.