[1] Peaches with prosciutto and a drizzle of balsamic, from Briscola by Charlie Palmer in Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort.

American-made prosciutto from LaQuercia in Iowa (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[3] Prosciutto di San Daniele hams are salted for less time than the Parma hams (prosciutto di Parma). They thus have a sweeter and more delicate flavor (photo © Principe).

[4] Prosciutto and melon (here honeydew) is the classic preparation (photo © Good Eggs).

Juicy summer peaches beg to be enjoyed in as many ways as possible.

For a delicious first course or a dessert, pair them with prosciutto and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (photo #1)—an update to the classic melon or figs with prosciutto (photo #4).

To amp up the first course, add fresh chèvre and some lightly dressed mesclun.

You can also replace the prosciutto with serrano ham. Here’s the difference.

Serve the dish with prosciutto-friendly Italian white wines such as Italian Moscato, Pinot Grigio or Prosecco.

Or, look northward and grab an Alsatian-style Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer or Riesling.
 
 
WHAT IS PROSCIUTTO

Prosciutto is the Italian word for ham; specifically a dry-cured, uncooked ham that is aged for 400 days or longer.

It originated in the hills around Parma, Italy, in pre-Roman times.

In northern Italy, in what is now San Daniele, Celtic* people first began curing meat with salt. In the area of Parma, it was made by the peasants.

The traditional process of curing is still practiced like an art form in both of these cities. The result: delicious prosciutto that, when thinly sliced, melts in your mouth [source].

The pigs are fed a special diet of whey and grains, and the hams are trimmed and massaged with natural sea salt before aging.

Prosciutto is served in thin slices (photos #2 and #3), showing off rosy-colored meat with a pearl-white marbling of fat.

Prosciutto di Parma, called Parma ham in English, is made from only two ingredients—pork leg and sea salt.

What makes a great prosciutto is the artisan curing that creates prosciutto crudo (raw prosciutto, distinguished from cooked ham, or prosciutto cotto).

The pork leg is carefully hand-rubbed with salt. It then passes through a series of curing rooms of different temperatures and humidity levels.

Prosciutto made in the Parma and Langhirano areas of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna province is D.O.P.-protected by the European Union (in English, it’s D.P.O. or Domaine of Protected Origin).

Prosciutto from other cities is also D.O.P. protected, but Prosciutto di Parma is the most famous export.

Prosciutto-style products are made elsewhere in the world. La Quercia, in Iowa, is a fine domestic producer (photo #2).
 
 
MORE WAYS TO ENJOY PROSCIUTTO

Prosciutto is served plain as part of an antipasto or appetizer plate.

In Italy, restaurants serve prosciutto in overlapping folded-over slices with bread or bread sticks as an appetizer, or wrapped around melon slices (photo #4), with dates, figs or pears.

The ham is incorporated into many recipes: wrapped around chicken, rolled with veal scallopini and diced into pasta and risotto.

Find recipes at ParmaHam.com.

But if you want to enjoy it as an Italian ham sandwich—on crusty baguette-style bread with arugula, tomatoes, mozzarella or provolone and a sprinkle of vinagrette—we think it’s an improvement on the American version.

A drizzle of honey or some honey mustard also works.

Call it the sophisticated ham and cheese sandwich.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAM

*Although Celtic bands probably had penetrated into northern Italy in earlier times, the year 400 B.C.E. is generally accepted as the approximate date for the beginning of the great invasion of migrating Celtic tribes [source].

How delicious: oysters lightly cooked on a
cedar plank. Photo courtesy Bleu Northeast
Seafood | Burlington.

Simple yet sophisticated, cedar planking is an easy grilling technique. The wood plank adds a smoky and woodsy flavor to meats, vegetables and especially seafood.

Executive Chef Doug Paine of Bleu Northeast Seafood in Burlington, Vermont is currently cooking Cedar Plank Roasted Whole Trout with Malt Vinegar, Rhubarb and Dandelion Cole Slaw. A delicious recipe that uses everyday ingredients, Cedar Plank Trout pairs exceptionally well with a farmhouse style saison beer.

But you can start small. How about grilling oysters?

RECIPE: WOOD GRILLED OYSTERS

Ingredients

1. PREPARE the grill with hard wood. Apple, oak or maple is recommended for flavor. Charcoal or gas will also work, but it won’t have the same smoky aroma.

2. PLACE the oysters on the grill with the cup side down. Grill them for about 5 minutes or until they open.

3. USE tongs to remove oysters from the grill and place them on a towel carefully, so as to not spill the juice inside.

4. ALLOW oysters to cool for a few minutes, then remove the top shell. A paring knife may be needed to cut the oyster from the shell.

5. SPRINKLE with the grated horseradish and spoon a few drops of vinegar on top. Enjoy with a beer. The two dozen oysters will disappear quickly.

Cedar planks add woodsy aroma and flavor to grilled foods. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Karmel | Amazon.

RECIPE: ASIAN COBB SALAD

Ingredients For 4 Servings

For The Salad

 
For The Chicken Marinade

Ingredients For The Candied Nuts

 
†The main ingredient in togarashi red pepper seasoning is red pepper flakes. If you want to create a substitute, use cayenne pepper or dried, crushed chiles; sesame seeds; dried, crushed seaweed and dried citrus peel.
 
Preparation

1. MARINATE the chicken for 2 hours. In a sauté pan or grill, cook the chicken on a medium heat until the skin gets crispy on one side; flip it and cook the rest of the way (this should take about 10 minutes). Cool and then dice for the salad.

2. MAKE the candied nuts. Preheat a convection oven to 300°F. While the oven is heating, combine all ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly until the honey coats all of the almonds. Spread them evenly on a large baking sheet (ideally on a silpat) and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool before chopping for the salad.

3. MAKE the vinaigrette: Place all ingredients in a blender and process. Strain and reserve for salad.

4. PLACE mesclun mix in a large salad bowl. Arrange the topping in rows across the salad, keeping like colors separated. This is the most dramatic way of presenting a Cobb Salad. If you prefer, you can pre-toss the salad instead.

5. SERVE with the vinaigrette on the side.

 
THE HISTORY OF THE COBB SALAD

Here’s how the Cobb Salad came to be, plus a recipe for a Cobb Salad Sandwich.

Traina Foods says that they produce “the world’s finest sun dried fruit,” which they sell to manufacturers, ingredient companies and distributors.

But they’ve taken some of their lush California sun dried tomatoes and turned it into ketchup.

The sun dried fruit provides a deeper, richer taste than you’ll find in regular tomato ketchup. And because this is a specialty brand (as opposed to a mass market brand), the manufacturer uses less sugar and delivers notes of pepper and vinegar. It’s better quality ketchup, and you’ll notice the difference.

For those who want heat, there’s a sriracha version.

Either will add more punch to your hot dogs, burgers, fries, eggs, meat loaf, cocktail sauce and anything else that requires a hit of ketchup.

Treat yourself to some, and consider the bottles as stocking stuffers for ketchup-loving friends. Just tie a ribbon around the neck!

The regular Traina Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup is available on Amazon.com, in single bottles or six-packs.

We couldn’t find the sriracha version online, but here’s a store locator and an email, customerservice@traina.com.

Their curry ketchup is one of our passions!

WHO INVENTED KETCHUP?

The first ketchup was made in Asia, and had no tomatoes whatsoever.

Here’s the history of ketchup and a review of 42 specialty ketchup brands.
  

But what happens if you don’t have a bottle chilling in the fridge…or even if you do?

You wouldn’t think that a tip would be needed on how to chill a water bottle. But if your technique is simply to put the bottle in the fridge to chill down the water, you find that it warms up pretty quickly on a hot summer day.

Here are some tips to keep that bottle of water colder, longer.

Definitely start by keep your water bottle in the fridge; but “layer” that cold water with one of these techniques:

3+ WAYS TO CHILL A WATER BOTTLE

The Right Ice

A water bottle chilling jacket makes room temperature water cold, or keeps chilled water cooler, longer. Photo courtesy Vacu Vin.

Ice cube trays designed for water bottles.
Photo courtesy Photo courtesy Progressive
International.

Insulated Jackets

 
Other Techniques

If you’ve got them, share them!