The kind folks at Marx Foods sent me some Selezione Tartufi, Natural Black Truffle Salt.
This salt blend is made by blending Italian sea salt with black winter truffles from Abruzzo that have been fast-dehydrated instead of dried. Marx Foods says dehydrating the truffles preserves the truffle's flavor and aroma far better than drying. The sea salt is harvested from the salt caves of Emilia Romagna . 5% black summer truffles from Abruzzo comprise the finished salt blend. The salt is fine ground and, as I understand, contains no anti-clumping agents.
The salt has been a great addition to our kitchen, and most recently made its way into a roasted potato dish.
Truffle Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
10 Norland Red potatoes
3 tbsp black truffle oil
2 tsp Selezione Natural Black Truffle Salt
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp black pepper
Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces.
Toss the pieces with 3 tbsp black truffle oil, 2 tsp Selezione Natural Black Truffle Salt, 2 tsp rosemary, and 2 tsp black pepper.
Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400.
Once the oven is preheated, bake the potatoes for 30 minutes at 400. After 15 minutes has lapsed, stir the potatoes, and re-spread in a single layer. Finish baking for the remaining 15 minutes.
Broil on high for the last 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with additional Selezione Natural Black Truffle Salt (to taste).
We served our taters with grilled salmon and asparagus, and received high fives and thumbs up.
Noteworthy:
Not all truffle oils are created equally. Sabatino Tartufi manufactures theirs using real truffles. Read more about synthetically manufactured truffle oils here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/dining/16truf.html
Order some Selezione Tartufi, Natural Black Truffle Salt from Marx Foods: http://www.marxfoods.com/
Hook's 15-Year Cheddar: Worth It
Remember back when I wrote about how excited I was for Hook's 15-year cheddar to make its way to Minneapolis?
In case you don't remember, I was excited: http://www.reetsyburger.com/2010/02/dude-man-cheese.html
Well, it made its way to Surdyk's Liquor Store and Gourmet Cheese Shop, and thus I made my way to Surdyk's twice since then to procure some.
While some aged cheddars take on an extremely bitter quality, most likely brought on by the temperature being raised during the aging process, the marginal bitterness of the Hook's 15-year is balanced with sourness and saltiness expected in cheddar cheese. Like so many aged cheeses that I enjoy, the lactic acid has crystallized in the Hook's 15-year forming a few crunchy bits of calcium lactate, the crystals ranging in color from darkish yellow to almost white. Overall, the cheese has a balanced, intense, cheddar flavor. It's only slightly crumbly.
It's $60 per lb, so I budgeted for it, forsaking other indulgences. It was worth it. It's good cheese, dude.
[where: Minnesota, Food, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, 55418]
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