Watermelon Salad with Crispy Pancetta

4 cups Watermelon, cubed

1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half

6 slices Pancetta

2 tablespoons Basil, chopped

1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of Cayenne

Salt, Pepper, to taste

10 Parmesan Crisps, optional

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.  Place pancetta on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until crisp.  Place pancettta on a paper towel to drain.

In a large bowl, mix watermelon, tomatoes, and basil.  Drizzle balsamic and olive oil over the vegetables.  Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Crumble pancetta over the salad.  Toss it all together.

Serve with Parmesan Crisps.  Substitute Parmesan Crisps for shaved Parmesan Cheese.

Serves 4

Crispy Pancetta

Parmesan Crisps

Potato Skins

3 Large Russet Potatoes

4 oz Pancetta, diced

4 oz Pepper jack Cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Green Onion, sliced

2 Garlic Cloves, grated

2 tablespoons Butter, melted

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Sour Cream, to serve with.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Wash potatoes well.  Poke with a fork all over and bake for about 55 minutes.  Cut in half and let them cool for 10-15 minutes.  Scoop the insides out of the potatoes into a small bowl, and mash well.

Meanwhile, saute pancetta for about 4-5 minutes.  Add to potatoes.  Add the rest of the ingredients, reserving half of the cheese and green onions.  Mix the stuffing together and generously scoop it back into potatoes.

Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Top with the remaining green onion and enjoy with sour cream.

Serves 6

*Pancetta is Italian bacon, salt cured and seasoned with spices as nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns, and garlic.

Stuffed Baby Portobello

6 Crimini, Large with stems removed

4 oz Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

4 slices Pancetta cut into small pieces

1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

2 tablespoons Sour Cream

1 Garlic Clove, minced finely

2 tablespoons Italian Parsley, finely chopped

Freshly Grounded Pepper

2 tablespoon Olive Oil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pour olive oil into a baking dish and place clean mushrooms right over it.

To make the stuffing, mix half of the cheese, prosciutto, panko, sour cream, garlic, Italian parsley, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into each mushroom. Top with the rest of mozzarella and bake for 16-18 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

Serves 2-3

*I found that salt is not necessary because prosciutto is salty on its own. But feel free to add salt if you like.

*Leave out prosciutto and substitute it with roasted pepper, finely diced, to make it meat free :)