TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. _ I'm telling you, serving stuffed figs makes anyone look like a contestant on The Next Great Chef. They are just so chi-chi and fancy looking. Plus, no one ever tries to cook a fig because they are somehow intimidating, despite the fact they really are super easy to prepare. Right now figs are sitting neglected in your grocer aisle, just begging for a home, waiting to be plucked off the shelves. And plucked they are, not picked, as they do bruise easily. But who cares? Not you! You are going to stuff, wrap and broil those babies, hiding any man-handling damage they might have incurred en route. The following recipe is foolproof, and I have given you a couple of options, based on budgetary restrictions - or not. Either way, these figs are going to elevate you to gourmet status whether you're ready or not. I now leave you with a little poem to celebrate your new culinary role in the community...

The Fig Plucker's Son

I am not a fig plucker,

Nor a fig plucker's son.

But I'll pluck figs

till the fig plucker comes.

Stuffed Figs

Ingredients

8 Black Mission Figs, cut in half, length-wise

1/2 cup Boursin cheese or a mixture of cream and blue cheese

8 slices prosciutto, sliced length-wise (pulled apart is easier)

2 Tbls. olive oil

course sea salt and pepper

Preparation

Turn on broiler. Place fig halves on cookie sheet. Put about a teaspoon of cheese on each fig and wrap the figs with the prosciutto, making sure the ends touch. Broil two minutes on each side, until the prosciutto is crisp. Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Variation: Substitute cream cheese for Boursin or blue mixture, and bacon for prosciutto. Equally delicious, sometimes preferable because you taste more of the figs' sweetness.