About a week ago I bought a black truffle from Alba (.85 oz) and cooked two dishes with it. I first had a dinner party for three friends where I made

seared scallops with champagne-vanilla sauce on a bed of bitter greens (baby kale, frisee, arugula) with ginger-yuzu dressing

and then we had

black truffle risotto with crimini & shitake mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and baby artichoke hearts (freshly prepared!)

and finally

intense hot chocolates made with cinnamon, half & half, cocopowder, dark chocolate bar, and hand-whipped whipped cream served in espresso cups with xox caramel & cognac truffles.

Then a few days later I used the rest of the truffle to make ravioli. I sauteed it (minced) with the same mushroom mixture, and a few grape tomatoes, and made a filling with a touch of thyme & basil, filet mignon (already cooked), bread crumbs, olive oil, red wine (Vina Alba–you wine nerds will know about this great $9/90 point wine), and put that into a food processor and into my gorgeous ravioli. I served that with a simple, lighter parmesean cream sauce–and voila,

Black truffle & beef tenderloin mushroom ravioli with a light cream sauce.

If anyone would like recipes/techniques/tips/or anything else please post!

All the truffling made me wish I were back in Italy; I can’t believe I missed truffle season, and god I miss walking everywhere. I saw someone post pictures of Florence during christmastime this year and the decorations were tasteful and amazing. My soul screams about needing out of here sometimes, and coos at the view coming into SF at others.