When my friend told me about her discovery of switching from bacon or pancetta to prosciutto for a variety of flavoring purposes, I had to try it. This simple recipe features crispy, mahogany prosciutto shards that can be utilized as an all-purpose garnish or filling ingredient. Once I found the best temperature and timing for making this enhancer, I was off trying its many uses.

I have tried different brands and have come to prefer the imported Citterio Prosciutto di Parma for its flavor and thin slices. I met a shopper at Costco who told me she buys it there because you get two 6-ounce packages that can be divided and frozen until you need them. I usually use half a package at a time for this recipe but you can easily double it, using two pans and rotating them between the top and bottom oven racks halfway through baking so each pan cooks evenly. You may need to bake them a minute longer if you put two pans in the oven at the same time.

There are many spectacular ways to up your game with salty, crispy prosciutto chips. I hope you try your hand at adding them to some of your favorite dishes. I like to add prosciutto to sweet flavors, giving the dish a complex sweet and salty flavor.

Here are just a few of the many ways I have incorporated prosciutto into common dishes:

--Grill or roast asparagus and serve with crispy prosciutto crumbles.

--Make a green salad with figs, apples or pear and crispy prosciutto pieces.

--Make a mixed green salad with roasted winter squash and crispy prosciutto shards.

--Add small pieces of baked prosciutto to polenta, risotto, pasta or a pizza.

--Use small prosciutto pieces to garnish pureed soups (this works really well with mushroom soups).

--Fold small prosciutto pieces into pasta or potato salads.

--Fold small prosciutto pieces into mashed potatoes or on top of baked potatoes.

--Add large prosciutto shards to salads with fresh mozzarella.

--Garnish eggs and frittatas with crispy prosciutto.

Crispy Prosciutto

Makes about 1/2 cup crispy pieces

6 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange prosciutto slices on the baking sheet. Bake until meat darkens and fat becomes golden brown, about 8 minutes.

3. Transfer the crisped prosciutto to paper towels to drain any fat. The prosciutto will become crispy as it cools.

4 When cooled, pull it apart into small pieces or leave in larger pieces (shards) and use as a garnish or filling. Crispy prosciutto can be used like bacon, in whole pieces or crumbled.

(Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including "Seriously Simple Parties," and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.)