Oregon Truffles?!

That's right, wild Oregon truffles. And you (and I) thought truffles came from France and Italy (and occasionally from Croatia and China). I recently read about the existence of Oregon truffles, and didn't quite know what to think. Then a few weeks later, in Berkeley, I happened upon a sign in Berkeley Bowl (a grocery store with the most incredible fungi selection!) offering Oregon truffles. 

Oregon mushrooms on offer

I needed a Christmas present for someone (my mother!) with a very strong affinity for truffles. So I decided to splurge and get her some tasty tubers. She almost believed that I had given her a stocking full of coal! But really, who keeps coal in a jar of rice?

We prepared them very simply over pasta. And we had so many that for breakfast the next day my mom and I had some tasty scrambled eggs with truffles. (If you know you are opting for the egg dish, keep your truffles in an airtight container with the eggs.) Family consensus decided that French black truffles and white Italian truffles are more aromatic. But for a local counterpart, at a fraction of the price (Italian whites can go for upwards of $1000/lb), these domestic truffles are a very viable--and tasty--alternative.

Oregon whites mixed in with the black? Or Chinese mixed in with those from Oregon? More truffle study required!

Here are two simple ways to serve your truffles: 

Pasta with Shaved Oregon Truffles

Cook egg pappardelle according to instructions to al dente. Once cooked, mix in butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve onto pasta plates. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Shave fresh truffles over the pasta. Serve immediately. 

 

Pairing Suggestions: A nice Burgundy would be perfect. You can also try a Chateauneuf du Pape. (We drank a 2006 Siduri Truett Nolan Pinot and a 2005 Chateauneuf from Domaine de Beaurenard--both drank beautifully, and I especially liked the Beaurenard.)

 

Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Oregon Truffles
Mix eggs with a drop of table cream and set aside. Over medium heat melt butter in a saute pan. Add chopped green onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute a few minutes until they start smelling cooked. Reduce the heat to very low. Add the eggs and cook very slowly, stirring constantly. As the eggs begin to thicken add the shaved truffles. Serve with toast and butter.

Cooking the Holiday Inn Way

I lucked out at the library book sale! I thought I was pulling out an old Junior League cookbook from the stack of cookbooks. But it's much better than that! I scored Cooking the Holiday Inn Way, from 1962, in excellent condition--for $1.00. This book gives descriptions of each Holiday Inn across the country and lists one to three recipes for each hotel. And these recipes look good! They predate the cooking with Campbell's and jello recipes of the 1970's and assume a certain basic knowledge of cooking techniques. The recipes are seafood heavy (although by no means do they neglect meatier dishes like Brunswick Stew). This is a fun cookbook and I can't wait to try some of Holiday Inn's old recipes.

Peppermint Patty Ice Cream Sandwiches!

These are for chocolate lovers everywhere. If you are lacking the chocolate gene, you may want to steer clear of this recipe!

For these peppermint patty ice cream sandwiches you will need peppermint ice cream and triple chocolate cookies. The ice cream will require 3 days of lead time. The cookies just one day ahead--or get an early start on them. You can follow the link to the ice cream post and you will find the cookie recipe below. These sandwiches are super tasty. The creamy ice cream pairs very well with the over-the-top chocolate cookies. If you are scared of chocolate, this is not the right recipe for you! You could also substitute chai ice cream for the peppermint for a very different spice treat sandwich.

Link to Peppermint Ice Cream
If you froze your ice cream in a baking tray, freeze a separate cookie tray. Use a cookie cutter to cut out ice cream patties from frozen sheet of ice cream. Place patties on the frozen tray and refreeze at once. If your ice cream has been frozen in containers let it warm to a scooping temperature. Line the inside of ramekins with  plastic wrap. Put a scoop of ice cream inside the ramekin and flatten to form a patty. Freeze the ramekins. Take out patties when ready to assemble sandwiches. 


Cookie Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 ounces semisweet chocolate (half of this chopped in chip-sized chunks)
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (100% chocolate)
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Making Cookies
1. In a small bowl, sift both flours, cocoa powder and baking soda together.

2. In a clean, dry bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt half of the semisweet chocolate and the unsweetened coco, then let cool to room temperature. Mix the other half of the chocolate chip-chunks in a bowl with the cocoa nibs.

3. Whip the butter until smooth. Add sugar and continue whipping. Add salt and vanilla then add the egg. Mix to incorporate.

4. Stir in the melted chocolate, then the flour-cocoa mixture. Lastly, mix in the chocolate chunks and nibs.

6. Let the dough firm up at room temperature about 30 minutes.

7. Flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap (or a zip lock) and refrigerate at least one hour.

8. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

9. Lay one sheet of plastic wrap down on the counter and place to ball of dough on top. Knead it for a moment or two to soften it to the point where it will allow you to roll it out. Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough (it should be sandwiched at this point) and roll to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness.

10. Use a cookie cutter (the same diameter as used for the ice cream) to cut out round cookies to

11. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies take on a slightly dry sheen to the top. They will firm up as they cool.

These cookies will keep for a month or so in an airtight container (depending on the humidity level).

Sandwich Assembly
Once the cookies are fully cooled and the ice cream patties are frozen hard--make a sandwich!! Serve on a plate and cover with chocolate sauce.... Yum!!! You can also assemble these ahead of time and freeze the sandwiches. Or top the cookie with a scoop of ice cream and pour chocolate sauce on top.

Berkeley Farmer's Market

Here are some photos from Berkeley's Sunday Farmer's Market. This market is definitely one worth seeking out. There is an abundance of variety, in both produce as well as prepared foods. If you're in the Bay area check out this market!

Potatoes: We'll have to see how they compare to their Andean counterparts!

California Citrus: They look pretty, but they just don't compare to Louisiana citrus in flavor!

Won't run out any time soon!

Buddha's Hand, the perfect zesting lemon!

Anyone feeling piggy?

Dried fruit: I missed this in Colorado! Colorado has the sun and fruit for this, the state is just missing the entrepreneurs to tackle the job. 

M, La Maudite

Here's a beer I drank a few days ago: Maudite by Canada's Unibroue. It is definitely a bigger, thicker beer than Unibroue's La Fin du Monde (which is my current malted favorite). Maudite is a solid beer that packs a big punch--and at 8% ABV it is even less subtle than being blown over by a passing freight train. That said it has the same addictive quality as La Fin du Monde and it's worth a try. Maudite is an aggressively hopped Belgian-style amber ale that has 22 IBUs. While it's an excellent beer, I prefer La Fin du Monde.

Pairing Suggestions: This will go well with really stinky cheeses. You could also pair it with richly sacuced barbecue.