I just love to experiment in the kitchen, try new foods, and explore different flavors! I’m planning once a week to share a food tip here on my blog from my culinary adventures. :)

Today’s ideas are simple to prepare, elegant and delicious! The key is excellent quality ingredients.

And in particular, Westphalian Ham.

This photo is from a special tapas meal I made for my family. It is so simple to prepare and yet SO delicious! I was going to use Serrano ham until I found out how expensive it was (To give you an idea, a whole ham could easily cost you $200. YIKES!), and then considered prosciutto and eventually we settled on using Westphalian.

Now, its still not a low cost ingredient by any means, but its significantly less than Serrano, and with any of these hams, you really only need a small amount.

Trim the stalky ends off the ends of fresh asparagus spears, and wrap each in about 1/2 a slice of Westphalian ham. Brush with extra virgin olive oil, and put into a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes- make sure you don’t over cook it! You want the asparagus tender, but still firm enough that it doesn’t droop. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

Devour.

And, even simpler, yet still ridiculously delicious: wrap balls of cantaloupe with small pieces of Westphalian ham, and spear with decorative toothpicks. This is from the same tapas meal- both my husband and I were blown away by this flavor combination!

Check out these fun foodie finds on Etsy, have some fun in the kitchen and get cooking!