Bonjour! Welcome to another exciting edition of Just Eat! It is almost Thanksgiving time here in America, and I am so excited! The weather here in Tennessee, minus the days of monsoons, has been beautiful this season! Fall weather really is the best, plus it really gets me in the holiday mood!
With it being almost December, my classes for the semester are coming to an end. If you recall, I am taking a wine appreciation class at my university. One of our assignments is to visit a winery and report back with photos and details. I was quite excited by this as there is a great little winery just down the way from where I live! Recently, Brandon and I took an afternoon there, and now I am sharing it with you!
Arrington Vineyards is located just outside of Franklin, TN, a suburb of Nashville. It is owned by one of the members of Brooks & Dunn, the famous country duo. The vineyard is just gorgeous, even after the harvest!
Of course, you cannot visit a winery without sampling their products. We both started with white wines, he had a Riesling and I a Gewurtztraminer. Both were fantastic. I proceeded onto the reds, my preference, while Brandon stuck with the whites and rosé. He is not a fan on red, I am working on that. Our last wine was the dessert wine. Again, we got different things, he sampled the Blackberry and I tried the Port. They were served with handmade truffles from a local town. Oh my goodness, they were fabulous! So smooth and delicious! Using my charm, I worked another sample out of the lady providing the samples. I was dying to try the Raspberry… I am so glad I did! It had every character of a big juicy raspberry, and it wasn’t too sweet! Perfection!
After getting our wine buzz on, a stroll around the vineyard was in order. We were practically the only people there, so it was very nice! There was a pond, barn, plenty of woods, swings, grapevines, and facilities to discover.
Throughout the property, large barrels of wine are out aging and incorporating their warm and oaky vanilla flavor! I want to go back!
I couldn’t leave without a bottle of my favorite wine, the Raspberry Wine! At 20 bucks for a split (375 ml), I only bought one bottle. I shall cherish it like GOLD!
After being in the Fall and Thanksgiving mood at the vineyard, I couldn’t help but begin to crave Thanksgiving food! I just so happen to swing by Kroger, where I found Camembert, a cousin on Brie and specialty of Normandy, was on clearance! An idea then struck me… We back Brie with figs all the time, why not Camembert with a fruit? Enter Baked Camembert with Cranberries!
Camembert fondant aux canneberges
(Baked Camembert with Cranberries)
Ingredients:
- 1 wheel of Camembert
- 1/2 Onion
- 1 1/2 cups Fresh Cranberries
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tablespoons of Chopped Hazelnuts
- 1 Baguette
Directions:
1. Chop onion, set aside.
2. In a frying pan, add some olive oil over medium-low heat.
3. Once hot, add onions and begin to caramelize. Add a pinch of salt at about 8 minutes in.
4. In a small pot, add the cranberries and water over medium heat.
5. Stir berries to break them and let it reduce.
6. Cut the top wax off the Camembert, then place on parchment paper over a pan.
7. Add cranberries to top of cheese.
8. Once caramelized, add onions.
9. Finish off with nuts and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.
10. Remove and serve with baguette slices
This is such a great French-American twist on this Brie appetizer craze hitting America by storm this season. Camembert is so underrated, and so much better tasting, in my opinion. The acidity from the berries help cut the creaminess from cheese, ’tis delicious!
I have already cooked a turkey this weekend, it was for a family picnic, so I am thoroughly enjoying this appetizer with leftover turkey! It makes for a great sandwich! 
That does it for this edition of Just Eat! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving full of friends, family, and food! Until next times, mes amis!
This looks fantastic!! Love camembert!
What a great assignment!!!! This dish looks wonderful!
This looks so good! And with leftover turkey, that’s what I’m talking about
Great recipe!
Yum! The dish looks awesome!
Oh, this sounds simply amazing! I love baked camembert… cranberries are a relatively new thing to me (since moving to the US), and I haven’t fully learned to love them, but what wouldn’t be great on baked camambert?
Thanks for sharing your winery visit, very nice job by the way and I hope you did well with the assignment, and for sharing this tasty snack. We are starting to think about what to put out for our holiday open house and recipes like this are quick and crowd pleasing!
Cheers!
Jason
Oh my this Camembert looks like it is all dressed up and ready to be eaten! This is something we would truly enjoy at our house, especially for the fruit and cheese course! It sounds like you enjoyed the winery! I love visiting wineries and hearing how they make the wines and what influences the flavors.
Warm and melty cheese, you say? I’m there–this looks great!
Another masterpiece, looks so yummy, and I have all the ingredients in my frig! Excited to try it. FYI, this week I learned why cranberries are called so. Apparently the flower on a cranberry plant looks like a little pink crane, so the early settlers (pilgrims) called them “crane”berries! Happy Holidays.
How did I miss this post? Great shot of that wine glass, Joshua! Love the lighting. Raspberry wine? Wow, I’d love to try that. The cheese idea was a brilliant one. Gotta love the color and tartness of cranberries. What a lovely contrast with the cast of ingredient characters. Oooooooh, and chopped hazelnuts instead of pecan. Brilliant!
You’re so classy!
This looks delicious!
Fun post! Love reading about your visit to the winery but your Camembert with cranberries and caramelized onions is off the charts! I am definitely going to be making this for a holiday party.
This Camambert looks just perfect for New Years! Happy 2012, Joshua