Baked Havarti with Spiced Jam and Pistachios

I’ve been noticing a resurgence of baked Brie on menus and cocktail tables. Hello!? 1990 called and they want their appetizer back. I guess it does make sense; I just tried on a jacket at Diani that was all shoulder pads and zippers. Here we go. Again.

I decided to embrace it with a few modern tweaks and the results were scrumptious. I switched out the Brie for Havarti; it’s super flavorful and melts beautifully.

Since we’ve been buried in mulberries this week, I went with a mulberry jam that has a jalapeno chaser. The kick of heat is great, so if you have something like that on hand use it, but any of those half-used jars of gourmet jam in your fridge will work.

The pistachios are totally optional, I’ve made this with or without with good results. I do like the crunch and earthiness they add to the mix. Be sure to serve with sturdy, simple crackers – they need to be strong enough to scoop and plain enough to let the flavors from the cheese take center stage just like a supermodel in a George Michael video.

This is close enough to red, white and blue to count, yes?

Happy 4^th to everyone, have a lovely weekend!