Crazy Random Happenstance

Being a food snob and a very healthy eater, I find m'self reading over multiple food blogs like some people read sports scores. Also being a person with a slight case of OCD, I also tend to start at the beginning of any new food blog I come across, and read it from start to finish, inevitably becoming distraught at not only the fact that I've finished the archives, but at the commonly-occurring fact that most of these blogs have now died down to a once- or twice-a-month posting, from where they used to be almost daily. After a glut of amazing food pictures and descriptions, I start jonesing for a new blog fix.

One I just wrapped up recently, Chubby Hubby, is definitely a case of real life interfering in what was once a frequently updated and wonderful blog. I've got CH to thank for my most recent foray into true food snobbery, what with his multiple posts on one of those foods that are synonymous with high end eating, the truffle. CH's frequent references to black truffle salsa led me to search for it online (where I've only found it available on Australian websites), and eventually to a local semi-gourmet grocery store, The Fresh Market.

I hadn't actually expected to find truffle salsa there, but I was planning on at least a bottle of truffle oil. Yes, I know that most truffle oils have no actual truffles in them, but for someone who's never experienced truffles in any fashion, said oil sounded like a good, inexpensive-in-comparison way to try them. I did find white truffle oil at $15 a bottle, and a space on the shelf for black truffle oil at $12, but something urged me to bypass it for the time being. I wandered over to the cheese case, where I promptly looked for some Champignon, which TFM had carried back when I'd worked there eight years ago, but there was no sign of it. Now becoming dejected, I randomly wandered the store, stopping by the seafood department briefly to see if they had any fresh caviar or escargot; of course, they did not.

It was there, that moment, that I turned and had the shock of my life. Clustered on top of a display of baked goods were several clear plastic containers filled with rice, and a strangely familiar series of black objects. A closer look revealed them to be Oregon black truffles. Imagine! Fresh truffles, when I had been ready to accept something as distant a kin as truffle-scented oil! Of course I immediately snapped a container up, which was labeled as to contain 1.5oz of truffles and 6oz of arborio rice, which is rendered quite aromatic and will be perfect for risotto later, for the meager price of $30. Clutching my find feverishly to my chest, I scampered back to the deli department to pick up a nice wedge of double-creme brie, where I ran into my mother; she was searching for something to go with the onion flatbread she had found, and I recommended a four-pepper goat cheese, which I thought would hold up well against the strong flavour of the onion. Another pass around the store, and I was able to find a small tub of truffle butter in the dairy case for $15. Needless to say I grabbed that as well, and eventually decided to come back for the oil at a later time. (Other things picked up included ground turkey breast and jalapeño pimento cheese, but that's another story...)

I wound up slicing the brie across the middle, exposing as much creamy goodness as I could, upon which I then shaved the smaller pieces of truffle. Sandwiching the two halves back together, the brie then went into the refrigerator to meld flavours in preparation for Sunday's dinner. I had a scant teaspoonful of the truffle butter with scrambled eggs Sunday morning, which was quite tasty.

In my family, Sunday dinner is a big event, to which all members of the family, their significant others and other assorted friends are invited. It hasn't been unheard of to have over a dozen people attend dinner. Most of the time it's a homemade meal, though only rarely is it extravagant, but this past Sunday just happened to be one of those pre-holiday meals. You know, the ones where no one feels like really cooking, since everyone knows that in another three or four days there's going to be a massive meal undertaking? So my truffled brie ended up being served as an appetizer before store-bought (though home-baked) pizzas. Those who liked it, loved it. Those who didn't quickly spit their mouthfuls into a waiting napkin. The goat cheese was also served, and proved to be about as big a divider as approvals went, though it seemed that those who enjoyed the goat cheese the most liked the truffled brie the least.

Needless to say, there is still a half of the brie left for pre-Thanksgiving dinner, and a gob of goat cheese as well.