It’s truffle season, and while we love the aroma and flavor of truffles, our budget doesn’t afford them often.
So when we encountered an easily affordable spray bottle of Grand’Aroma Truffle Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Fratelli Mantova, we thought, “Why not?”
We know that most truffle oils are flavored with “truffle essence”—laboratory approximations of truffle aroma. But some of them are quite passable. In fact, truffle oil made with natural or chemical aroma and flavor—as opposed to infusion with real truffles—has a more assertive truffle flavor. The downside is that some brands, flavored with chemicals, have a hint of artificiality.
We were willing to invest $9.00 to explore the truffle oil spray. We have a couple of bottles of truffle oil, but were particularly attracted to the spray format (which uses no chemicals, additives or emulsifying agents).
And we like it—we really like it!
Eggs: Spray on the nonstick frying pan before cooking eggs.
Pizza: Spray on a white/mushroom pizza when it leaves the oven.
Truffle-flavored EVOO and sesame oil sprays. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
Grilled Proteins: Spray on grilled or roasted beef, lamb, poultry and seafood.
Starches: Spray on fries and other potatoes, pasta, polenta, and risotto.
Vegetables: Spray on cooked asparagus, cauliflower, corn, mushrooms.
Vinaigrette: Replace some of the olive oil in a classic vinaigrette; use on salads and to make marinated mushrooms.
Tartare: Mix into beef, salmon or tuna tartare; on beef carpacio
Snacks: Spray on popcorn and potato chips.
Mantova Spray Truffle Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil in an eight-ounce spray is $9.22 on Amazon.com. It’s a welcome stocking stuffer or small gift for any cook or foodie.
We also picked up a sesame oil spray, a very good way to add just a hint of this heavy oil to stir-frys and other protein or vegetable dishes.
The Eggnog “Martini” in sunny Napa Valley. Photo courtesy Boon Fly Café | Carneros Inn.
Can you call any a cocktail poured into a Martini glass a Martini?
Of course not; otherwise you’d call a Cosmopolitan a Cranberry Lime Martini with triple sec substituting for vermouth.
The Martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. The first recipe for a vodka Martini appears in 1951, but didn’t gain world notice until the publication of the second James Bond novel, Live and Let Die, in 1962 (Bond’s cocktail of choice was a vodka martini, “shaken not stirred”).
Why a vodka Martini? Two good guesses are that a bartender made it for a customer who didn’t like gin; or that a vodka distributor created and promoted it to move more vodka—also a clear spirit but without the aromatic gin ingredients.
If you want to make a cocktail with rum, tequila or whiskey, call it something other than a Martini.
Even if they don’t know the rules, the folks at Boon Fly Café at the The Carneros Inn (in sunny Napa Valley) are pleasing customers with Eggnog “Martinis.”
All you need is eggnog, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and a Martini glass.
RECIPE: BOON FLY CAFE’S EGGNOG MARTINI
Ingredients For One Drink
1 ounce of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
3 ounces eggnog
Garnish: Dash of nutmeg or cinnamon
Preparation
1. SHAKE rum and eggnog with ice and strain into a Martini glass.
Turn refrigerated cinnamon bun dough into Christmas trees. Photo courtesy Immaculate Baking Co.
What’s for breakfast on Christmas? How about these Cinnamon Roll Christmas Trees—with a side of eggs or oatmeal for nutrition.
This recipe comes from Immaculate Baking Co., which makes refrigerated cookie dough, pie crusts, biscuits, scones and other doughs in natural, organic and gluten-free versions.
RECIPE: CHRISTMAS CINNAMON ROLLS
Ingredients
Aluminum foil
1 can refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
4 to 6 drops green food color
Green, red, white and yellow candy sprinkles or colored sugar
Immaculate Baking Co. used its gluten-free cinnamon rolls for this recipe, but you can use any refrigerated cinnamon roll dough.
Preparation
1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Cut five 18-inch pieces of foil. Crush each piece of foil into a cone shape 3-inches high with a 2 1/2- inch diameter base. Spray each cone very generously with cooking spray.
2. SEPARATE dough. Unroll each roll into long strip. Wrap dough around cone starting at base and ending at top. Press at top of cone to form point. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
3. COOL 5 minutes. Gently remove foil cones; cool trees upright on cooling rack about 30 minutes.
Photo courtesy Immaculate Baking Co.
4. STIR together icing and food coloring in a small bowl. Working with one tree at a time, drizzle or frost edges of tree from top to bottom; sprinkle with candies. Repeat with remaining trees. Serve.
You can follow the recipe in photos in Immaculate Baking’s cookie blog.
Winter Hot Chocolate is a classic cocoa mix with a touch of vanilla. Photo courtesy Lake Champlain Chocolates.
“Forget Christmas gifts this year,” said our friend Gerard, when he called to invite us to his annual party and gifting frenzy. “At this point in our lives, none of us needs another scarf, another basket of Kiehl’s products, another tzotchke, another random book.”
“Can we bring some gourmet cocoa?” we suggested. “Sure,” he responded.
That’s why we love food gifts. They can readily be consumed by the recipient, his guests or his family members.
And you don’t have to go far to find something good. Any upscale supermarket has gourmet chocolate bars, fine olive oil and gourmet hot chocolate.
We passed by all of them at Whole Foods yesterday, including these gifty hot chocolate canisters from Lake Champlain Chocolates (also available directly from Lake Champlain Chocolates). They’re just $10.50 for a festively-designed one-pound canister (one pound makes approximately 21 eight-ounce servings). You can package the gifts with some handmade marshmallows in the confections section.
Lake Champlain’s hot chocolate is certified kosher by Star-D, and is Fair Trade Certified, which means that it’s a feel-good product, right for the holiday season.
Fair trade certification allows farmers to receive higher prices than they would in the conventional market. It means that the farmers are paid a fair price for their product and are not exploited by middlemen who pay them less than their crop is worth.
From adding flavors—banana, cinnamon, chai, hot spices, mint—to liqueurs, we’ve got 25 ways to make an already delicious cup of cocoa even more memorable.
December 12th is National Cocoa Day. What’s the difference between cocoa and hot chocolate?
Most people use the terms interchangeably, but they’re actually different.
Cocoa is a drink made from cocoa powder.
Hot chocolate is a drink made from actual chocolate, usually ground or shaved into small bits. Chocolate has more cocoa butter than cocoa powder, so it makes a richer drink, all things being equal (the same type of milk, e.g.).
Enjoy Peppermint Hot Chocolate for the holidays, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon. Photo courtesy Lake Champlain Chocolates.
To make any cup of cocoa or hot chocolate richer, you can:
Use half and half, or half milk and half cream.
Stir in a pat of unsweetened butter—really! It’s a chef’s secret trick.
Visit our Cocoa Section for brand reviews, recipes and more about man’s favorite chocolate drink.
Baked Brie in pastry with dried cranberries, honey and almonds. Photo and recipe courtesy Zabars.com.
Here’s a recipe to serve with your favorite bubbly. It’s a favorite of Olga Dominguez, cheese buyer at Zabar’s in New York City.
For the holidays use dried cranberries; for Valentine’s Day substitute dried cherries or strawberries.
This party-size recipe uses a standard 17-inch wheel of Brie. If your celebration will be more intimate buy a Baby Brie, which at 8.8 ounces, serves up to four. (In theory, with a portion size of one ounce, it should serve eight—but we don’t know eight people with that much restraint).
Brie (typically a double-crème cheese, although some like the Rouge et Noir brand are even richer triple-crèmes) is one of America’s top-selling cheeses.
Other best sellers include Cheddar, cream cheese, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano.
RECIPE: CRANBERRY BAKED BRIE
Ingredients
1 large wheel of double crème Brie, 2.2 pounds
1/2 cup honey
1/4 pound dried cherries, cranberries or strawberries (or a mix)
1/2 cup sliced almonds plus extra for garnish
1 package of ready-to-bake crescent rolls (or make your own pastry)
Crackers or bread (or a combination)
Preparation
Keep the Brie refrigerated and cold until ready to slice.
1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
2. CUT the Brie in half horizontally with a sharp knife, creating a top and a bottom.
3. SPRINKLE the cranberries, half the honey and half of the almonds in the center of the bottom half of the cheese, to within two inches of the edge. Cover with the top half and press down the edges. (When you press down, the fillings will spread close to the edge.)
4. OPEN the crescent roll container and prepare to wrap the Brie with the pastry. Lay the triangle crescent dough pieces on a work surface to form a sheet, overlapping the edges slightly. Press to bond together. Place the Brie in the center of the sheet and wrap the edges around the wheel until the entire surface is covered. Overlap and press the crescent dough close to the edges so that the Brie and fillings will not run out.
5. PLACE on a nonstick cookie sheet with a lip (just in case the cheese does run). Pour the remaining honey in the top center of the wrapped Brie and sprinkle with the remaining almond slices.
6. BAKE for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
As a cocktail party food, provide bread or crackers and a spreader.
For a dinner party salad/cheese course, give each guest a plated wedge with some dressed mesclun or frisée salad greens. Pass bread or crackers in a basket for those who want it.
