National Truffle Day and Other Good Eats

What do you think of when you hear the word truffle? Do you think of ganache-filled chocolate concoctions? Silky dark chocolate truffles dusted in cocoa powder, sweet treats dipped in chocolate, and decadent, buttery bonbons?

Or perhaps when you hear the word truffle, you think of white alba truffles, and truffle butter, or truffle oil.

Well today is National Truffle Day and I’m going to share a recipe for another kind of truffle: a truffle cocktail.

But before that, let me share some other good things from the last few weeks. I don’t review every single restaurant I visit, nor do I post recipes for every meal I eat, so not all good eats make it to the blog. I’m taking this opportunity to share some of my favorite eats and treats that were previously undocumented:

Crispy eggplant flatbread and banana bread pudding from Church of Boston – I’ve been to Church multiple times and the food is always consistently good. They specialize in classic American comfort food, with an emphasis on seasonal and local New England cuisine. The crispy eggplant flatbread is like a deconstructed eggplant parm, but without the greasiness. The banana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream, Taza chocolate, and coconut is their best selling dessert and I now know why: sweet, warm, and with real banana chunks, it tastes like the epitome of comfort food.

I’ve been obsessed with sweet potatoes lately. I like eating a baked sweet potato with some almond butter and raisins or cranberries, but I also love these frozen  sweet potato fries from Trader Joe’s (my homemade version never come out as crispy!). I like drizzling a little bit of maple syrup (the good kind, straight from Vermont). Along with some roasted asparagus, this has been my go-to dinner on days when I’m feeling lazy – and when I want an excuse to eat something that tastes like dessert for dinner :)

Guacamole and cocktails from The Painted Burro, the newest Mexican cantina that opened in Davis Square – the restaurant is owned and operated by the same folks at Posto. It is always packed, and while the food is a big draw, the tequila bar and cocktails call to tequila lovers like me. (One of) the drink(s) I had was the Abuelo Abuelo, made with Monte Alban Mezcal, Don Roberto Reposado, grapefruit, granulated sugar, and Xoclotl Mole Bitters. I heard the words “xoclotl bitters” and knew I had to try it. It was very good, very strong, very smooth. And did I mention almost pure alcohol?

Another favorite find from Trader Joe’s is the stone ground white grits. I added little bit of sharp cheddar cheese, then topped it with a soft boiled egg, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of Tabasco. This was a fantastic brunch (especially if you’ve had more than your share of tequila the night before, but I don’t know anything about that).

Maribelle Frangelico ganache truffles – I really, really, really like Frangelico (hazelnut liquer) and you guys know how I feel about ganache, so it’s no surprise that I loved these truffles. After taking a chocolate making class, I know that making a perfect truffle is actually an art, so I have a better appreciation for these handcrafted chocolates.

I enjoyed the Frangelico truffles with a Frangelico cocktail (disclosure: I received a free bottle of Frangelico and box of Maribelle chocolates from their PR agency). I went a little overboard rimming the martini glass with dark chocolate shavings, but I figured you guys won’t mind.

Yield: serves 1

Frangelico Truffle Cocktail

Ingredients

1 oz Frangelico
1 oz vodka
.75 oz espresso

Directions

  1. Shake with ice and serve chilled in a cocktail or martini glass.
  2. Dust with dark chocolate shavings.

There you have it. Happy Truffle Day! Do you have any favorite truffle recipes?