"Mark Thorson" wrote:
>
> One of the biggests wastes of TV is Martha Stewart's
> Everyday Food show. It's always the most mundane
> stuff, like Sloppy Joes, lettuce and tomato salad
> with dressing, sugar cookies, etc. It's not like
> Lidia Bastianich or Jacques Pepin where I'm being
> shown stuff I've never done or don't know how to do.
> If there's nothing else food-related on TV, I'll
> turn on Everyday Food while doing something else.
>
> So I was surprised when I saw something very
> interesting. One of their people made a BLT
> sandwich, but substituted fried prosciutto for
> the bacon. I'd never thought of frying prosciutto
> before.

Very culinarilly ignorant... cooking prosciutto ruins it, frying destroys
it. And prosciutto is not smoked so it can't work for a BLT. Prosciutto is
all about texture and visual/presentation, it has no distinguishing flavor
of it's own, it takes on the flavor of whatever it's paired, prosciutto is
the dago tofu of ham. Perhaps

prosciutto
[proh-SHOO-toh]
The Italian word for "ham," prosciutto is a term broadly used to describe a
ham that has been seasoned, salt-cured (but not smoked) and air-dried. The
meat is pressed, which produces a firm, dense texture. Italy's Parma ham is
the true prosciutto, although others are also now made in the United States.
Italian prosciuttos are designated prosciutto cotto, which is cooked, and
prosciutto crudo, which is raw (though, because of its curing, ready to
eat). This type of Italian ham is also labeled according to its city or
region of origin, for example prosciutto di Parma and prosciutto di San
Daniele. Prosciutto is available in gourmet and Italian markets and some
supermarkets. It's usually sold in transparently thin slices. Prosciutto is
best eaten as is and is a classic first course when served with melon or
figs. It can also be added at the last minute to cooked foods such as pastas
or vegetables. Prolonged cooking will toughen it.

Perhaps pancetta will work for a BLT, cooking won't destroy it, however it's
not smoked either... only American style bacon will work for a BLT.

pancetta
[pan-CHEH-tuh]
An Italian bacon that is cured with salt and spices but not smoked.
Flavorful, slightly salty pancetta comes in a sausagelike roll. It's used in
Italian cooking to flavor sauces, pasta dishes, forcemeats, vegetables and
meats. Pancetta can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to 3 weeks,
or frozen up to 6 months.



© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.