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We want to hear from you! You can win a free truffles cookbook just for sharing your thoughts with us. As we are steadily building up our database of luxury food articles and recipes for foie gras, truffles, charcuterie and caviar, we would like to know what you think. Do you prefer exquisite but complex recipes? Do you want more recipes that can be made quickly, using mostly the ingredients you already have on hand? Have you tried one of our recipes but believe it could be improved? Do you want to know more about the origins of luxury foods? What can we do to improve our content? Please let us know!
Please post your comments on our blog. Every 35 person who posts a comment will receive a free copy of the book “Truffles, Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure”. This cookbook contains recipes for cooking with white truffles, black truffles, summer truffles, and truffle products such as truffle oil and truffle butter. This is a hardcover cookbook which will be sent to you in the mail. We have tried many of the truffle recipes and they have all been good.
So please, let us know what you think about our blog articles and recipes! Winners will be contacted by email (we will need your mailing address to send you the book).
Celery root puree, a combination of celery root and potatoes pureed and served like mashed potatoes, pairs with so many types of meat and vegetables. I particularly like celery root puree with red meats and poultry. I frequently add truffle oil, either black truffle oil or white. Celery root puree is equally delicious with black or white truffle butter. When fresh truffles are in season, try shaving white truffles over the celery root puree just before serving. If fresh white truffles will be used, consider using a single filet mignon for an improved presentation which will show off the white truffles better.
Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. Beef tenderloin tips
Duck foie gras torchon
1 large celery root about 2 lbs, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
About 3 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Black or white truffle oil, truffle butter, or fresh white truffle
Microgreens
Fleur de sel
Instructions:
Put diced celery root and potatoes in a large pot and cover with chicken stock. Cover pot and boil for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add additional stock if needed. Drain the celery root and potatoes and pass them through a ricer, or blend in a food processor.
Return the puree to the pot, add butter and salt and pepper to taste. Adding cream is optional. Keep warm over low heat.
Put salt and pepper on the filet tips and sauté over high heat for 1 – 2 minutes on each side.
To serve, place a mound of celery root puree on each plate. Top with chives and truffle oil. Place the filet tips on the puree. Shave curls of the foie gras torchon with a sharp knife or peeler and place on top of the filet tips. Garnish with mircogreens and top with fleur de sel.
Although we enjoy all the traditional dishes on Thanksgiving – turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, yams and green beans – we always like to add a touch of luxury and surprise to the Thanksgiving menu. Here are some of our favorites…
Our all time favorite Thanksgiving side dish is whole foie gras braised in wine and garlic. Just before serving, the juices and rendered fat from the foie gras, the wine in which it was cooked, and about half of the 50 cloves of garlic are pureed. This sauce, along with the sliced braised foie gras and remaining whole cloves of garlic is absolutely delicious with Turkey or any other type of fowl.
To prepare this scrumptious dish, first take a 1.5 pound whole lobe of grade A foie gras and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Heat a pan large enough to hold the lobe of foie gras, then brown the foie gras on all sides over medium to medium high heat. (This will take about 10 – 15 minutes and the inside should not be cooked yet.)
Meanwhile blanch about 50 peeled garlic cloves for a few minutes. Remove the foie gras when it’s golden brown and set it aside. Add the garlic to the rendered fat in the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add about 1 cup of dry white wine and some thyme or rosemary leaves to the garlic and foie gras fat. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the taste of the sauce is to your liking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return the foie gras to the pan with the garlic and juices and continue to cook just until the foie gras is done (check it with a knife).
Remove the foie gras from the pan again. Put all the liquid in a blender with half the garlic cloves. Blend until smooth.
Slice the foie gras and present it on a plate with the whole garlic cloves. Pour the sauce around the foie gras and serve. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Foie Gras for Thanksgiving
If you would like to add foie gras to your meal, but you want to keep it simple and economical, just before serving the stuffing, saute a bag of foie gras cubes (1 lb. is $45) until golden brown (add salt and pepper to taste), and mix the small pieces of foie gras into the stuffing.
Osetra Caviar
We always prefer to serve light appetizers in order to preserve everyone’s appetites for the main meal. Caviar and champagne is a wonderful way to kick off the Thanksgiving celebration! Though caviar can be prepared with other ingredients, we think caviar is best served alone in a crystal, glass, or porcelain bowl, preferably on ice. If you prefer a less formal presentation, or wish to pass the appetizers, try caviar on toast points or blini.
white truffle
This year Perigord black truffles will not be ripe in time for Thanksgiving. If you want to add fresh truffles to your Thanksgiving meal, we suggest shaving white truffles over your mashed potatoes, or potatoes gratin. The wonderful favor and fragrance of white truffles is a perfect match with creamy potatoes.
Burgundy truffles will also pair well with Thanksgiving dinner. Add sliced Burgundy truffles to your stuffing just before serving (do not cook them), or top a pumpkin soup with shavings of Burgundy truffles.
Adding a touch of luxury to Thanksgiving dinner is easy! Please let us know if we can assist you in any way with your menu planning.
| We have waited until now to start offering white truffles due to the maturity and mediocre quality of the white truffles available in the last few weeks. We are now able to get very good quality truffles and have therefore officially kicked off the white truffle season! As always, the quality (maturity) of the truffles improves throughout the season.
Currently, prices are quite reasonable for nice quality, aromatic white truffles from Alba, Italy. Typically, the prices escalate during the season according to the maturity of the truffles, as well as supply and demand. White truffles are the most rare and most expensive variety of truffles. Attempts to cultivate white truffles have never been successful; therefore, there is a very limited supply of these little gems, and the demand for them is strong!
Always use white truffles raw or just slightly warmed to enjoy their full flavor and aroma. Shave them over steaming pasta or risotto, potatoes, eggs, or other mild flavored foods. White truffles pair well with cheeses, cured meats, white meats as well as many other foods. |
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| The most fragrant and flavorful truffles are now beginning to mature for harvest! Ripe Burgundy truffles are available now, to be immediately followed by winter white truffles from Alba, Italy (beginning this week!), and finally, Perigord black truffles will be available towards the end of November, possibly in time for Thanksgiving.
We began offering Burgundy truffles two weeks ago, and expect to have them for a least a few more weeks. Last year’s Burgundy truffle season was very short, due to the weather conditions in France. Let’s hope we don’t have a repeat this year! Burgundy truffles usually reach maturity in mid to late September and the season generally extends through mid November.
When ripe, Burgundy truffles have a chocolate brown interior with ivory veining. A close relative to the summer truffle (tuber aestivum), the exterior looks almost identical bearing a black rough surface formed of small pyramid shapes. These truffles have a delicate but distinctive hazelnut flavor and an intense, musky, flowery aroma. Burgundy truffles are more flavorful than summer truffles, but not as robust in flavor as black Perigord winter truffles.
Attempts to cultivate the burgundy truffle have not been successful; therefore our season’s harvest is acquired primarily in wild forests and woodland areas throughout East-Central France, using trained dogs.
Burgundy truffles are used similarly to summer truffles. They are best served raw or lightly cooked and are usually presented in thin slices. Use Burgundy truffles in salads, with eggs, potatoes, risotto, or pasta. Burgundy truffles add wonderful flavor to cream or stock based sauces, but should be cooked only briefly on low heat.
Try our recipe for Beef Carpaccio with Burgundy Truffles posted on our blog. The combination of thinly sliced raw filet mignon, spicy arugula, and earthy Burgundy truffles is divine!
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This potato salad is a version of my favorite French potato salad from the classic “Silver Palate” cookbook. I toned down the dressing and added black truffle oil. The original recipe calls for ¼ pound of bacon. The summer truffles pair well with the more refined flavor of pancetta, but certainly bacon could be used.
Ingredients:
1 pound new or red-skinned potatoes, quartered
3 oz pancetta, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup finely chopped shallots
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 ounces summer black truffles, sliced thin
Vinaigrette:
1 ½ tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons black truffle oil
Drop the quartered potatoes into a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender but still pretty firm.
Meanwhile, sauté the pancetta in olive oil until some of the fat has rendered and the pancetta is slightly crisp (Bacon may be substituted, in which case no olive oil is needed). Remove pancetta (or bacon) and leave the fat in the pan. Add the chopped shallots to the hot oil and sauté until the shallots are tender and golden but not too brown. Set aside.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk the vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper until blended. While whisking, slowly add the black truffle oil in a slow, steady stream until the dressing is emulsified.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and drop them in a medium bowl. Toss the potatoes with the reserved shallots and pancetta or bacon fat and about ½ of the parsley. Add the truffle slices and pancetta or bacon. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the truffle slices, pancetta and potatoes and toss carefully, trying not to break the truffle slices. Sprinkle remaining chopped parsley on top of the salad and serve.
Summer black truffles are at the height of the season! This article addresses how to enjoy summer truffles to the fullest.
The most important thing to remember when using black summer truffles in recipes is that these truffles are NOT the same as winter black truffles or winter white truffles. Summer truffles have a much milder aroma and are more mushroomy in taste than their sought after cousins. It will rarely work well to substitute summer truffles for winter black truffles, particularly if the preparation requires cooking.
Winter black truffles are best when cooked. The cooking process releases the wonderfully intense truffle flavor and aroma. Summer truffles are so delicate in flavor that they will lose much of their taste if cooked; therefore the most important rule with summer truffles is to serve them raw or only slightly warmed.
On the exterior, summer truffles look very similar to winter black truffles as both varieties have a dark, almost black exterior skin. The inside of summer truffles is beige, where winter truffles are dark charcoal to black inside (when ripe).
 Summer Black Truffles Summer truffles have a delicate nutty flavor and a slightly crisp texture. Because the flavor of summer truffles is fairly mild, pairing them with other foods is easy. Summer truffles offer an economical way to boost almost any seasonal menu.
One of the easiest ways to incorporate summer truffles into existing recipes is to simply add them to your favorite salad. Summer truffles pair well with all summer vegetables: baby greens of any type, asparagus, green beans, fava beans, corn artichoke, fennel, onions, leeks and more. For salad preparations, about one ounce of summer truffle per person is a good rule of thumb. To intensify the truffle flavor, use a black truffle oil vinaigrette. If you wish to have a one-dish-meal, top the truffle laced salad with a piece of grilled halibut, sole, salmon, or other fresh fish.
Summer black truffles can be added raw, at the last minute to soups, potato dishes, risotto, eggs, and pasta dishes. Simply shave a generous portion of summer truffle on top of the dish or incorporate the truffles into the dish just before serving. Just remember not to expect the same intense flavor as you would enjoy with winter black truffles or white truffles.
In terms of pairing summer truffles with meats and fish, there are endless choices. Generally lighter meats and almost any fish or shellfish work well with summer truffles. Choose meats such as veal, pork, or poultry, beef carpaccio, or use cured meats as an accent to a vegetable, potato, or pasta dish. Recommended seafood selections include scallops, lobster, langoustines, or almost any type of fish such as halibut, cod, sole, snapper, skate wings, monkfish, or even salmon.
Pairing wine with truffles is simply a matter of personal taste. Certainly any wine originated from a truffle producing area would be a good choice.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of summer truffles is the affordable price. At a fraction of the cost of winter black truffles or white truffles, one can be generous with summer truffles, adding them to a wide variety of seasonal recipes with pleasing results.
This light but flavorful salad makes a perfect side dish for any summer menu. The black truffle vinaigrette really boosts the flavor of the summer black truffles. Since summer truffles are only a fraction of the cost of winter black truffles or Alba white truffles, and are considerably milder in flavor and aroma, they can be used in generous amounts.
Ingredients for Salad:
4 oz. haricots verts, blanched until tender but crisp and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
8 cups mixed greens such as arugula, mache, mizuna, frisee
½ cup finely chopped mixed herbs such as cilantro, basil, parsley, tarragon, thyme, chervil (use only a small amount of the stronger herbs such as tarragon or thyme)
6 green onions, sliced thin
4 oz black summer truffles, sliced thin
3 oz provolone cheese, sliced very thin
Ingredients for Black Truffle Vinaigrette:
1 ½ tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons black truffle oil
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions:
For the Black Truffle Vinaigrette, whisk together the first five ingredients in a small bowl. Continue whisking, while pouring a thin steady stream of black truffle oil and olive oil.
For the Salad, combine haricots verts, greens, herbs and green onions in a large bowl. Drizzle half the dressing over the greens and mix well ensuring that the greens are well coated with the black truffle vinaigrette. Add the sliced summer truffles and drizzle the remaining dressing over the truffles. Toss the salad carefully trying not to break the truffle slices. Distribute the salad onto four plates and top with thin slices of provolone cheese. Serves 4.
We love summer truffles for their versatility and affordability. At only a fraction of the cost of Alba white truffles or Perigord black truffles, summer truffle mushrooms can be used quite generously, complementing a wide variety of recipes. Summer black truffles can generally be substituted for Burgundy truffles, since both varieties are best served cold or slightly warmed. We don’t recommend cooking summer truffles as their delicate flavor dissipates with prolonged heat.
Similar in appearance to black winter truffles, summer truffles have a nubby black or brown skin, and a pale beige interior marbled with white veins. Summer truffles have a much different texture, flavor and aroma than their sought-after cousins. The aroma is milder and the flavor is more mushroom-like and nutty. The outer skin is tougher, and they are slightly crisp.
Most black summer truffles are harvested in France and Italy. The season for French summer truffles is mid to late May until late July. Italian summer truffles are usually available through August. We prefer summer truffles from France because we believe the flavor profile is better. As with all truffles, the season begins with immature truffles, which have not yet reached their maximum flavor and aroma.
With proper storage, summer truffles will usually last up the ten days. Do keep in mind that the flavor and aroma will fade over time. Black summer truffles should be wrapped carefully in a paper towel and kept in an air-tight container or jar in the refrigerator. It is very important to keep truffles dry; therefore it is a good idea to change the paper towel daily. All truffles hate dampness, and will develop mold if moisture is present. If mold develops, simply shave the affected area.
Just prior to using the summer truffles, inspect the truffles for any dirt or gravel. Often, there will be no visible dirt, in which case cleaning is not necessary. If there is any dirt on the truffles, brush them with a soft damp cloth or toothbrush. You may also use a sharp knife to remove anything lodged in the crevices of the mushroom.
All truffles, including summer truffles are usually served sliced very thin. Paper-thin slices are best achieved with a truffle shaver or mandoline. A very sharp knife may also be used; however it is more difficult to achieve uniformly thin slices. Summer truffles can be peeled, or left with the skin intact.
Since summer truffles are much less pungent, and much more affordable than winter black truffles or white truffles, generous portions are recommended. The crisp, nutty flavor is best when served raw or slightly warmed. You may boost the flavor of summer truffles by adding truffle juice or truffle oil to your preparation.
Shave summer truffles on beef carpaccio and drizzle with truffle oil or add thin slices to a cheese omelette. For a delicious salad, slice the truffles paper-thin, allowing the truffles to absorb some of the salad dressing. Summer truffles pair well with light, summer dishes, so a good rule of thumb is to use seasonal ingredients when experimenting with summer truffles.
Please share your favorite summer truffle recipes with us! If you submit your own recipe with photos, you may be selected to win a $100 gift certificate for EnjoyFoieGras.com. Contest rules are available here: http://www.enjoyfoiegras.com/subscribe.html
I’ve been attending the NASFT Fancy Food Show since I was a child. My great Uncle was in the candy business (we called it the candy show back then) and always got my family in for a day of total indulgence!
Now, we attend the Fancy Food Show with a different agenda. Though I always enjoy checking out all the new products in every category, my focus is finding new products to offer our clients.
Many of the wonderful products shown at the Fancy Food Show don’t really fit our product line of luxury and French foods; however, there were a few worth considering.
More Than Gourmet offers high quality stock and demi-glace that assists chefs and home cooks in making delicious sauces. Stocks are available in veal, venison, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, seafood, vegetable and mushroom. Though I frequently make my own stock (even those that take 48 hours), there are times when it would be so convenient to be able to start my sauce with a high quality, ready-made stock that only needs to be reconstituted. From there, I can add my shallots, garlic, wine, or whatever, to make the final sauce. We are waiting for samples, to make sure we like the taste and quality of the stocks and demi-glace, but we are hopeful about this product line!
One of the most innovative products we tasted at the show was a line of savory macaroons. The macaroons were in three flavors, goat cheese, black truffle, and porcini mushroom. These scrumpti0us morsels are not yet on the market, and we hope to be the first to carry them.
Some additional products we might introduce to our line include escargot, marron glace (candied chestnuts), truffle honey, and French chocolate. We’d love to hear from you if you have other ideas or requests!
Somewhat surprisingly, there were no producers of top quality caviar at the show. There were several “affordable” alternatives, but nothing that we thought measured up to the two brands we currently carry, Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Black River Caviar.
There were more booths than I remember seeing in past years marketing fresh truffle mushrooms and truffle products. Since white truffles are no longer in season, and black truffles are at the height of their season, there were several companies with a basket full of beautiful, fragrant black truffles from the Perigord in France. There were also truffle producers from Oregon and other regions (Oregon truffles are not the same species as Perigord truffles). Though North Carolina has a growing number of farms cultivated the Perigord variety of black truffles, there were no producers at the show from this region.
There were only three or four producers featuring foie gras or foie gras products, most of which we already carry on our site. Notably, Hudson Valley Foie Gras was at the show (they don’t usually exhibit at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, only in New York), serving up fresh seared foie gras, foie gras torchon, duck proscuitto and magret de canard. They were clearly there to not only sample their wonderful products, but also to reach out to the food community regarding the pending legislation in California, banning the sale of foie gras in the state, beginning in July 2012.
One of Hudson Valley Foie Gras’ founders, Izzy, was there collecting signatures from those who wanted to help keep Hudson Valley Foie Gras available in California. Hudson Valley Foie Gras raises their ducks free range, and hand feeds the ducks when it’s time for gavage. The company believes they should be excluded from the ban, based on the measures they have taken to keep the birds healthy, comfortable and stress free.
A general observation about the 2010 San Francisco Fancy Food Show was the large number of gluten free foods being offered. I don’t remember ever seeing so many foods marketed as being gluten free, but this year they were everywhere! As always, there were a host of olive oils, dressings, salsas, chocolate and candy and of course cheese.
We thoroughly enjoyed the show as we always do, and hope to soon be featuring some of the newly found French food and luxury products on our website.
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