Idaho Foodies has allowed me to connect with some wonderful culinary cohorts from around the globe – and in my hometown.

A comment on my most recent Mangia post led me to Lynn Marshall, and her foodie blog Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat: One Woman’s Quest to Eat & Live More Sustainably A great blog to add to your blogroll and visit for some sustainable foodie inspiration.

One post that really caught my eye focused on cured meats (which, as you may know already, I’m a huuuuge fan of)

Plus – how can you  not love a post titled Gateway Duck?

From Lynn: Charcutepalooza is making me nervous ??? both on a practical and philosophical level. A year-long project conceived and organized by Mrs. Wheelbarrow, and the Yummy Mummy,  Charcutepalooza is a blog challenge, all about learning to smoke, preserve and cure meat. All the bloggers signed up will cook their way through Michael Ruhlman???s  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I haven???t eaten red meat deliberately in more than 12 years. So why did I sign up? Two words: Duck Prosciutto ??? the inaugural challenge and something I???ve wanted to make for years. Prosciutto is literally Italian for ham, traditionally made from dry cured, uncooked pork. It is typically sliced paper thin and served raw. It???s an incredible flavor, and one I???ve missed on our no-mammal diet.

Duck Prosciutto? Hell yeah! Now I’m hooked on the Charcutepalooza initiative (I did say charcuterie at least three times this weekend while in Seattle, bemoaning that yet again my trip didn’t land on days that Salumi was open)

Thanks Lynn for the inspiration – and welcome to Boise! Happy to make the connection – and looking forward to a 2011 learning the art of smoking, preserving & curing meats!