Food and Drink

Sweeten up the start of fall with figs, warm Brie and Alaska honey

I didn't know what to expect when I walked into Sarah's Alaska Honey store in Kenai. My three kids were with me, as well as my grandmother and aunt visiting from California. It was the day before school started and we were out and about, enjoying our last free day together.

When we walked into the shop, I zeroed in on the many varieties of honey for sale on a shelf near the door while my children made a beeline for the bee display. As I enjoyed samples of the pale, subtle, raw fireweed honey and luxurious coconut honey butter from the delightful Sarah herself, the kids received a lesson all about bees and the honey-making process from the knowledgeable and friendly Brandon.

It wasn't long before our whole troop was listening, rapt with interest, as the two shared their passion for the work, the intricacies of the process and the equipment involved. As we were about to leave and I was purchasing my two jars of honey, Sarah gave me some great recipe ideas, which were surprising and all sounded excellent. I let her know that I was a food writer and that I'd definitely be using her honey in this week's column.

I knew just what I wanted to do. I grabbed a beautiful basket of ripe figs from the adorable organic store two doors down from Sarah's Alaska Honey and made a stop at the market for some fresh thyme and Brie cheese. My aunt picked up a baguette on her way to the house and we enjoyed it sliced and served with warm Brie dripping with local fireweed honey, topped with slices of fresh fig and sprigs of thyme.

Grilled Brie with figs and thyme honey

Serves 4-6

1/4 cup honey (I used local raw fireweed honey)

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2 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

1 wheel (19.6 ounces) of Brie cheese

4-5 fresh, ripe figs, quartered

Water crackers or baguette

To a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the honey and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then turn down heat and keep warm.

Heat a panini press on the low setting. Unwrap the wheel of Brie and place it in the preheated press. Close the lid and heat until soft and warm to the touch, with golden grill marks, watching carefully (if you go too long, the cheese will burst through the rind and ooze out); mine took about 5-6 minutes.

Carefully transfer the warm Brie to a serving plate. Top with quartered figs, drizzle with honey and garnish with fresh thyme. Serve immediately with water crackers or sliced French bread. Adapted from Not Without Salt.

Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.

Maya Wilson

Maya Wilson lives and cooks on the Kenai Peninsula and writes the Alaska From Scratch blog. Her book, "The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook: Seasonal. Scenic. Homemade," was published in 2018 by Rodale Books.

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