Can you bring something to the party? We need a first course." My heart sank. It was a weeknight, and there was no time to cook and barely enough to shop. I resorted to that old standby, prosciutto and melon. Okay, so it's predictable, but when you use topflight ingredients, you are reminded of how wonderfully satisfying simple, classic pairings can be. I went looking for an exotic melon (cantaloupe and honeydew often disappoint in the winter) and happened upon a large green oval one labeled Santa Claus. The ends yielded slightly to gentle pressure, so I took a chance. When sliced open, the inside was perfectly ripe, and syrupy juice pooled on the cutting board. The tender ivory flesh was honeysuckle-sweet, beautifully setting off a drape of silky prosciutto di Rotondo, an artisanal prosciutto di Parma that is less salty and more complex in flavor than most. The partygoers purred.
The funny thing about that Santa Claus melon (also called Christmas melon, because that is its peak season, or Brazilian melon) is that I got lucky finding it. Only one market I know of in Manhattan carries it this time of year. Robert Schueller of Melissa's Produce told me that this variety was more available in the '90s but never caught on, partly because its flavor wimped out compared with honeydew's. Something's happened since then, because I'd pick a Santa Claus over a honeydew any day.
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