tina’s mushroom-topped brie - recipe: mushroom-topped brie

Do you think you have the recipe for a product worthy of lining national supermarket shelves, fridges and freezers? I recently read about a new Canadian competitive reality TV show called Recipes to Riches.

According to their website (www.recipestoriches.ca), “the new original series gives ordinary Canadians with extraordinary recipes a once-in-a-lifetime shot to exhibit their talent on TV with the possibility of their recipe making it onto the shelves of select Loblaw Companies Limited grocery stores across the country”.

There are seven different food categories, including appetizers, sweet and savoury snacks, cakes, pies, savoury pies, freezable entrees and frozen treats. The winner of each category will receive a $25,000 cash prize and each category winner will go head-to-head to compete for the grand prize of $250,000. That will be the largest cash prize in Canadian reality TV history.

I’d love to enter the contest myself, but its strictly open to “home” chefs... which got me thinking about one of the best home chefs I know — my friend Tina Roberts. I’ve written about her before, and I’m sure I’ll write about her again.

Immediately after I sent Tina the press release, she e-mailed me back and wrote, “Your subject line definitely got my attention. I think I will enter — for sure the brie.” Tina is famous for her to-die-for marinated brie and blueberry drizzle salad (recipes can be found online at www.danashortt.ca/recipes.htm) but her latest creation is this delectable mushroom-topped brie, also award-worthy. Tina surprised me and the rest of the Dana Shortt Gourment team in December by bringing us this brie and a crusty baguette as a special holiday treat.

Good luck, Tina!

Tina’s mushroom-topped brie

ingredients for brie

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound fresh-sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup minced sweet onion
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 200 gram brie, top rind removed.
  (Tina suggests that you use a cheese slicer to remove the top of the brie as it works well and doesn’t remove too much of the brie.)

ingredients for garnish

• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

method

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Heat oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium heat.
• Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme.
• Sauté for four to six minutes, stirring occasionally and until mushroom liquid has evaporated.
• Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and cook until liquid has evaporated.
• Cool slightly and then top brie with mushroom mixture.
• Place brie in brie baker, oven proof sauté pan or dish.
• Bake brie for eight to 10 minutes or until hot.
• Sprinkle brie with walnuts and parsley.
• Serve warm brie with fresh baguette, crackers or flatbreads.