Seriously, does any part of this animal not taste good?

don't tell my kosher-ish parents, but I have yet to discover any part of a pig that doesn't taste good. Picked up a fantabulous cookbook at the equally fantabulous Kazoo Books last week, called All the recipes Pasta of Italian Cuisine. The front cover notes that this is the "English Edition", with a pretty little British flag. English? yeah. everything is in metric with abbreviations i've never heard of, the entire seafood chapter is a little scary, and there are recipes that call for wild boar. yeah, this book was never supposed to be available in the US! we found something (many things, actually) that looked tasty and do-able, and went to our local fancy pants gourmet meat/cheese/wine shop. converstion went something like this:

us: do you have, um, something called Parma Ham?
shop: yes, it's called Prosciutto. Would you like some?
us: Yes!
shop: don't you want to know how much it costs per pound?
us: No!

I can honestly say I have never seen meat sliced so thin. it was truly a work of art. then we ate it. it tasted even better than it looked. again, is there any part of a piggy that doesn't taste good?

adapted from All the recipes Pasta of Italian Cuisine:

Fettuccini Alla Papalina

1 lb fettuccini
1/4 lb prosciutto, sliced thin, then sliced again crosswise.
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
1/2 large onion, chopped
olive oil
2 eggs
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

start pasta water boiling on the stove. in a heavy skillet, saute the onion in some olive oil over medium heat. Stir the peas into the onions with some salt & pepper. Don't go nuts with the salt, as the Prosciutto is pretty salty. lower the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off, and lay the sliced Prosciutto over the peas and onions, but DON'T stir the ham in!! just let the meat sit there, and watch the fat slowly melt as you cook your fettuccini. in a small bowl, beat eggs, and stir Parmesan Cheese. When Fettuccini is tender but still slightly firm (that's called al dente), drain and put into large serving bowl. Pour the eggs over, and quickly stir. When well blended, stir in the meat and onions mixture.

This is unbelievably good. it's not kosher, it's not Passover friendly. And it is the most incredible home cooked pasta meal I have ever made.

Other than that, made a batch of Olive Chicken the other day, which came out as deliciously yummy as usual, and pot of Mushroom Barley soup, which somehow was not at all improved by the addition of shitake mushrooms. This weekend promises my husband's award winning chili, cornbread, and nefarious culinary plotting for thanksgiving.

Books, books, books galore! had WAY too much fun shopping at the infamous Kazoo Books, and came home with the following:
The Anubis Gates by Tim Power- one of my favorite steampunk/horror/adventure books EVER
Gloriana, by Michael Moorcock - Very much a satire of Queen Elizabeth. Humorously erotic, erotically humorous. I'm highly entertained, as usual.
Brokedown Palace, by Steven Brust - appears to be in the world of Vlad Taltos, but without Vlad. Brust has never led me astray before. No, it's not the Claire Daines Brokedown Palace, or at least I don't think so.

Received my ARC of The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim Hines. Looks cute, looks like lots of grrl power.