One of our favorite farmhouse Cheddars,
award-winning Fiscalini Farmstead bandage-
wrapped raw-milk Cheddar.

Americans tend to pair fine Cheddars with apples and grapes. But these complex, full-flavored cheeses go well with a wide range of accompaniments.

• Try fresh figs and dates, or mostarda, glazed fruits in a mustard sauce.
• In summer months, a sliced vine-ripened tomato drizzled with sea salt, some celery stalks, Cheddar and crusty bread make a lovely, light lunch.
• Or, combine Cheddar with prosciutto, fruit chutney and fennel sticks plus raisin bread or a crusty farmhouse loaf.

At a dinner Wednesday at New York City’s La Fonda del Sol restaurant, we enjoyed the most outstanding Serrano ham ever, in an all-serrano dinner (an outstanding creative menu by Chef Josh DeChellis and team).

The serrano ham served was not just any serrano ham, but ham produced by a member of Spain’s relatively young Consorcio Serrano. A consorcio (con-SOAR-see-oh) is an association of producers of a particular product. Its purpose is to maintain the highest standards of quality, and to ensure that any product bearing the consorcio’s seal has passed the exacting review of expert inspectors.

The world’s most expensive ham sandwich?
Photo courtesy Jezalin’s Gourmet Market.

Not all serrano hams are Consorcio-approved. Some don’t pass the test, others are made outside of Spain, with less attention to the artisan techniques and authentic serrano flavor. “Serrano” means mountain dweller, by the way; the hams are made by “serranos” in the mountainous areas of Spain, and dry in the fresh mountain air. Learn more about serrano ham.

And Now, The $40.00 Ham Sandwich

While almost everyone can afford a slice of serrano ham, the more limited-production ham in Spain is jamón ibérico. The black Iberian pigs have black feet (pata negra), and the ham is often called by this nickname.

These pigs are raised only in the west/southwest area of Spain, where the breed originated. The diet is very specific; there are three levels of jamón ibérico. The top-of-the-line pigs forage in the acorn forests to become even more flavorful before harvest (bellota ham has been called the finest ham in the world). You can read more about jamón ibérico here.

Jezalin’s Gourmet Market at Limelight Marketplace in New York City is now serving the “Conquistador,” a $39.95 ham sandwich, made of the top-of-the-line acorn-fed pigs, jamón ibérico de bellota. The sandwich is served plain on a baguette so as to not interfere with the ham’s flavor; but the Spanish would eat it in plain slices from the plate, which is truly the best way to savor each slice.

LaTienda.com sells the same ham online: $49.95 for four ounces. Those in the chips can buy the entire bone-in ham for $1,395.00, or $96.00/pound (it does come with free shipping). This is a bargain compared to Jezalin, which sells the ham for $150/pound.

Bellotta ham is delicious, but like a kobe beef burger, to our palate it isn’t worth breaking the piggy bank. For us: $20 or so a pound for Consorcio serrano ham hits the spot. The ham slices are light as a feather, so one pound buys a nice amount for a couple of ham lovers or a first course at a dinner party.

Adjust your schedule, Pinkberry lovers: the new summer flavor, Watermelon, debuts tomorrow. It’s made with real watermelon. And there’s a great half-price deal.

The new sweet-and-tart treat is watermelon frozen yogurt topped with fresh watermelon purée, diced watermelon and diced cucumbers.

If cucumbers sound strange here, they’re actually a close relative of watermelon. Both are members of the Cucurbitaceae plant family. Taste the white watermelon rind—it tastes like cucumber (and because we like cucumbers, we eat that white rind!).

You can have it without the cucumber, of course. And you can enjoy the new flavor for half price during Watermelon Happy Hour: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily at all Pinkberry locations. During Happy Hour you can have any size and configuration of Watermelon Pinkberry (cone, swirl, side-by-side) for half price.

Pinkberry is made from nonfat yogurt, from milk that is rBST-free. Watermelon Pinkberry will be available for eight weeks, or until supplies run out.

It’s only here for a short time, so gather ye watermelon rosebuds while ye may. Here’s the store locator.

Find more of our favorite frozen delights, plus recipes, in our Gourmet Ice Cream & Yogurt Section.

If you’ve ever been to Pinkberry, Froyo World or other frozen yogurt shop, you’ve seen the 50-plus toppings you can use to create your own sundae.

 
Plan ahead for a DIY frozen yogurt sundae party. National Frozen Yogurt Day is February 6th and June is National Frozen Yogurt Month.
  

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Why purchase bottled lemonade or mixes, when it’s so easy to make better-tasting homemade lemonade from fresh-squeezed lemons? The difference is night and day.

This recipe makes fifteen 8-ounce glasses of fresh lemonade. You can adjust the sweetening to your own taste.

 
 
LEMONADE RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Roll lemons on the counter before squeezing, to maximize the juice output.

2. Combine water, juice and the three-quarters of the sweetener in a pitcher and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust sweetness bit by bit. The objective is to keep the lemon flavor first and foremost and not make sugar the first thing you taste. It’s better to under-sweeten than over-sweeten: People can always add more sweetener to suit their individual taste.

Take advantage of the short fresh cherry
season to add bright color and sweet flavor
to your lemonade (photo © Cherry Marketing Institute).

[2] When life gives you lemons… (photo © The Kitchn).

4. Add ice to glasses and fill with lemonade and garnish. Ideally, chill the lemonade prior to serving so it will be cold and require less ice (or no ice), which dilutes the flavor. You can also use one of our favorite tips: make lemonade ice cubes.

5. To garnish: Slice an extra lemon into wheels and cut notches so they sit on rim of glasses. You can also notch watermelon cubes. Or, fit a straw through the larger fruit such as watermelon and strawberries).

Don’t freestyle—learn how to grill like
a pro. Photo by Anastazzo | IST.

• How to grill the perfect burger over coals
• How to grill a burger on a gas grill
• How to grill perfect lamb chops
• How to grill a perfect ribeye steak
• How to grill the perfect sirloin steak
• How to grill a porterhouse on a charcoal grill or a gas grill

Check out these tasty videos in our Videos Section. The grilling videos are in Player 1 under the tab “Techniques On The Grill.”