prosciutto wrapped pork cutlets

eight years ago in italy, i fell in love. with prosciutto. i ate it each and every morning for breakfast, wrapped around a piece of honeydew or fresh mozzarella, as i sat on a veranda or rooftop soaking it all in. i'd eat it again, sometime later in the day, whenever i could get my hands on it's salty goodness. on top of pizza. wrapped around more fresh cheese. a single piece all by itself. and if you've yet to experience the salty sweetness that is prosciutto wrapped melon, get yourself some. now.

and since melon isn't exactly ripe right now - and therefore not even worth wrapping with prosciutto - i've got the next best thing: thin sliced pork cutlets wrapped in prosciutto. 

lemon chicken pappardelle

last spring, my mom and i flew to virginia to visit  my sister for the weekend and go wedding dress shopping with her. while we were there, i had my first of very few visits to trader joe's. to some of you i'm sure that's surprising, but our closest trader joe's is hundreds of miles away. 

but i'm not complaining, since we have wegmans - also known as the reason why alec baldwin's mom won't move away from syracuse - and the pittsford wegmans - unofficially known as the flagship store - is a couple miles from my house.

anyway, i picked up a couple things in trader joe's: salted caramel sauce i've heard so much about, a box of cookies, and lemon pepper pappardelle. which, similar to my pearl couscous, sat in my pantry for months before i finally gave in and made it. which is a shame, since this pasta is delicious - light and acidic from the lemon and perfectly spicy from the black pepper. with a light lemon garlic wine sauce, chicken for added protein, and a healthy dose of cheese, this was a simple weeknight dinner.

peanut butter granola crispy bars

last month when i was mixing up these granola bars, i couldn't stop thinking about how easy and fast they are to make, and the countless flavor combinations. and the classic chocolate and peanut butter beat out the others.

if you've ever made rice krispy treats, you can handle these bars. instead of marshmallow, it's sweetened honey and peanut butter that holds the oats and rice cereal together. topped off with mini chocolate chips, they make a great peanut buttery chocolate snack.

chicken and pearl couscous with tomato and lemon

late last fall, while perusing the public market, i impulse bought a pound of pearl - or israeli - couscous. like most things i impulse buy, i didn't have any plans for it, so i quickly grabbed it and went on my merry way through the rest of the market. it made it's way into my pasta cupboard, where it sat for the next six months. until jason asked suggested it for dinner.

marshmallows [12in2012]

marshmallows tend to divide people as much as mushrooms: you either love them and can't get enough or you can't stand the taste and refuse a smore. i belong to the first camp; jason belongs to the second. how a person can shake their head no and scrunch up their nose to a smore is beyond me, but each and every summer, he does. i don't know if it's nostalgia that gets me - remembering all the marshmallows i caught on fire, melted off my stick and lost into the fire, burned my tongue on, or the few that made it to my smore successfully while camping - or the pillowey sweetness, but i'm a marshmallow lover through and through.