Outrigger chef puts twist on brie

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

At the Outrigger Wailea Hotel, baked brie is a signature pupu. Ideally, the cheese is fully melted and oozes out, mixing with the "sauce" and seeping into the bread. Messy but 'ono. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Of course, baked brie — as a plain round or wrapped in puff pastry, phyllo or other dough — has been around; nothing new in that idea. But Paet, executive chef at the Outrigger Wailea Resort, aware that every Outrigger site has its trademark recipes, decided he'd try to put his mark on the familiar appetizer.

Paet's solution — which, for a time, he didn't share with anyone, not even his own family — was to slather a whole round of brie with a paste-like blend of butter, brown sugar and chopped macadamia nuts, then to sandwich the whole in a round of pre-baked bread. The sugar mixture melts and pools into the bread and spills over the runny cheese, the nuts settle onto the rind of the brie and the whole thing is as decadent as sipping champagne in a hot bath.

Paet's baked brie has become a staple at Outrigger Wailea events such as the recent Maui Mayor's Ball, and every time, said Paet, "People talk about it. They want to know how we do it."

I certainly wanted to know after I tasted it at a reception during the Skins Game festivities in January. As a longtime food writer and avid home cook, I'm not easy to fool, but I just couldn't figure out what the brown "sauce" was that somehow embraced and enhanced the flavor of the cheese. Shoyu? No, not salty. A broth of some kind? But how does it keep from being soggy?

When I heard that the "brown stuff" was butter and sugar, I was surprised — and then had to laugh. Of course it would be something fattening!

Later, I asked Chef Paet to demonstrate his technique in the Outrigger Wailea kitchen. Talk about easy. Here's how:

Brown Sugar Baked Brie

• 1-pound round loaf of sourdough bread
• 8-ounce wheel of brie
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 3 1/2-4 ounces roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap the brie but leave the rind on. Place the brie on top of the bread, center it, and use it as a guide while you make a shallow cut in the loaf, leaving a margin of about one-half inch around the circumference of the cheese. Set the cheese aside and continue cutting carefully around and under the circle of crust that will serve as the "lid" for the pocket in which the brie will rest. Be sure NOT to cut all the way through the bread; leave a "floor" for the brie to rest on. Pull off the lid and set aside. Pull and cut away bread to form a puka for the brie.

Coarsely chop macadamia nuts. Finely chop parsley. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; whisk in brown sugar and continue whisking until the sugar is incorporated into butter. Do not allow to boil or the mixture will candy; turn down heat if needed. It should be a runny paste, fragrant and glossy.

Remove from heat and stir in macadamia nuts and parsley.

Place brie inside bread, then spoon sugar-butter mixture onto bread and spread over top and down sides to fill in cavity. Line a baking sheet generously with foil (you'll need to use the foil later to wrap the loaf).

Bake 20-30 minutes until heated through; watch carefully to be sure the bread doesn't over-brown. Turn off heat. Remove baked brie from oven. Pull up the foil and fold over bread and seal, fully enclosing bread. Return bread to oven (with heat off but door closed) for 20-30 minutes. The brie should melt and flow out of the bread when you cut into it.

Place whole baked brie on a serving plate and use a serrated knife to cut into bread in narrow wedges. Serve.

Chef Paet makes gigantic versions of this recipe, using a 6-pound round of brie and wheel-size, flattish loaves of sourdough baked for him in the hotel kitchens. But when he prepares the dish for a family event, he'll use a 2- or 3-pound round of brie and a commercial loaf of baked sourdough.

Proportions:

6-pound wheel of brie: one-half pound each butter, brown sugar and macadamia nuts and one-half cup chopped parsley.

3-pound or 2-pound wheel of brie: quarter-pound each butter, brown sugar and macadamia nuts and one-quarter cup of parsley.

Make ahead directions: Prepare brie up to baking point, wrap well in foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before baking. Bake as directed.