| Charcuterie, Salumi and More If you are feeding a large crowd, or just want to round out an afternoon snack or personal cheese plate, adding a selection of charcuterie makes any table complete! The French word charcuterie means literally cooked meat, but in modern times refers to meats, in some cases blended with herbs and spices, that have been smoked, salt cured or air cured. I prefer to include charcuterie from all over the world to accompany whatever you may be serving: Italian Prosciutto and Coppa, Spanish Serrano, Mexico & Spanish Chorizos, French Duck Proscuitto, Italian Wild Boar Proscuitto and Northern California Air-Dried Salami just to name a few. These types of meat are a beautiful way to dress up a table. Try rolling thin ribbons of proscuitto into rose buds, or paper thin slices of Serrano around a hard boiled egg. Slices of chorizo and whole salami look great on the same plate. They also look great on a crostini with different fruit preserves. Try to keep the ethnic regions together such as a quince preserve with a slice of serrano (Spanish) and a fig puree with a slice of bresaola. These meats work well with simple breadsticks, wedges of fruit, and grilled or raw vegetables. I don't usually sprinkle chopped fresh herbs on these meats as I don't like the texture distraction. That said, they all look especially beautiful over a bed of fresh herbs to help their natural colors pop! Charcuterie items are a great addition to cooked foods as well. Bresaola, a thinly sliced Italian cured beef, is great added to a sautéed radicchio and ricotta pasta. Duck Prosciutto is perfect a wild mushroom rice dish and air-dried salami dress up savory bread puddings and stuffings! Add spicy Italian Coppa or the Spanish Pamplona chorizo to a three bean soup for depth and little kick! Traditional sausages are also a part of the Charcuterie menu. Everything from locally crafted Cajun shrimp sausages and Organic Kosher chicken sausages to imported French Boudin Blanc and Andouille. Each sausage will have its own characteristics. Some are spicy, some citrusy some have more oil. Be sure to read all the ingredients and actually look at the sausage itself before adding to a recipe. There are vast differences between a sweet Italian sausage flavored with fennel and a French boudin noir sausage made with blood! I love to make a pasta dish of orrichiette, chicken sausage, chopped wilted spinach and sheep’s milk cream! Lamb Merguez, Stewed Apricots and pitted French olives make a great couscous stuffing to a rack of lamb dinner. Bring back brunch with Andoiulle, poached eggs and sharp cheddar biscuits! |
