The Elusive Truffle

Paul has had a lifelong dream to eat fresh truffles in season, in Italy.  Not a bad dream.  But going to Italy in truffle season is a bit of a stretch for us.  We like going places but would really rather stay home most of the time.  Then we read about Oregon truffles.  It turns out that Oregon truffles are a unique culinary experience in their own right.  So we set out to try them.  Last February we went to Dayton, Oregon to the Joel Palmer House restaurant.  They are famous for foraging and preparing wild mushrooms.  Unfortunately for us, February is the end...or past the end...of truffle season and we didn't get to eat any.  We did have a wonderful meal, just no truffles.  Not being ones to give up easily, we did a little more research and found that the height of truffle season is right around Christmas time.  So, this year, when we went to visit the family in Oregon, we made a reservation to go back to the Joel Palmer House and try again.  We were not disappointed this time.  We had thinly shaved white truffles on nearly every dish we ordered.  They tasted amazing...as did the bottle of Aramenta Cellars Pinot Noir we had with dinner.  In fact we liked the wine so much, Paul went to the winery the next day and bought four more bottles!

Now we were hooked on Oregon truffles and decided to take things a step further by ordering four ounces of fresh white truffles from Oregon Wild Edibles in Eugene.  Once we made the commitment, we had to plan a truffle-centric dinner timed for when the ripe truffles would arrive.  We lined up a couple of mushroom loving friends and starting planning.  We ended up making a fairly simple risotto with sliced truffle infused chicken broth.  We also covered the risotto with more thinly sliced truffles.  We served it alongside a simple salad of baby greens and homemade sourdough and another bottle of Aramenta Cellars Pinot.  There was Chocolate Obsession for dessert. Needless to say, the dinner was a big hit and we all had our fill of truffles.  In fact, we were so anxious to taste them that we forgot to take a picture!

Four ounces of truffles is actually quite a bit so we minced most of the rest of the truffles and mixed them into softened butter.  This is supposed to be a good way to keep the truffle experience alive for more than the few days they are at their peak.  We created 6 "truffle butter bombs" and stuck them in the freezer.

However, being the food sluts that we are, Paul and I saved a couple of the truffles for the next night.  We fixed angel hair pasta and threw one of the truffle bombs into it, along with some olive oil and Parmesan cheese.  We sliced the remaining truffles and scattered them over the pasta.  Again, we were not disappointed.  

Oregon truffles have their own unique smell and flavor.  It is hard to describe...earthy, pungent, heady, intoxicating.  We are now dedicated fans of the delicacy and are planning on getting more next year.  I believe we have started another lovely food tradition in Tuscany on the Palouse.

Crab

I'll come right out and say it:  I love crab.  I always have, even as a child.  In fact, I have wonderful memories of my Grandpa Hank cleaning crabs and showing me how to use the little end of the claw as a pick to get the crab meat out of tight places.  Now I use a nutcracker and nutpick, but the method is just the same.  Every winter I look forward to crab season although now I get it from the grocery instead of Grandpa's house on the Oregon coast.  It still tastes great, though.  Yesterday there was Dungeness crab at the store.  I bought two of the prickly orange crustaceans and brought them home.  Paul and I stood at the sink and picked out all the luscious meat, laughing and talking and making a mess.  It's always more fun to clean crab with someone else to keep you company.  Last night we mixed it with some melted butter and finely chopped garlic and roasted it in the oven long enough to heat it up and cook the garlic a little.  We ate it with French bread and a salad of baby greens.  It was delicious.  Today I mixed the leftover crab with some mayonnaise, bread crumbs, chopped green onion, minced lemon peel, and a pinch of cayenne and formed it into crab cakes.  Oh, my!  Crab cakes might be my favorite way to eat crab.  However I fix it, crab always makes me think of my Grandpa Hank.  If he were still around, the one thing I would want to do with him is clean and eat some fresh crab.  They just go together in my mind. 

Out With the Old, In With the New

Well, the old year has passed and the new one is under way.  It seems to me that time flies faster and faster.  I haven't posted in nearly a month but I have an excuse, aside from the excitement and travel of the holiday season.  My old Mac laptop died....well, suffered a debilitating blow anyway.  It was going to cost nearly as much to fix it, with no guarantees of how long it would last, than it would to buy a new one.  So, with a bit of trepidation and excitement, I ordered a new laptop.  It arrived last Monday and I rushed it in to the repair shop where the old laptop sat waiting to transfer all my goodies, pictures, bookmarks, and such.  Luckily the damage was not enough that my files couldn't be retrieved.  Everything important to me now resides in the new computer, which is somehow comforting.  Getting a new laptop is  kind of a giddy experience, kind of like getting a new car or something.  It's familiar on one level and not on another.  It took some time to get things set up and downloaded and whatnot.  But I am starting to feel comfortable with it and I think we're going to do just fine together.  Passing from the old laptop to the new one is a bit like passing from the old year to the new.  It's a little sad to leave one behind yet exciting to start in on a new one.  May your new year be filled with love and laughter.

The Toffee

My Mom is something else at Christmas time.  She makes about 20 different kinds of cookies and candies.   It is truly amazing to see the boxes of treats she puts together for her family and friends.  When I was in my twenties, I used to emulate her Christmas output and made large boxes of several kinds of goodies for friends.  But it was a lot of work!  Finally, I just asked my friends what their favorite treats were, thinking I would make just one thing for each of them.  Interestingly, they all named the same thing--the toffee.  In my family, we always call it "Filbert Toffee."  Filberts is another name for hazelnuts.  Oregon is famous for it's filberts but didn't start marketing them as hazelnuts until the 1980s when it became the trendy thing to call them.  My Mom found the recipe somewhere but doesn't remember when or where.  All I know is that she's made it for as long as I can remember.  And I've been making it for about 35 years, I think. I've spent the last two days making this year's batches of toffee.  The house smells of butter and sugar and filberts and chocolate. Mmmm....  I package it up and send it to friends in California or take it to friends in Oregon.  I used to send it to Paul all those years we were pen pals.  He says it is definitely his favorite candy and "one of the best things you can eat."  Making toffee is an important part of Christmas for me.  Some folks make fruitcake at Christmas.  I make toffee.

O Chrismas Tree

Suddenly it's December and the holiday season is upon us.  For some reason, it seems early this year.  Perhaps that's because we already have our Christmas tree.  We had to get it this weekend while Peter was here, either that or wait two more weeks and that seemed a bit late.  Because we travel to visit family, we get the tree earlier than we might otherwise.  We like some time to enjoy it before heading out.  We always get our tree from the Boy Scout troop in Potlatch, Idaho, about 8 miles from here.  When I first came here, all trees were $8.  Yes, you are seeing correctly, that's eight dollars!  After a couple years, it went up to $10 and this year they are $12.  But I was told they only raised the price because the Forest Service charges them for each tree they cut and take.  So, the trees are fresh cut and not those manicured, tree farm, Barbie doll trees.  Some years, the pickings have been a bit slim and challenging.  This year, however, we walked up to the tree lot and had one picked out within five minutes.  Our fastest foray ever.  It's a really nice tree, too. 

I love a tree with a bit of character.  Actually, I love a lot of things with character: houses,  people, food. 

 I have my own tradition for decorating the tree.  I put on some Christmas music and pour myself a snifter of Grand Marnier and set to work.  There always seems to be a "good" side and a bare spot and a funky branch or two.  But once you put the lights and ornaments on, it is transformed into Christmas, glowing and shimmering with some kind of magic, or so it seems to me. 

Giving Thanks

Ahh, Thanksgiving.  It is truly my favorite holiday.  It's all about family, friends, and food.  No commercialism.  No frenzy (hopefully).  It's a day for counting one's blessings....and eating good food.  This year we roasted our first fresh turkey from Turnbow Flat Farm right outside of Palouse.  It was a Bourbon Red turkey and it was delicious.  We're pretty traditional when it comes to the Thanksgiving table.  There is always turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry-orange relish and some lovely vegetable.  This year it was a spinach salad with pomegranate seeds.  And, this year, I fixed sweet potatoes like my Grandma Alta always fixed, smothered in a sinful caramel-like sauce of butter, brown sugar, and (gasp) melted marshmallows (but no marshmallows on top).  Paul was very skeptical about the marshmallow part and completely won over when he tasted them. Oh, and, of course, a pumpkin pie. 

I love the traditions of Thanksgiving, like grandma's sweet potatoes and Paul's Mom's cranberry relish.  Paul always does the turkey and gravy and I do the rest.  We get out the Smith family china and silver along with some pieces of my great-grandmother's dishes and my good crystal goblets.  We light candles at the table in my grandma's pewter candelabra.  My favorite tradition, however, is when we go around the table and tell things we are thankful for.  It usually gets a little emotional and always touches my heart.  We have so many blessings in our lives and it is humbling to enumerate them.  I always come away from the table feeling very lucky.

Today I saw a quote in a comic strip, of all places.  It is my new favorite.  The author is unknown.  "I give thanks for this perfect day.  Miracle will follow miracle and wonders will never cease."   All I can add is...in all things, give thanks.

Pumpkin Eaters

 I could have called this post "Fall Food, Part 2" but, it's doesn't sound as exciting as Pumpkin Eaters.  As you probably have guessed, another favorite fall food around here is pumpkin and winter squash, especially butternut and acorn squash.  They have such a lovely fall flavor.  These are a couple of recent meals featuring yummy squash.  This first one is a pumpkin and cashew curry over rice.  It is rich and creamy and spicy all at once.  You can't beat ginger, garlic, onions, and coconut milk for tasty.

Although this salad gives it a good run for the money.  It has the most interesting combination of flavors.  Roasted squash covered with cumin, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne is mixed in with lentils, arugula, chopped mint, roasted pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese.  It's dressed with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar.  It sounds bizarre but it is delicious!  

And, of course, there are many warming soups with squash.  One favorite pairs pears and butternut squash with a bit of bacon and cream.  Mmmmm....just talking about it makes my mouth water.  

Naturally there is pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.  Last year I made my first pumpkin pie filling from scratch, baking the pumpkin and all.  It was far and away the best pumpkin pie I've ever made.  I can not go back to pie filling from a can!   

But, the one thing that eludes me, so far, is a good pumpkin scone.  We love scones around here and we have many favorites.  However, I really am craving a good pumpkin scone.  I've tried a couple recipes but they aren't what I'm looking for.  I have some ideas for tweaking the last batch to make them do my will.  I'll just have to keep trying....and taste testing...oh, darn.