By Amy Reiley
How often does the average person get up close and personal with Périgord black truffles, without having to pay a princely sum for the privilege?
The 2013 Napa Truffle Festival Truffle Marketplace on Monday, January 21st offers exactly that: all-you-can-ogle truffles at the nearly two dozen participating merchants at the Oxbow Public Market, plus free truffle cooking demonstrations hosted by Kitchen Door and Ca’Momi.
Participating merchants will be offering special truffle-themed items for sale, which you can purchase à la carte – or not at all – depending on your whim. Wine tasting tickets allowing you access to wines from more than twenty of California’s finest truffle-friendly wineries will also be available for a modest fee, with proceeds benefiting the Napa Valley Food Bank.
This year’s à la carte Marketplace offerings are spectacular and varied, ensuring something for everyone. Those seeking the elusive black Périgord for eating purposes can choose from over a dozen options, including authentic Italian pizza al tartufo (Ca’ Momi); charcuterie plates of truffle-studded crema di lardo, duck galantine, and saucisse served with shaved fennel and parsley salad (Fatted Calf); truffled wild mushroom and goat cheese enchiladas (C Casa); salmon gravlax cured with local honey & sea salt, and served with a truffle-mango sauce (Kanaloa Seafood); truffled Niman Ranch sliders (Gott’s Roadside); boquerone crostini with white bean-roasted garlic puree and a truffle gremolata (Hog Island Oyster Co.); soft-poached egg with wild mushroom ragout and shaved fresh truffle (Kitchen Door); house-made truffled Mt. Tam cheese (Oxbow Wine & Cheese Merchants); savory mushroom, leek, and truffle bread pudding (Model Bakery) crepes stuffed with truffle-infused Ricotta cheese and drizzled with honey (La Crêpe); truffled yucca fries (Pica Pica); and a roasted prime rib with truffle vinaigrette and horseradish aioli (Five Dot Ranch). Try one, try three, or try them all – the choice is yours.
Annette’s Chocolates will be selling dessert truffles made of extra dark chocolate, and Kara’s will have cookies ‘n’ cream cupcakes honoring that intrepid epicurean explorer, the noble truffle pig. Look for fabulous tableware and serving pieces from Poor House (the Oxbow’s newest addition), truffle-themed books and accoutrements at Heritage Culinary Artifacts, and fresh fungi of many colors at Oxbow Produce. All the merchants will also be open for business as usual the entire holiday weekend.
Free cooking demonstrations with fresh Périgord black truffles will take place Monday (Jan. 21) at 10:30am at Kitchen Door, and at 12:30pm at Ca’Momi.
For the full list of participating wineries, merchants and details on their truffly offerings, check out our Marketplace webpage. You can also pre-order wine tasting tickets through the Festival’s online box office, here.