Do you know about Short Stack Editions? It's a small publishing venture dedicated to publishing single subject cookbooks authored by food authorities like Susan Spungen (strawberries) and Ian Knauer (eggs), Alison Roman (lemons) and Virginia Willis (grits). The editions are hand-sewn, illustrated with sweetly simple drawings, and bound in gorgeous paper (the aesthetic is sort of psychedelically Mast-Brothers'-ish). You won't want to have just one.
The booklets, or pamphlets, I should say, feel both super-modern and old-fashioned, sort of like something you'd expect to find in your grandmother's stash of old books and neatly displayed in a cutting edge magazine store in Antwerp or Berlin (cough). But beyond their covers is some really good food. Furthermore, the recipes are tightly edited – each edition only has 20, which feels refreshing in this era of information overload.
The latest edition, on prosciutto di Parma, is written by Sara Jenkins, owner of Porsena and Porchetta in New York City. Jenkins grew up partially in Italy and has amassed a neat little collection of recipes showcasing prosciutto. Some skew a little fancy (think cold cantaloupe soup topped with prosciutto crostini, which actually requires no cooking, just a bit of puréeing, chilling and toasting) and others will make you do a double-take – in a good way, like the olive oil-fried slices of persimmon wrapped in prosciutto or roasted corn and crispy prosciutto tucked into warm corn tortillas and topped with lime, pepper and cilantro! Yet more will have you marching straight to your closest deli for a couple ounces of ham – in my case, the potted and deviled prosciutto with mustard seeds, harissa and parsley, and the stir-fried rice, in which Italy meets China, producing my favorite kind of food.

Short Stack was generous enough to send me a copy of Prosciutto di Parma for a giveaway, so please leave a comment below to be entered and I'll pick a winner on Tuesday morning! You can find the other Short Stack Editions online or at a selection of bricks-and-mortar stores.
P.S. Even Nigella's a fan…
Jandi is the winner and has been notified!


101 responses to “Sara Jenkins’ Prosciutto di Parma”
I think I missed the draw but what a lovely little book! I’m going to have to get my hands on the egg one, I think. I’ve been trying to work on my French omelet skills (think Julia Child) and I have a woefully long way to go.
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