Tweens & Weeds

Memorable moments this birthday weekend at the lodge:

+ "Errrmerrgerrsh, merrr errrrmmm!!! Herrrherrrhherrrrr!" -- Devin

+ Simultaneous looks of shock from both Ann and I as we noticed that her son, seven hours younger than Devin, now has a patch of armpit pubes. We followed this with a duel tackling of Devin to see if HE has any yet. This induced squeals of protests and giggles from said child. So does he? Nope. My son is still perpetually prepubescent.

+ Journeying up the stairs towards the two main waterslides at the lodge, a short conversation about the two main slides:
Devin: "One has lights and music. It's really fun! You'd like it. The other one is SCARCY, mom... It's pitch black in parts of it, and there's this huge drop in the middle that goes straight down..."
Me: "So which one are we going on?"
Devin: "The scarier one, duh!!" **surrounding kids giggle** "Oh, and mom.. whatever you do... just... please, don't cry... okay? I will make fun of you." **pats my back** The nerve!! :-P

+ Kneeing myself in the face while going down the tornado (yes, the scarier one.. again) with Ann. I am now sporting a wicked swollen bruise on my nose. Good job, Kristina! You freaking klutz.

+ Trying cotton candy ice cream. And licorice ice cream! I looked totally goth. Which was fitting, because I felt TERRIBLE afterwards. Definitely not lactarded-friendly. My son ordered a cup and forgot to grab a spoon. Didn't bother mentioning this fact until we got all the way back to our room. Waited for it to melt, then drank it like a milkshake. "Hehehe... Thiiisss was my plaaaaaan..." he said, hunched over in his best Igor impression, before glugging down the melted mess.

+ Looking around the hall and finding my son in the gym, going to town on an exercise bike. I tap on the window. Upon seeing me, he comes out of the gym and flexes an arm. "Ehhh, look at my guns. They're SO HUUUGE."
Me: "Duuude.. you were on a bike..."
Devin: "I KNOOOOW! I'm talented, huh?" and kissed his bicep.

+ Running up and down the five flights of stairs on an extended 7 hour magic scavenger hunt with Devin. He is now a proud master magi. And I am the proud owner of sore legs.

+ My little fish, who is also a master swimmer, scared the crap out of me in one of the pools by coming up deep from behind, and pulled me under by my feet! ACK!! I spun around underwater, not knowing who it was, and he threw me a peace sign while still chilling at the pool floor.

+ Watching my son helping the younger kids on several occasions when he didn't know I was there. My heart.. it melted.

+ Hearing Eric's voice crack for the first time. He covered his mouth with both hands in surprise, and we laughed. I assured him it's only temporary. Devin's is still high and squeaky.

+ The warm fuzzy feeling I get every time my son sweetly comes up to tell me that he loves me, and hugs and/or kisses me, even if it's in public. He is not embarrassed at all by it. I hope this never changes, but there's a part of me that knows... The years I've enjoyed of his boyish innocence will be over very soon as he grows into a young man. The tears swell just thinking about it. I hope his kind, goofy, good-natured, loving, helpful traits remain with him past this age well into his adult life. Everyone says the teenage years are toughest. God, I hope not... I've so far loved every minute of watching his personality evolve and I don't want that to change. He's beautiful. By far the coolest creation I've made. I am lucky. Lucky lucky lucky to have him as my son.

Brie en Croute

I'm a little late in getting this post out. I did promise, though, so here it is...

If you are looking for something warm, gooey, and delicious to make for a cocktail party, you've come to the right blog. I made both of these for a friend's party recently, and they were a hit! These melted mounds of glory are full of sophisticated flavors and textures that are sure to compliment most wines and/or beer.

But first, a little about the brie used:
The one used in the Spiced Fruit version is sweet and very creamy, which both calmed the fires of the jelly, and complimented the fruit beautifully. The one used in the Onion Fig version is buttery, slightly nutty, and smooth. I thought it would compliment the caramelized onions well, and it did.

Generally speaking, I'm not a brie fan. I tend to find most brie rather moldy tasting, bitter, and chalky. But these two are high quality, very creamy, and quite mouth watering. Both types from this brand have won many cheese awards, so I knew I couldn't go wrong.


Spiced Fruit Brie en Croute
1 round Rouge et Noir, "Triple Crème" Brie
1 package of puff pastry (the 17" wide ones - there should be two sheets in it; only use one)
4 tbsp. of hot jalapeno pepper preserves
1/2 small Golden Delicious apple, diced
1/3 Bartlett pear, diced
1 small package of chopped pecans, toasted
1 dash of cinnamon
1 beaten egg


Onion Fig Brie en Croute
1 round Rouge et Noir "Original" Brie
1 package of puff pastry (the 17" wide ones - there should be two sheets in it; only use one)
2 tbsp. of mission fig preserves
2 tbsp. of homemade sweet pineapple chutney (I had some leftover from a previous dish - you can also use finely diced pineapple chunks with a little bit of ginger & sugar)
1 small sweet Maui onion, thinly sliced & caramelized
1 small package of chopped walnuts, toasted
1 beaten egg


It might seem like there are a lot of steps, but this is really very easy to make - I just broke it down into a lot of baby steps. You can make just one, do what I did and make both at the same time, or make two of the same if you're not 'feeling' one over the other...


1. Unless you made the puff pastry yourself (which, normally, I would have done. However, I was on a time crunch) your packaged stuff is going to be frozen. Take it out, and out it on a floured sheet of baking paper. Set aside. As it thaws, you can unfold it more, and massage the creases away. The pastry will become extremely sticky, so don't forget to flour! Otherwise, you won't be able to lift it up to cover your cheesy innards later.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Throw your nuts onto a cookie sheet and toast them as it begins to heat. If you're doing both versions, just put the pecans on one side, and the walnuts on the other. You can do step three while you wait.

3. Prepare your ingredients. Regardless of which recipe you do, you're going to need to dice/slice your fruits/vegetables. For the apples and pears: Place in a small bowl. Sprinkle in your dash of cinnamon, and lightly mix. For the caramelized onions: Cook your thinly sliced pieces with 2 tsp. butter, covered, over medium/low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and tender. Stir occasionally.

4. Take your nuts out of the oven. Your pastry (or pastries) should be pretty well thawed out by this point. Unfold completely, and cut a large circle. I cheated and used a large salad bowl that was the same diameter as the sheet of dough to cut around. Save the excess if you wish - you can use them to decorate your creation(s).

5. Spread your preserves over the pastry rounds like you would with a pizza, leaving only the edges bare. If you're doing the one with chutney/pineapple bits, spread in the same manner right on top of the fig.

6. Add your diced or sliced/caramelized plant toppings. Again, just like a pizza. Leave the edges alone! Then add your toasted nuts.

7. Place your brie (yes, the whole thing) in the center of each pastry round, on top of the weird looking pizza mess. Now's the fun part: Begin to bring the edges of the pastry up and over the cheese rounds. You might be thinking 'This is NEVER going to work! It's not big enough." Relax, the beauty about pastry is that it stretches! Gently pull, pleat, and pinch your way around in small increments to seal, and you'll eventually get it.

8. Gently flip and place the completely sealed rounds smooth side up. This is why I put it on floured baking paper. You can either bake it on this (on a cookie sheet), or if you prefer to use a nice oven-safe serving piece, that works too. I ultimately served mine on a large wooden platter, so I needed something transferrable.

9. If you wish, decorate the tops with your left-over pastry bits from earlier. I cut out pieces for the words "Jalapeno" and "Onion Fig" for mine. Brush your beaten egg over the top and sides of the round. This will help it brown. Cut small slits or poke a few holes for steam to escape.

10. Bake for about a half hour or until the pastry is a deep golden brown color. These will both smell divine. Once done, let stand for about 10-20 minutes before serving (which was the perfect amount of time needed to drive to said party). Serve with the remaining fruit, sliced, and/or your favorite crackers. Don't forget your cheese knife! Enjoy :-)