The Festival wound down this afternoon all too soon, after a long weekend of truffle love, adventures, world-class Michelin star meals, and camaraderie. The Oxbow marketplace once again provided the perfect forum for a final truffle extravaganza, with merchants offering all manner of delectable and creative truffle treats. After a few gratis sniffs of the aromas wafting through the marketplace, we enjoyed truffle tastes for as little as four or five dollars a pop at vendors such as the Kitchen Door, whose chef Christopher Litts demo’ed and then served a rich cream of Porcini mushroom soup with fresh grated truffle as well as a an egg pappardelle with winter mushroom bolognese and a SousVide poached egg—a sublime truffle vehicle.
Model Bakery offered an encore of last year’s “you must try this!” incredibly rich and savory wild mushroom bread pudding. Oxbow Cheese Merchants offered three delightfully sinful cheeses, each more truffly than the last, including a super-rich Brillat Savarin triple crime stuffed with truffles.
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endors got creative with the fragrant fungi, including Napa Valley Distillery’s Cherry Truffle Cocktail with cherry shrub, sparkling water and white truffle bitters and Olive Press’ fig balsamic caramel truffles and blood orange olive oil truffles. Fries were truffled, both yucca and buttery ones, and C Casa’s Katherine Bergen concocted a scrumptious wild mushroom and goat cheese enchilada. Ca’ Momi’s Dario De Conti twirled his pizza dough around before he truffled it, as his wife Valentina managed the throngs crowding in for a peek. His Pizza Al Tartufu had a base of mozzarella, topped with thyme and taleggio and ricotta, which captured the essence of the truffles liberally sprinkled on top. Truffles were sold too!
One could go on and on about the weekend and its truffle delights but Alexander Dumas said it best: The truffles themselves have been interrogated, and have answered simply: eat us and praise the Lord. Here, here, and let’s all enjoy lots of truffle delights at Napa Truffle Fest next year!
