Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure [Hardcover]

Rosario Safina (Author), Judith Sutton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2002

Truffles have long reigned as the gold standard of edible fungi, the supreme culinary delicacy. Written by the world?s largest truffle importer and a veteran chef, this newbook explains truffle mystique, history and varieties, and provides all the information needed to buy and prepare truffles and truffle products. This lavishly photographed cookbook/guide reveals how one of the world?s culinary luxuries can now grace any table, any time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The intimidating truffle of restaurant cuisine gets the home treatment in the attractive guide to using a variety of truffle products as well as the fungus itself.  Safina, president of a company that imports truffles and other foods, and food writer Sutton cogently describe the history, cultivation, and types of truffles and truffle products before presenting over 100 recipes for soups, appetizers, entrees, etc.  The explanation of truffle types and guidelines on buying are extremely useful, especially for the more affordable products like truffle butter and cheese, which may be even less well known than the fungus.  The book lives up to its title, with some recipes slathering on the luxury in restaurant fashion.  But many are simple, delicious, and entirely doable in a home kitchen, even on a weeknight.  Despite Safina’s commercial connections, the book is free of advertising.  The one caveat is the steep price, not atypical of recent cookbooks.  There are few books available on this subject, but libraries that own The Joy of Truffles, and Foie Gras: Recipes for Divine Indulgence may still want to consider this. (Sutton has been LJ’s cookery columnist for many years. –Ed.) Devon Thomas, Hass MS&L, Ann Arbor, MI (Library Journal, February 2003)

From the Inside Flap

Bearing the rich musk and flavor of their underground origins, truffles have long reigned as one of the earth’s richest culinary treasures. Once a rare pleasure available to only a select few, now truffles are truly an affordable luxury everyone can experience. Both black and white truffles are enjoying a new popularity in the form of many practical, easy-to-obtain products: truffle butters, oils, cheeses, creams, purees, pastes, pastas, honey, and flour. With no sacrifice in taste, this new world of inexpensive yet heavenly products allows the home cook to spark even simple recipes with the same secret flavor punch professional chefs have been using for years. Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure shows how simple it is to make truffles and truffle products a part of everyday cooking and dining, adding a touch of elegance to any meal.

With over 115 recipes, covering an incredible assortment of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and side dishes of all sorts, including snacks, Truffles reveals the immense versatility of this celebrated cousin of the humble mushroom. With signature dishes from such star establishments as Restaurant Daniel, Cafe Boulud, Tru, No. 9 Park, Fleurs de Lys, Spiaggia, Felidia, and others, Truffles offers the best in restaurant fare as well as the latest in at-home cuisine. Entertain lavishly with the deliciously elegant Wild Mushroom Bisque with White Truffle Oil, Scallop-Truffle Napoleons with Creamed Leeks, or Raviolo with White Truffles and Golden Butter. Or for more relaxed dining, experience classic comfort food raised to an exalted level with Baked Penne with Truffle Cheese or with Mashed Potatoes with Mascarpone and Truffle Puree. A whole host of well-loved dishes enjoy added elegance with a simple truffles touch: Truffled Osso Bucco, Winter Squash Soup with Black Truffle, or Omelet with Black Truffles.

Also included are practical tips on buying and storing truffles, including insights on different types and grades, cleaning and cutting them, as well as expert wine recommendations for each dish. With a fascinating look at the colorful history of truffles and with beautiful photographs designed to inspire every cook, Truffles will show you how to make one of the world’s most treasured delicacies an inspiring and delicious addition to your everyday culinary repertoire.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471225088
• ISBN-13: 978-0471225089
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,003,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ugly--But Delicious and Worth Their Weight in Gold, January 18, 2003

By 

Bill Marsano (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure (Hardcover)

This book is a bit of a heartbreaker in these tight economic times: The best truffles--the revered white truffles of Alba, in Northern Italy--were going for about [ninety dollars] an ounce the last time I looked, or dared to look. Still, it's a good read. If you (like most of us) can't afford truffles but (like some of us) are still entranced by them, this books counts as 'armchair dining.' And if you can afford these gems, this book will help you buy intelligently. Not only are there many different kinds of truffle but these days 'counterfeit' truffles--second- or third-raters dragged in from Hungary and China--have been sneaked onto the market. The lore you need to to tell them apart (and what to do with them when you buy) is here presented by Rosario Safina, president of Urbani USA, the world's largest truffle importer. Safina and his co-auther, Judith Sutton, do a good job of presenting both information and recipes. Apart from genuinely useful information, they also impart some truly strange facts. Considering what truffles fetch on the market today, is it not strange for example that not so many years ago people were ashamed to eat them? They were poor folks' food--ugly, strong-smelling fungi hunted out by dogs and dug up from underground. Well, there was a time when New Englanders felt the same way about another poverty dish--lobster.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great cookery book by Judith Sutton, December 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure (Hardcover)

For years, Chef/Writer Sutton has guided my choice of cookery books through her book reviews and articles. Now her latest work--I often turn to her previous piece on champagne and chocolate--is a joy to behold. Beautiful, well-conceived. And the recipes, etc. are also great. Good reading. Good eating. Great gift. The best cookery book of the year.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A FIRM PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF TRUFFLE LITERATURE, November 27, 2002

By 

JUSTIN (NEW YORK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure (Hardcover)

I, having cooked in one of the finest kitchens in New York, understand the difficulties of translating what is performed in the professional situation to the level of the home kitchen. And, simply put, this book makes it easy. It takes away the mystery that makes truffles intimidating at the same time that it makes them intriguing. One of the most common defects of cookbooks is that they fail to highlight details that are absorbed knowledge to the professional, but turn out to be intricacies that a home cook would not be aware of. The average person should dive right in to these recipes, without being scared of wasting a high-price ingredient. And with such a bountiful, cheap year for truffles, it would be silly not to give it a shot! You'll be glad you took the chance next year.