Easy Elegance

Sometimes a lovely meal doesn't mean a whole lot of trouble.

You know those little rounds of brie and camembert you see contained in balsa wood boxes in the "specialty cheese" section of the supermarket? Pick one of those up, sometime. Grab a loaf of french bread and an apple or pear, while you're at it.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Discard the top of the cheese box, and remove the wheel of cheese from its protective plastic. Put the wheel back in the bottom of its box, place the container on a baking sheet, and shove the whole thing in the preheated oven for half an hour. This should be enough time to adequately melt the cheese, but you can check for meltiness by piercing the top horizontally with a knife, and cook longer if necessary. You want it to be of cheesy "dip" consistency. (If cooking longer is necessary, I suggest going at 5 minute intervals.)

In the meantime, slice up your apple/pear, rip up your bread, and put on some coffee or open some wine.

Slice off the top of the cheese when it's done, season the inside with garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper, and serve.

This is a perfect meal for a couple - I might even say a light meal for a couple, depending on your appetites and the weather. Everything besides the balsa wood box is edible. Devour that cheese rind like there's no tomorrow.

(Btw, may I recommend Ida Red apples? They are delightfully red on the outside, bright white on the inside, firm and crisp, the perfect balance between tart and sweet, and unbelievably juicy. I and other fans will fight to the death anyone who claims they're just for cooking.)