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The platter of cantaloupe wrapped up in luscious slices of prosciutto and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper simply calls to the party goer. The pairing of the salty-sweet cured ham and the sweet and succulent orange-yellow melon is perfect. This is an example of one of the more ridiculously simple of the Christmas party appetizer recipes.

• One ripe cantaloupe, seeded and cubed
• 24 strips of prosciutto di Parma
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Wrap the prosciutto strips around one cube of cantaloupe and secure with a toothpick.
2. Arrange on a pretty platter and put into the fridge.
3. About an hour before the party take it out and allow the canapés to reach room temperature, as both cantaloupe and prosciutto taste better at room temperature.
4. Just before serving, sprinkle with the black pepper.

Here is some background on the components.

The cantaloupe is also called the muskmelon, even though the muskmelon is a slightly different species, and is one of the most sweet smelling of the melons. The rind is ribbed and "netted" and the flesh is deliciously juicy. Melons were first brought to Spain by the Moors, who had probably gotten them from Persia or Africa. When melons reached France, the aristocracy ate them by the ton. A first they were about the size of oranges, but breeding has brought them to their current size.

To buy a cantaloupe for the above recipe, the fruit should be firm and plump with clean scars at the end. If the scars look jagged it means they were picked before they were ripe. Cantaloupes should not have any bald spots. It must not be soft, scarred or have moist bruises on the skin.

The stem should not have started to rot, but should crack very lightly. This is a sign that the fruit is ripe. If you press the blossom end gently it should just give. If you shake the melon and hear a sloshing sound inside it has begun to rot, so put it back. It should also be heavy for its size and of course, have a sweet, fragrant, melon scent about it.

When you get it home, store it in a cool, airy place till you get ready to use it. If you think the cantaloupe is not all the way ripe, put it in a warmer place.

Cantaloupes are also easy to grow. Start the seeds outdoors after the danger of frost is gone. Sow three or four seeds in groups 24 inches apart. Alternatively, you can sow them indoors four weeks before setting out. They take from 76 to 86 days to ripen and need full sun and a rich, loamy soil.

Prosciutto and Other Raw Hams

The best prosciutto comes from Parma and takes many months of curing before it is ready to eat. After it has cleaned, the ham is lightly salted and air cured, then washed, re-salted then hung for months in a cool, dark place where air can circulate freely around it. Nitrite is added to some prosciutto, though prosciutto that falls under the Protected Designation of Origin uses only sea salt.

Culatello is a type of prosciutto that comes from fatter pig. It’s wine cured and can also be wrapped around slices or cubes of melon. When you ask for it at the deli counter, ask for prosciutto crudo, which means it is raw. Make sure the butcher slices it extremely thin. You should be able to see light through it.

Jamon serrano is a good substitute for prosciutto di Parma. It comes from the Sierra Morena mountains in Spain and is supposed to be the sweetest ham in the world. Many of the pigs for Jamon serrano are free range and gorge on acorns.

Christmas Entertaining

Christmas is often an excuse to overindulge food-wise, which is fine. Christmas appetizers, which can be picked up with the fingers, popped into the mouth, and simply savored, are the best. A host might lay out a great spread of canapés made from her store of Christmas party appetizer recipes along with the prosciutto wrapped melon, either as prelude to a sit down dinner or as part of a cocktail or buffet party.

The host should know that the more people she invites to her home the less room there is for anything else. Furniture that won’t be used for serving food or drinks should be stowed away somewhere else, like the bedroom, and the party room should have a clear space in the center, lots of ventilation and allow for a natural flow of traffic.

This means that the tree will have to be moved to a corner, though kept away from sources of heat like a register. The drinks should be served at one end of the room and the canapés served at another end to keep everything balanced.

Usually at a cocktail party decorations are kept scarce, but this isn’t the case at a Christmas party, where people come, in part, to see what decorations have been put up. So the table will have to have some kind of Yule decoration about it that still will not interfere with the serving of the food.

If the buffet table is against a wall, candles in pretty crystal candleholders and little trees made out of pearls and decorated with gold ribbons and tiny silk roses might be arranged at the back of the table. Maybe votive candles whose cups are adorned with glass beads can be lined down the very center of the table, with sprigs of pine, yew, or holly tucked in between them.

The hostess should also make sure there are lots of napkins and food picks available, even though the melon and prosciutto have their own toothpicks. The other hor d’oeurves should be planned to complement the melon and prosciutto canapés, which are sweet/salty and cool type of food. Other canapés might be crunchy or highly spiced, or kept hot, like cocktail franks.

There should be enough of them to be filling for the hour or two that the cocktail party lasts. There should be a bucket or two of ice for drinks and a bag or two of ice in the freezer to replace it. Speaking of drinks, there should be a wide selection, though no one should expect all the potables available at a commercial bar.

There should also be room for traditional Christmas drinks like egg nog and glogg. There should also be a person, probably a teenager, who is responsible for whisking dirty plates and glasses into the kitchen so the guests and hostess do not have to.

The melon and prosciutto canapés as well as the other Christmas party appetizer recipes should be the beginning of a great Christmas party!

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About the AuthorRecipe PublishingInterests: I enjoy sharing quick and easy home made recipes. My favorites are Mexican Recipes, Pizza Recipes, and Simple Desserts. Thanks for viewing my collection of home made recipes. Website:Recipe Publishing Blog