Prosciutto Wrapped Baby Spinach with Parmigiano Reggiano

We had a special guest come and cook a wonderful meal at our place last week! The "salad" dish was baby spinach, lightly dress, wrapped in prosciutto (Italian ham), a slice of tomato and shaved parmigiano reggiano over top and then drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple, yet divine. We went out and bought the ingredients today and ended up having it as our mid-afternoon snack this afternoon. Delicious!

Ingredients:

-Thinly sliced, lean prosciutto (depending on how many you want to make, you will need that number of strips)
-baby spinach, lightly dressed with a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (you do not need to add any salt as the prosciutto is quite salty and flavourful)
-ripe but firm tomatoes
-fresh block of parmigianno reggiano cheese
-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. On a large platter, lay out the strips of prosciutto. Spoon the dressed baby spinach generously at one end of the prosciutto and roll tightly enough that the spinach stays put, but don't "choke" it.

2. Slice the tomatoes and place one on top of each rolled prosciutto/spinach. Top with a couple of generous shaves of the parmesan cheese. You can add freshly ground black pepper to the finished product if you wish. You would eat these with a knife and fork. If you want a simpler version, you can skip the tomato and roll the cheese inside with the spinach. This can be eaten with your hands.

Left-over Mashed Potato Patties

A great recipe for left over mashed potatoes! What a comfort food:)

Ingredients:

Leftover mashed potatoes (about 2 cups)
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Flour or bread crumbs for coating
2 tbsps olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine mashed potatoes, onion, egg and cheese. Shape into large size balls. Roll into flour or bread crumbs and flatten into patties. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add patties and brown for about 3 minutes on each side. Salt and pepper to taste.