I got a truffle shaver many years ago as a birthday gift for myself and have used it fairly often since then, but only for one brief period did I actually use it for truffles. First, let me tell you a bit about the truffle shaver, and then I'll tell you how I came to own it.

Anyone who has ever bought truffles knows how expensive they are. Sold by the ounce (checking the current price at www.trufflemarket.com - white truffles are $60/ounce), a single truffle can cost a small fortune. With this in mind, it's no wonder that a truffle cutter is essential. The truffle cutter has a razor-sharp serrated blade that is fitted into a stainless steel plate. The blade is adjustable from 1/8" at its thickest to so thin you can read this Epinion through it at the thinnest. The adjustment is made with a little knob. To use it, just slide your white truffle over the plate. Voila! a perfect truffle slice to drop nonchalantly over risotto, pasta, mushrooms or....well, just about anything. The truffle cutter, happily, can also be used to make a perfect shaved chocolate garnish or for hard cheeses like Parmesan. For better or for worse, cheese and chocolate are the only uses my truffle slicer is put to anymore. Even so, I find it a terrific tool and highly recommend it.

Let me tell you the story now of how I came to have such a wonderful tool.

I like to work in the kitchen and consider myself a decent craftsperson there. I have many people who will not invite me to their houses for dinner because they are intimidated by what I do in my kitchen. When the inevitable swelled head results, I find myself a restaurant whose chef's talent and creativity will remind me that what I do is a craft. There are, however, artists in the world.

It was on one such occasion that I first tried truffles. The entire meal was presented with elegance and panache. Every flavor blended perfectly with every other flavor. The wines that were recommended complimented and brought out the flavors of the food. Then came my main course. The dish was a portobella mushroom cap filled with a wild mushroom risotto that had been flavored and was topped with tissue paper thin bits of truffle. It was incredible. For anyone who has ever experienced a food orgasm, you know what happened as I melted into my chair.

I decided then and there that I had to try my hand at cooking with truffles. Having more money in the bank at that moment than sense, I spent nearly a paycheck at that time on a fresh white truffle. A little reading on the topic of truffles and I discovered that it was appropriate to use slices so thin one could see through them. Considering the investment I had made in buying my truffle, I wanted to make it last as long as possible.
It was off to the gourmet shop to buy the perfect truffle cutter.

As kitchen gadgets go, this truffle shaver was rather expensive. Several years ago, it was already about $15. Considering I had broken the bank on the truffle, that felt pretty stiff, but I was determined. That, added to my fresh white truffle, made this the most expensive birthday gift I had ever given myself.

What followed was a week of experimenting with truffles. I can tell you honestly that if I had the money, I would be eating truffles on a weekly basis at least. For now, I'm limited to the occasional drizzle of truffle oil.

If you have the means, I suggest you discover the intense pleasure of truffles. If you have the cooking talent, I'd recommend getting yourself a truffle cutter so you'll have the perfect tool. Even if you don't have the means yet, you can still use your truffle cutter for chocolate until you do. After all, everyone needs to shave their chocolate sometimes.

If you do get a white truffle, here is one of the successful recipes I put mine to.

White Truffle Pizza
(Serves 6 - 1/2 pizza per person)
Ingredients:

5 packed tsp fresh compressed yeast
1 T olive oil
Large pinch of sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups young fresh robiola (cheese)
5 tablespoons semolina
5 tablespoons white truffle oil
1/2 to 1-ounce painfully thinly shaved white truffles
Preparation:

In small bowl, stir together yeast, oil, sugar, and about 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Stir in remaining water. Let proof until foamy bits form on top.

In large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough hook whisk together 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, and salt. With mixer on its lowest speed stir in yeast mixture and blend until mixture forms dough. Turn the mixer up to its medium speed and knead the dough, adding enough of remaining 1 cup flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Keep working until its smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Put dough in an oiled deep bowl and turn to coat with oil. Let it rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk, and punch down.

Divide the dough into 6 balls. On a lightly floured surface roll out each ball of dough into a 9 1/2-inch round and stack after dusting lightly with flour. Use sheets of parchment paper to keep them from sticking together. The dough can be made up to 8 hours or so ahead of time and then chilled if you wrap it well with plastic cling wrap.

To bake, preheat oven to 550 degrees F. For best results, after oven reaches temperature, let it remain closed for another 10 minutes or so. In this way, the walls and floor of the oven are as hot as the air inside and the oven will not cool down as much when opened.

Spread 1 cup of robiola on each round of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Place another piece of thin, rolled out dough on top. Dock pizza all over so cheese can ooze through. (Dock = stab with a fork) Sprinkle 1-tablespoon semolina on each of 2 baking sheets and transfer 1 pizza to each. Bake in batches in lower third of oven 10 minutes, or until crust is crisp and golden. Transfer pizzas to plates and drizzle each with 1-tablespoon truffle oil and shaved truffles. Top and bake remaining pizzas in the same manner.




Recommended: Yes