I ahve several recipes that I just love... maybe one of them will appeal to you too! Whatever you make will be delish and have fun! ********************************************************* Hot Brie Kisses 2/3 lb. brie cheese 2 sheets puff pastry (1 17.3 oz. box) hot pepper jelly or apricot preserves Thaw puff pastry at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Unfold pastry and roll lightly with a rolling pin to remove creases. Cut each sheet into fourths, then cut each fourth in half. Cut each piece in half again to produce 16 even squares of dough per pastry sheet. Lightly spray mini-muffin cups with vegetable oil. Fit a square of dough into each cup. The pointed edges of the dough should extend straight up. Cut brie into " squares. Place a piece of cheese into each dough-lined cup. Top with ¼ tsp. pepper jelly or apricot preserves. (Do not try to increase either of these amounts, or theyÂre run over in the oven) Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. You can put these together and then freeze them (prior to baking); youÂll need to add a little extra baking time. ***************************************************** MUSHROOM STUFFED BRIE EN CROUTE 1 small onion 1/2 pound mushrooms 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon dry Sherry 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed according to package directions a chilled 14- to 17-ounce wheel Brie 1 large egg Accompaniment: French bread slices or crackers Mince enough onion to measure 1/2 cup and finely chop mushrooms. In a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms, Sherry, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Cool mushroom mixture. On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and, using Brie as a guide, cut out 1 round the size of the Brie. Cut out a mushroom shape from scraps for decoration. Horizontally halve Brie. Roll out remaining sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and transfer to a shallow baking pan. Center bottom half of Brie, cut side up, on pastry square and spread mushroom mixture on top. Cover mushroom mixture with remaining half of Brie, cut side down. Without stretching pastry, wrap it snugly up over Brie and trim excess to leave a 1-inch border of pastry on top of Brie. In a small bowl lightly beat egg and brush onto border. Top Brie with pastry round, pressing edges of dough together gently but firmly to seal. Brush top of pastry with some egg and arrange pastry mushroom on it. Lightly brush mushroom with some egg, being careful not to let egg drip over edge of mushroom (which would prevent it from rising). With back of a sharp small knife gently score side of pastry with vertical marks, being careful not to cut through dough. Chill Brie, uncovered, 30 minutes. Brie may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake Brie in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Let Brie stand in pan on a rack 15 minutes and transfer with a spatula to a serving plate. Serve Brie with bread or crackers. Serves 8 to 10 as an hors d'oeuvre. **************************************************** Pate Bites and Herb Brie Board Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 10 minutes Yield: 4 servings User Rating: 4 slices dark bread, pumpernickel or German whole grain, toasted 4 tablespoons whole grain mustard 1/2 pound country pate or mousse pate 1/4 red onion, finely chopped 4 tablespoons capers, drained 1/2 pound herb brie Cornichons or baby gherkin pickles Water crackers Red seedless grapes Spread toasted bread lightly with mustard. Arrange pate in thin layer on top of mustard. Top with chopped onions and capers. Cut each slice of bread into quarters. Arrange on a cheese board with a wedge of brie at room temperature, cornichons, crackers, grapes. Wine Recomendation: Serve with champagne or try French or Sicilian rose wine.

Don't know Halloumi...never heard of it....but I am well acquainted with raclette. In "The Olden Days" The Swiss would put a chunk of raclette cheese ( very similar to emmenthaler) near the fire and scrape off the melted outside and put it on bread, or boiled potatoes. Now days there are raclette grills or irons...it's a table top thingey that has a heating element on top and little trays that you slide into slots under the heat source. Each diner is served an assortment meats, sausages and slices of raclette cheese as well as boiled potatoes and cornichons. But raclette is not "grilled" it's melted from a heat source. If you tried to grill a round of brie I would think there would be a very dangerous time when you flip that brie and remove it from the grill without puncturing it! And the length of time to grill it depends very much on how ripe the brie is when you start and how hot your fire is. Why don't you serve cheese fondue? Linda C

OMG, I always knew my mother was a terrible cook and hated to cook, but this is the ultimate. She had a Toas-tite when I was growing up and used it all of the time, but I never knew it was supposed to be used for toasting things until now. She only used it to cut the crust off of my sandwiches and make them round! Wow, I could have had hot meals all of those years... who knew! I can't wait to tell her what that gadget was really supposed to be used for. I've even told my DH about the thing and how dumb I always thought it was (buying this big thing just to cut the crust off of bread). It was a real pain too, because the bread would always get stuck in it. I guess if it was toasted that wouldn't have happened, though. Amazing!!

I'm really sorry I missed that Oprah, cause I like Giada, and I like the shows Oprah does with happy people instead of victimized people. Giada definately seems happy. Some of her recipes I've made have been very good, and some have been so-so. DH is not a Brie fan, so I never buy it. It's too pricey to buy if not everyone likes it. As for basil and chocolate? Hmmm, I don't know. I like basil with almost anything, and chocolate with almost anything, but I don't know about the two together. Sally