Pork with Red Pepper Sauce

 
It's finally starting to feel like spring in Vermont - yay!  I was able to hang 4 loads of laundry outside today, which makes very happy.  I know it's weird, but hanging laundry is a very calming exercise for me.....I guess you could say it's therapeutic. I'm looking forward to many more days like today in the weeks to follow.

This recipe is more about the sauce than the pork.  The sauce is easy to adapt to your preferences, which can be fun.  Just use whatever you have for jam in the fridge.  I love to try new flavor combinations.  Sometimes they don't work, but other times you get lucky and discover something delicious.  This sauce fits into that category.  I was originally planning on using the last of my homemade blackberry jam for this, but when I opened it I discovered moldy jam.  While this was a bummer, I quickly decided to substitute the blackberry jam with some red pepper jelly.  I know that may sound odd, and I will admit I wasn't overly confident it would turn out delicious.

It did however, end up being quite delicious.  The end result almost had an oriental flavor to it, and it went really well with the pork.  Both my husband and son really liked it.  The next day I put a little of the leftover sauce on my broccoli and that was super yummy as well.  Give it a try!

Pork with Red Pepper Sauce

2 lbs pork loin
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup red pepper jelly
1 cup red wine, I used Pinot Noir
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic, minced
pinch red pepper flakes

Rinse the pork then pat dry.  Season the pork with salt and pepper generously.  My husband cooked the pork on the grill, but you can also cook it in the oven - I'd cook it for about 30 minutes at 350, or until it reads 140 on a meat thermometer.  

While the pork is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the red pepper jelly, wine, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and stir to combine.  Reduce by 1/2 and thickened.  In the last 5 minutes of cooking the pork, baste it with a little of the sauce.  When pork is ready, spoon sauce over the sliced pork before serving. 

Crackers with Goat Cheese & Fig Jam

 
This post is going to be short and sweet.  This isn't really a recipe.  More like an appetizer/snack idea that I just happened to throw together one day.  I wasn't planning it and I didn't buy any special ingredients.  I was just plain hungry and looking for a snack the other day.  I seem to have goat cheese on hand a lot lately, and I always have crackers.  But that wasn't enough....I needed something else, something sweet to offset the tang of the goat cheese.  That's when I stumbled upon the jar of fig jam in my fridge.  Hmmm....OK, figured I'd give it a try.

It was really no surprise how good this was.  I've done the brie and fig jam appetizer (click here for recipe) so it was pretty much a no brainer that these flavors would go together.  The only thing I was shocked at was how well they went together.  So perfectly matched - the tangy goat cheese with the really sweet fig jam....oh man!  I'm going to have to get rid of these two things from my fridge before I gorge myself on these little tasty bites!  Try it - you won't be disappointed ☺  I will definitely be using this as an appetizer at future gatherings!

  Crackers with Goat Cheese & Fig Jam

Crackers - your favorite kind, I like salty ones with this combo
Goat Cheese (I always get local Vermont brands)
Fig Jam

Top the crackers with the cheese, then a little jam (fig jam is pretty sweet, so a little goes a long way).  My stomach is growling just thinking about this fabulous snack - ENJOY!

Roasted Veggies with Goat Cheese & Balsamic

Somehow I ended up with a lot of baby carrots in my fridge.  As I pondered what to do with them it occurred to me that I haven't made any new side dishes lately.  I had already decided to roast the carrots, so I ran down the list of veggies that would be good to roast along with them.  Since it's spring, and because I like colorful vegetable dishes, I chose to roast the carrots with yellow squash and red peppers. 

I then decided I wanted to add another flavor dimension to it....roasted vegetables aren't that exciting, so I wanted to add something that would blend nicely with the veggies.  After giving my fridge a once over, I came across some goat cheese - perfect!  This vegetable dish turned out waaayyyy better than I even expected.  The sweetness from the roasted veggies topped with the tartness of the cheese and balsamic.....oh man, soooo good!  Even though I have one more serving of these leftover, I am already planning on making more tonight.  I just can't get enough of it.....it's THAT good!  I just might have to make this every week for the rest of my life ☺

Roasted Veggies with Goat Cheese & Balsamic (serves 3-4)

2 cups baby carrots
2 small yellow squash - cut in half, then cut in half again, then quartered (if that doesn't make sense, then just cut them so they resemble the shape and size of the carrots)
1/2 large onion, cut into big chunks
2 tbsp garlic flavored olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Balsamic Vinegar
Goat Cheese 

Preheat oven to 375.  Place all the veggies (including the onion) onto a baking sheet, add the garlic flavored olive oil then toss to evenly coat all the veggies.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, then place in oven.  Roast for about 20 minutes, give them a stir and check to see if they are cooked to your desired "doneness".  I let mine roast for another 15 minutes before taking them out, but it's really up to you depending on how firm you want the veggies.  

Place veggies onto a serving platter.  Sprinkle (or lightly drizzle) some Balsamic Vinegar over the veggies - just a little goes a long way, so do not drown them in the vinegar.  Crumble up some goat cheese add it to the top of the veggies - how much depends on your preferences.  I didn't use a lot, maybe a couple of tablespoons or so.  ENJOY!

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Man, what a crazy busy weekend!  My son had his first JV Baseball game of the season, we met up with friends one night, our grand-daughters 3rd birthday party the next night, more baseball, and somehow I fit in a trip to Costco, laundry and cleaning!  Phew...I'm pooped just thinking about it!

This recipe is an adaptation from one of Ree Drummond's recipes.  Obviously it's perfect as a breakfast side, but we also like to have it as a side dish with dinner. So easy, and oh so yummy!  The best part about this recipe, for me, is that it uses already diced frozen potatoes.  I have to say that I didn't even know they sold potatoes like that until I came across her recipe!  It's a nice time saver that's for sure.  This one is a keeper ☺

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (adapted from Ree Drummond)
  

2 tablespoons butter
2 jalapenos, diced
1 onion, diced
2 lbs diced frozen hash brown potatoes (1 bag)
Salt & Pepper
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
6 slices bacon, cooked & roughly chopped

½ cup scallions, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the jalapenos and onions until browned. Add the frozen hash browns, some salt and pepper and toss together. Pour into baking dish and top with the cheese and bacon. Bake until hot and bubbly (30-40 minutes). Top with the chopped scallions.  Serves 6. 

Peach Coffee Cake

Such a dark and dreary day here in Vermont today. Maybe it's fitting given the horrible act that transpired in Boston this week. I know tragedies like that bring a lot of people down, and make you doubt there is any goodness left in the world. Some people prefer to tune it out and refuse to watch news coverage or read the paper because "it's too depressing." I feel the complete opposite.  I believe it is important to hear and/or read the stories of the victims as a way of honoring them. I also like to find the uplifting stories that are intertwined with the horrific ones. For every bad there is a good, and that is something worth seeking. If you can't find the amazing stories of courage and heroism from this weeks tragedy, or if you want to get your mind off it, pick up the book "American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things" by Bob Dotson. There are many admirable and uplifting stories in the book, and it just may restore your faith in humanity.

Ok, on to food. This is a food blog after all!  This is the one new recipe that I tried this week. I came across it on Pinterest a while ago and knew I wanted to make it at some point.  Since my son is home all week on spring break, I figured this would be a good thing for him to snack on.  The original recipe is from the Pine Cones & Acorns blog. Unfortunately, someone else was using her picture and recipe on their site, and that's where I ended up when I clicked on her picture.  Yes, they linked to her site (in a barely noticeable kind of way), but I still think it's wrong for people out there to create blogs based solely and completely on other people's hard work. As far as I'm concerned it's stealing. Anyway, even though I deviated from the original recipe a little, this still turned out amazing. It's a delicious coffee cake that we all enjoyed, so thank you Pine Cones & Acorns! 

  
Peach Coffee Cake (adapted from www.pineconesandacorn.blogspot.ca)

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:  
5 large peaches, diced
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla 
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp half & half

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until well combined and light in color (about 2 minutes). In a separate bowl stir together the flour,sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (do not over mix). Pour batter into baking dish.

In a medium bowl, add all the topping ingredients and stir to incorporate. Spread topping over the top of the batter. Place in oven and bake for about 1hr & 15 minutes - start checking at the hour mark. Remove from oven when toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze. Pour glaze over the cooked coffee cake after it has cooled for a half hour.   

Orange Haddock

Oh how I love fish.  Sometimes I think I could eat just fish and chicken....until I get a craving for a burger or bacon.  Lets face it - I will never be able to give up red meat.  I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was told I had to.  It's bad enough that I was just told that I need to stay away from gluten.  Luckily, I do not have celiac disease, however it was discovered that I have gluten sensitivities.  So, if I want my digestive issues to get better I need to cut out the gluten.  Blah....life without gluten = no fun!  But don't worry - this is not going to become a "Gluten-Free Blog".  There's plenty of those out there.  This blog will remain as I intended - to be a place to chronicle my family's favorite foods/recipes, and since I will still be cooking for others who are not gluten-free I see no reason to change the direction of my blog.  However, you will probably see some recipes here that are gluten-free in the future, but only if I really come across something that I just have to share.  Now that I have to travel down the gluten-free road, I am hoping to find and/or develop gluten-free recipes that will be worth sharing.  We'll see...wish me luck!

Anyway, back to fish.  I pretty much enjoy all fish, but unfortunately I don't get to eat it as much as I'd like.  My husband only likes fried fish, and since I hate frying food (especially fish because it just seems wrong), we just don't have fish very often.  Since my husband travels a lot for work, I take those occasions to make myself some fish.  This was one of those days.  I absolutely love how this dish came out - the haddock has a nice light texture and flavor, which paired perfectly with the fresh orange flavors.  For me, this fish was perfect.  Feel free to use any white fish, and if you like a little "zing" to your food add some red pepper flakes.  Either way, this fish is delicious!

Orange Haddock  (serves 4)

4 haddock fillets
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine (any kind works)
1 cup orange marmalade
4 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Rinse the haddock in cool water, pat dry, season both sides of each piece with salt & pepper and place in baking dish.  Sprinkle the lemon juice evenly over fish.  Divide the butter up and top each piece of fish it.  Add the wine to the bottom of the pan, cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add the orange marmalade and mustard.  Stir to combine and heat on low. When fish is done, plate it and spoon the orange marmalade mixture over top of the fish.  Enjoy! 

Quick Amish Cinnamon Bread

My son is on school vacation.....again.  Boy they get a lot of time off, don't they?  Wish I had that much time off from work.  Anyway, this will be another week of me cooking things for him to munch on while I'm at work.  

So I started with this one - it's an old recipe that I pulled out of the archives.  I haven't made this in ages.  It's another one of those recipes from a church cookbook.  I've changed a couple of things, just to give it even more yummy cinnamon flavor.  Everyone loves this bread.  So good warm with butter.  It doesn't last very long in my house.  Enjoy!

Quick Amish Cinnamon Bread

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups flour

½ cup cinnamon chips

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan (9" x 5 1/2") with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, cream together the egg, vanilla, butter and 1 cup of sugar until smooth.  Add the buttermilk, flour, and baking soda and stir until just combined.  Add the cinnamon chips and stir to incorporate.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the 1/3 cup of sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the loaf pan.  Sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon mixture on top of the batter then add the remaining batter.  Sprinkle the last of cinnamon mixture over top of the batter, then swirl with a knife.  Bake for 45-50 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.   Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of my most favorite things to eat.  I just love them.  My son, however, HATES them.  I don't think I will ever be able to understand why.  What's not to love?  They are sweet...don't most kids like sweet things?  I have determined that he's just plain weird.  Maybe he'll like them when he gets older, after his taste buds change.  One (being me) can only hope!

Since he doesn't like them, I tend to avoid cooking them because I generally like dinner to be a pleasant experience.  However, once in a great while I just gotta have them....and I don't feel too bad about it because they are good for him after-all!

I saw this recipe on www.dlynz.com a while ago.  I knew I wanted to try it, so I printed it out and of course, put it in my pile of recipes to try.....and then forgot about it.  This week I had a craving for sweet potatoes and this recipe instantly came to mind.  I am really happy with how these came out - the spices were such a nice compliment to the sweet potatoes.  They were delicious.  I could have eaten them all myself (I'm sure my son wishes I had).  My husband loved them too, but of course my son complained all through dinner about how disgusting they were...and I only made him eat ONE slice!  Geez....I'm as glad as he is that dinner is over.  For me though, this recipe is a keeper....I'll just make it when he's not around!

Smashed Sweet Potatoes (adapted from www.dlynz.com)

2 sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp salt (for boiling water)
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper

Place 2 qts water in large saucepan, with 1/2 tsp salt, and bring to boil.  Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1" slices, then add them to the boiling water.  Simmer for about 10-12 minutes - you want them to be somewhat softened.  Remove from water and place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. 

In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion & garlic powder and pepper.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the melted butter and olive oil.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place a wire rack on top.  Using a flat bottomed bowl, slightly push down on a slice of sweet potatoe, being careful to not completely break it apart.  Brush the top with the butter mixture, then sprinkle a little bit of the spice mix on top.  Place on wire rack, spiced side down, and repeat the process until they are all lined on the wire rack.  Brush the tops with the butter mixture and then sprinkle the remaining spice mix over top.  Cook at 375 for about 30 minutes. 

Spring Pasta

In honor of spring, I thought it would be fitting to make something utilizing one of my favorite vegetables of the season - asparagus.  I decided to make a dish that I invented when I was in college.  Back then I used canned asparagus, which is something I probably wouldn't even consider doing now.  Not that there's anything wrong with canned veggies....it's just that for me, fresh is best!

I have never made this dish for my family before, so I was a little worried they wouldn't like it.  Especially my husband.  For him, if you are eating pasta then it must be drowned in tomato sauce.  No pesto sauce, no cheese sauce, etc.  When I told him what I was making I could tell he was thinking "Yuck" but all he said was "interesting."  Lucky for me, he will eat whatever I put on the table.  Even if he doesn't like it.  While that is something I love about him, sometimes he feels the need to tell me something is good when he didn't really care for it.  This can be frustrating when I am looking for an honest answer.  I think he's learned his lesson now though - he discovered that if he doesn't want to eat something ever again he better tell me or else he may be eating it more often than he'd like! 

Luckily, both my husband and son enjoyed this meal.  Phew!  I'm really glad they liked it because I happen to think it's a nice change from the usual spaghetti and meatballs.  This is a light and refreshing springtime meal, which makes me so happy because that means summer is coming!  

Spring Pasta (serves 4)

2 bunches of asparagus, thicker ends trimmed off
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (about 2 chicken breasts)
3/4 box of bow tie pasta (really you can use any type of pasta you like)
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil + extra
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + extra
1/2 cup of the water used to cook the pasta in, reserved
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 375, and line a cookie sheet with tin foil.  Spread your trimmed asparagus onto the pan, and drizzle some olive oil over top (about 2 tbsp).  Sprinkle on the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.  Toss to combine, then fold up all four sides of the tin foil (it doesn't have to be completely closed) and roast asparagus in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  While the asparagus is cooking, cook the chicken breasts - this can be done in the oven or on the stove top in a pan.  After it's cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, shred it or cut it into bite size pieces.  When the asparagus is done cooking, remove it from the oven and cut the stalks into thirds.  

Cook your pasta in a large saucepan, seasoned generously with salt.  Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add a 1/4 cup of olive oil and the 2 tbsp of garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the asparagus and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add the chicken and saute for another 2-4 minutes (or long enough to heat everything through).  When the pasta is ready, drain it but keep a 1/2 cup of the water you cooked the pasta in.  Add the pasta to a large bowl, then add in the chicken & asparagus mixture.  Toss to combine, then add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Drizzle in about a 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, then stir well to combine.  Here's where you may have to play with it a little - if it seems "dry" add more of the reserved water, and maybe even drizzle in a little more olive oil until you reach the consistency you like.  Bon Appetit!

Avocado Egg Salad

I've been trying to think of ways to use up all the eggs our chickens have been producing lately, but at the same time I want to keep it healthy.  This isn't always easy, as there are soooo many things you can do with eggs but the end result isn't always low calorie or necessarily "healthy".

Since I had half an avocado sitting in my fridge needing to be used up, I decided to make egg salad and add it in.  That sounded good and healthy to me!  I went with a low-carb wrap instead of regular bread.  Can I just tell you that I really love this sandwich.  The egg and avocado went so well together...they seemed like a match made in heaven.  This sandwich is perfect for breakfast or lunch.  I know I will be making this many times in the future.  Enjoy!

Avocado Egg Salad (makes two sandwiches/wraps)

3 eggs, hard boiled and cooled
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder 
1/2 avocado 
2 tortilla wraps (any flavor would work)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut up the cooled hard boiled eggs into small pieces and add it to a bowl.  With the back of your fork, mash up the eggs a little.  Add the mayo, mustard, onion & garlic powder.  Mix well, then add the salt & pepper to taste.  In a separate small bowl, mash up the avocado, then add it to the egg mixture.  Stir to combine.  Spread 1/2 the avocado egg mixture on one wrap, and the other 1/2 on another wrap.  Roll up, cut in half and serve.  You can also make the avocado egg mixture ahead of time, then cover and refrigerate for later use.

Bacon Pineapple Bites

OK, so I have been put on appetizer duty by my aunt.  She is planning on providing all the appetizers for her daughter's (my beautiful cousin) wedding.  There will be about 150 guests, so the plan is to pick appetizers that can be prepared ahead of time and with as little effort as possible.  Rule of thumb for that many guests - pick 5 appetizers and make sure you have enough.

So my amazing Aunt Judy has recruited me to help gather appetizer ideas, therefore you may see several appetizer postings in the next month or two!  I came across this one many years ago but couldn't find the recipe for it, so I just winged it.  I tried it with two different "toppings" just to see which one we liked better.  I did half with a sprinkling of a brown sugar & pepper mixture, and the other half with a teriyaki glaze.  Personally I thought both were yummy, but my husband preferred the ones with the teriyaki glaze.  Either way, they are super delicious.  However, they probably won't make an appearance at my cousin's wedding due to logistical reasons.  Too bad because these little babies are a perfect tasty appetizer.

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple (makes about 36)

2, 8oz cans of pineapple chunks, drained
2 package of bacon, cut in half lengthwise

Toppings:  Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with about 3/4 tsp black pepper OR 1/4 teriyaki sauce 

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place a wire cooling rack on top.  Wrap each piece of pineapple with the bacon and secure with a tooth pick, and place on the wire rack.  Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over top of all of them, OR if using the teriyaki sauce don't do anything yet.  Bake in oven for 25-35 minutes.  If you want to use the teriyaki sauce, after 15 minutes in the oven, brush the bacon pineapple pieces with the teriyaki glaze and cook for about another 15 minutes.  Serve hot or at room temp.

Quick Pesto Pizza

Ahhh pizza...one of my most favorite things to eat.  It's no secret how much I love one pot meals, so it should be no surprise to anyone that pizza appeals to me for the same reasons.  All your food groups in one dish = the perfect meal. 

Usually you are either a thin or thick crust kind of person.  While I prefer thin crust (the thinner the better), I would never turn down thick crust pizza if offered to me.  The only kind of pizza that I might turn down is deep dish pizza.  I never really feel so great after eating it - I think it's just a little to much for me.  My favorite way to cook pizza is on the grill - thin, crunchy pizza is my favorite, and the grilled taste just puts it over the top for me.

The best part about pizza is that you can top it with whatever your imagination could possibly think up.  I love that you can get creative with toppings and that you can make pizza to suit your own personal preferences.  What's better than that?  I love pizza so much that I would probably eat any kind you put in front of me.  The pizza I am blogging today is one of my favorites - thin crust pesto pizza with chicken, broccoli and roasted red pepper.  Sooo delish, sooo easy and sooo quick.  Perfect for when you are making a meal for one, or for several people who all want different pizza toppings.  So even if you aren't in to the toppings I used here, the method may be appealing to you.  Enjoy!

Thin Crust Pesto Pizza

Tortillas (one tortilla serves one person, so use/make as many as you need)
Fresh mozzarella (of course you can use already shredded mozzarella, but fresh is best)
Pesto (if making just one pizza, you'll need 1-2 tbsp of pesto)
Chicken, cooked and in bite size pieces
Broccoli
Roasted Red Peppers

Preheat oven to 400.  Place a wire rack over top of a cookie sheet.  Place a tortilla on the wire rack, then spread the pesto over the top of the tortilla.  Spread bits of the fresh mozzarella over top of the pesto (you do not need to cover all the pesto with the cheese).   Spread the chicken, broccoli and roasted red peppers over top of the cheese - as much or as little as you want.  Place in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes.  YUM!

Cresent Brie with Jam

For Easter weekend my mother and sister came to Vermont for a visit.  This is such a rare occasion - my sister lives in California and my mom in Massachusetts, so it's not very often they come to Vermont....especially together!  It was nice to have them, and of course, to cook for them.

After their long drive up, I wanted to make sure to have lunch ready for them.  Since it was a late lunch, I decided to go with something on the lighter side.  I put together a nice salad and this cresent brie with jam to go with it. My Aunt Judy turned me on to this brie with jam appetizer years ago.  Neither of us can keep out of it when she makes it.  It's so good and so very addicting.  She usually uses apricot jam, but for something different I chose to go with fig jam. 

The best part is cutting in to it right when it comes out of the oven.  All that oozing warm cheese...oh man, it's ridiculous.  Neither my mom nor my sister had ever had it before, and they loved it as much as I do.  People will gobble this up if you put it out as an appetizer, or you could serve it as a side dish like I did.  Either way, it's simply divine. 

Cresent Brie with Jam

1 package Pillsbury Cresent Rolls
6" round of Brie
Fig Jam (or whatever kind is your preference - peach or apricot are both good)

Cut Brie in 1/2 horizontally and spread all of jam on the bottom half (I used about 2/3 of the jar just because fig jam is very sweet).  Put top back on and place on top of Cresent roll dough that's been spread out on cookie sheet.  Pull sides of dough up to completely cover cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes on middle rack in oven.