Camembert With Blue Cheese Figs And Port Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In glass measuring cup, combine water and gelatin; let stand 5 minutes.
• In small saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, wine, gelatin mixture and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until cranberries are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in orange peel. Cool 10 minutes.
• Remove cinnamon stick; pour into small serving bowl. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• To serve, heat oven to 350°F. Place cheese on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated but not melted. Place cheese on serving plate. Spoon cranberry mixture around and on top of warm cheese. Serve with crisp crackers.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut a cross in the tops of the figs nearly, but not quite, all the way down to the bottom, and pinch the bases. Sit in a baking dish or roasting tin (big enough so the figs can sit in a single layer with the whole cheese) cut-side up, but don't put the cheese in yet.
• Mix together the vinegar and wine or grape juice with some seasoning, and pour all over the figs. Scatter over the walnuts and thyme. Finally, drizzle over the honey. Bake for 15-20 mins until the figs start to become soft and sticky.
• Tuck the whole cheese in among the figs and put back in the oven for a final 5 mins. Lift the dish straight to the table and serve with lots of crusty bread to scoop up the molten cheese.

Steps:

• Place figs in a 2-quart saucepan, add port, bring to a simmer, remove from heat and let soak, covered but not refrigerated, overnight.
• Make the dough: Cut the frozen butter in 8 pieces and grate using a shredding disc of a food processor. Change to the regular blade. Add the flour and pulse 15 or 20 times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse for a minute or so until the dough starts to come together.
• Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead briefly to form a smooth ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten each piece. Place each in a resealable sandwich bag, press out any air, seal the bag and use a rolling pin to roll the bag until the dough fills the bag, forming a square. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
• Drain figs, reserving the port; you should have about a half cup of the port. Spread figs on several layers of paper towel to dry for about 30 minutes. Return the port to the saucepan and boil 6 to 8 minutes until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut a slit in each of the figs and insert a small nugget of the cheese, less than a half-inch, in each.
• Remove the dough from their bags by cutting the bags and peeling them off. On a lightly floured board roll one square of the dough into a rectangle 8-by-12 inches. Cut it in 8 strips each an inch wide, across the width of the rectangle. Cut each strip in thirds. You should have 24 pieces, each 1-by-4 inches. Wrap 24 of the figs in the strips of dough, moistening the ends to seal. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the wrapped figs on the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the other square of dough and figs.
• Make the sauce: Stir the mustard into the reduced port and transfer to a serving dish. This mixture will keep, refrigerated in a covered container, at least three weeks.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake wrapped figs about 35 minutes, until golden. Some of the figs may have oozed residue of the port which can be brushed off. Serve the baked figs at once or let cool and refrigerate or freeze. To reheat, let them come to room temperature, then warm at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve with port-mustard sauce alongside for dipping.