To those of you who have vehemently declared your dislike for pork, please stop reading now. I love pork, and today is Pork Day.
It started with a visit to the Italian Centre Shop. Some members of the deli staff are so charming they could easily talk me into buying 200 grams of Serrano – Iberico Ham that has been cured for 24 months and made from wild pigs that had roamed the countryside in Spain and ate acorns.
All I asked for was a reminder of the different countries that supply them with prosciutto. He rattled off the usual Canada, Italy, and Spain. I interupted and said, “Spain please, I want the Spanish prosciutto”, because this is the stuff that Michael usually comes home with when he shops at the Italian Centre Shop. But Mr. Charming Deli Man asks me if I have tried the wild boar ham from Spain? I replied in the negative, and he introduces me to what he calls THE quintessential prosciutto, and gives me a sample as they do. I gratefully took it, and shouted, “YES! MMMMMM! YES! MMMMM! YES! 200 grams please!”. The taste! Oh boy, the taste! It’s not your regular prosciutto. Angels sing when you eat this stuff (and friends cheer because it’s not salty as the other hams are). I nearly fell over when I saw the label on my prize. $29.96. Holy mother of God. You only live once, and if you can’t toss away $29.96 for a little bit of ham now and then, what’s the point?
The recipe is simply cubed pork tenderloin marinaded in ketjap manis (which probably deserves a blog entry of its own it’s so delicious), lemon, oil, and garlic. When it has marinated for a period of time you then skewer it with pieces of lemon, then set under the broiler until cooked. Serve with rice pilaf. Yum.
And finally, the package of skewers I bought in 1999 are getting used for what they are intended for. Up until now I used only one from the package to test some cupcakes I baked last year.
Walsh Cooks - An Edmonton Food Blog 
$29.96? Mamma mia! On the other hand, that's a pretty cheap price to rent an angel choir.
And THAT'S! why I didn't come back with the wild boar prosciutto. It was $150/kg!
But wait until you TASTE it my darling! If it helps ease the pain, I did a quick calculation and it costs a mere 99.8 cents per paper thin slice. A bargain! Nevermind that I bought a 2 lb bag of carrots for 99 cents! Wild boar prosciutto = yummy foodie food. Carrots = yawn (but better eyesight).
The beauty of prosciutto… you don't cook it so you don't get that greasy smell in your house. Even I, the ham-hater, have got some serious love for prosciutto. And pancetta. And Danish bacon. Did you try it with melon and some dry white wine? Well did you? I have to take issue with your comment about angels singing when people eat pork though.
I love your re-cap of the Italian center excursion! I, too, have fallen under the charm of the deli-men many a times before also…they're just so damn charming! Maybe I'll ask for one slice of the wild-boar prosciutto next time I go…to experience the taste and dodge the price tag!
Dear Anonymous: It was my mistake. The angels weren't singing, they in fact were screaming at me to NOT buy the pork (mainly for the cost). However, angels are angels and they sound so nice, I just figured they were expressing joy at my pork consumption.
Pork = joy I can almost taste that prosciutto through your words. After all it was just your birthday so why not indulge a little