I don't like to have too many cookbooks anymore. I am one of those people who uses one or two recipes from a book and then forgets that I have it. Since I got this book, Good Ciao last week , I have already made six recipes. The cookbook is a collaboration between Italian Chef Roberto Russo and Salty's Co-Owner Kathryn Kingen and Salty's Chefs.

All the recipes are simple with flavorful ingredient combinations and are written in both English and Italian. The recipes include easy pasta dishes, quick but impressive appetizers and a section of Northwest dishes with recipes of Salty's Restaurant Chefs.
I was debating which recipe to share and I decided that these pancetta bites are a fun, easy appetizer with a delightful combination of flavors. The recipe is unbelievably quick.

Pancetta Bites

2 bananas
20 slices of Pancetta or substitute bacon, thinly sliced
12 dried prunes
1/2 cup of Fontina( cubed)
Freshly ground Pepper

Peel the bananas and cut each into 4 pieces.
Wrap each piece with a slice of pancetta.
In a bowl combine the prunes with enough warm water to cover and set aside to soak for 3 minutes. Drain and pit the prunes. Fill each prune with some of the Fontina and wrap each with a slice of pancetta.

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the pancetta-wrapped bananas and prunes in an oven safe baking dish. Transfer to the oven to broil until the pancetta is crisp about 10 minutes.
Remove the bananas and prunes from the oven and transfer to a serving platter. Season with pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Note: I bought pitted prunes that were already soft. I skipped the soaking part.