Potato, Rosemary & Truffle Flatbread

I have this obsession with Pizza Antica's flatbread with potatoes and truffle oil.  I was going to make a version this weekend, but didn't get around to it, which is a total bummer because I had Chef G's amazing pizza dough and I'm sure it would've been fab.
I will still do this at some point, even though Patrick dislikes truffle oil (fool!).  Maybe for that Stella & Dot party I'm hosting. . . .

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces unpeeled small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into very thin rounds; use a mandolin if you have one!

1 blob of pizza dough (homemade, from Trader Joe's or your local pizzeria, wherever)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

A drizzle of truffle oil - white or black, your choice; I might experiment since I have both

corn meal

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat with garlic to flavor the oil.  Remove garlic cloves once they start to brown. Add potato slices in single layer. sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Cool briefly.

Roll out dough to desired thinness and put on corn meal dusted pizza stone. Scatter potato slices over dough, leaving 3/4-inch plain border. Sprinkle with rosemary, Parmesan and crushed red pepper.

Bake pizza until crust is crisp, about 20 minutes. Using a spatula if necessary, loosen crust from stone. Slide out onto platter or board and drizzle with truffle oil.  Slice and serve.

   

Mushroom pasta

After my bus decided to blow past me yesterday rather than stopping to pick me up, I decided to walk on a little further along the Embarcadero to the ferry building. I knew I had to come up with something for dinner, and what better place for culinary inspiration than there?
After impulse shopping with the hordes at Sur La Table (but I got one thing I actually needed, plus pirate cupcake papers and toppers), I ran right smack dab into one of my favorite shops in the whole wide world. Just like that, my decision was made - mushrooms it was. They had little mixed variety baskets for $5 so I picked up two.
But mushrooms and what? Steak or chicken? Pizza? Pasta?
Pasta!
Oh, but mushrooms and goat cheese are so good together. . . . okay, so I'll use some goat cheese too, why not?

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta
Whole wheat egg noodles (or other whole wheat pasta you have on hand - probably not spaghetti)
2 baskets of assorted wild mushies (I'm guessing it was about a pound, but we could've happily eaten twice this amount)
chive goat cheese (make your own by mixing fresh chives in with softened goat cheese, or make life easy)
1 large chicken breast
seasonings of your choice for chicken - I typically use a combo of poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic and onion powders
4 tbsp I can't believe it's not butter (ICBINB)
1 large shallot, minced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
salt
lemon juice
black truffle oil

Clean and cut up the mushrooms. Place on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil and salt, and roast at 450 or 500 degrees until mushrooms are soft and browned - I have no idea how long this took because I am bad at this part. Stir once part way through.
Season and cook chicken in a pan over medium-high. You might want to butterfly the chicken to speed up cooking time.
In one tbsp of ICBINB, cook the shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragarant - 4-5 minutes.
Once the mushrooms are done, add them to the shallots and garlic and add 1-2 more tbsp ICBINB as needed/desired.
Chop up chicken into bite sized pieces and add to mushroom mixture.

Drain pasta of most of the water, leaving a tablespoon or so behind. Add 1 tbsp ICBINB and leave on heat to melt down - 1-2 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture and stir to combine.
Stir in 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice.

Dish up pasta, sprinkle with chunks of goat cheese, and drizzle lightly with the truffle oil.
NOM.

Asparagus and Soft Boiled Eggs with Truffle Oil

It seems a classic combo is soft boiled eggs and asparagus. Just ask Nigella or Jamie. Another classic idea is that of soldiers to dunk into said eggs - which are slices of buttered toast most often. I first saw Jamie Oliver make his "soldiers," and thought, wow. Bacon/prosciutto wrapped asparagus dunked in nummy egg yolk? What a great, simple breakfast; and a new way to eat eggs!
Later, I was hanging out at this great little wine bar in New York called Ino, where one of their signature dishes is "truffled egg toast" which was just divine. They took a small, but thick piece of toast; made a little nest for an egg which was somehow cooked in there to be perfect and runny and delicious; drizzled it with truffle oil and finished it off with some wee shaved asparagus bits.
This took me back to math class.
Runny egg yolk + asparagus = nom
Runny egg yolk + truffle oil = nom
Runny egg yolk + truffle oil + asparagus = nom x 2

Quinn made me my first ever soft boiled egg fairly recently, so maybe that's why I'm just getting into this classic egg cooking technique now. I hatched this brilliant snack idea that I've been dying to try = cook up some asparagus (boiled in salted water til just done), carefully peel and cut open a soft boiled egg so the yolk runs all over the joint, drizzle with white truffle oil, finish with some shaved Parmesan. Ta da!

Sadly, I had never soft boiled an egg in my life and have yet to do so successfully. They were just into hard boiled territory which made me pout and whine and stomp my feet and have a mini hissy fit that I had ruined my beautiful plan. :o(
Must. . . practice. . . . . soft. . . boiling. . . eggs. . . .
The flavors however? PERFECTION.

** update:
Still can't soft boil an egg. * sigh *

Truffled Mac n Cheese

Uh. Muh. Gawd.

nocoupons

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Good olive oil
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced 1/2-inch
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced 1/2-inch
• 3 tablespoons cream sherry
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound pasta, such as cavatappi
• 3 ounces white truffle butter (recommended: D'Artagnan)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 quart whole milk, scalded
• 12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan, add the mushrooms, and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are tender. Add the sherry and continue to saute for a few more minutes, until the sherry is absorbed. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the truffle butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the white sauce is thickened and creamy. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

Combine the pasta, sauce, and mushrooms in a large bowl and pour them into a 10 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until they're minced. Add the bread crumbs and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown. Serve hot.