Fresh Approach Cooking

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Snobbery is, by definition, (or so I hear) the cultivation of tastes and interests for the sole purpose of conveying superiority to those the snob considers inferior.

If you ask me, that's a pretty lame way to decide what you like or not.

Personally, I cultivated my taste for Pringles potato chips, Red Vines and cheap jars of generic marinara sauce without so much as a thought as to the hoi polloi’s judgement of my actions. I just eats it cuz I loves it.

Same goes for my love of fine wines and truffles. They just happen to be things I like. If you don’t like them, fine by me! So see, I’m not a snob. Now can’t we all just get along?

Which brings me to truffled cheese, and more particularly, truffles; a culinary delight usually associated with the snobbiest of the snobs, and yet, it is seasonally available in most areas in one form or another, and therefore something everyone can indulge in. And it is an indulgence.

Truffle studded cheese is calorie laden divinity. Heady, earthy, (fill in the blank with descriptions of truffles please) creamy, smooth, scintillating dairy foods perfection. Makes your head swim.

Last year, if you recall, I made a cauliflower soup with truffled cheese as a garnish.

This season, when I brought home a wedge of that fantabulous cheese, my patience was thin. I had to have it. So I skipped making the soup and went right for the basic broiler method. (After, you know, eating a few slices, and then a few more.)

And lo, it was good.

Bubbling hot cheese infused with the aroma of truffles. I admit, the cauliflower and asparagus were more of a device for carrying the cheese to my mouth, but what a wonderful device they were. Sublime. (And cheese and cauliflower, what could be more classic...)

The cheese I used was Sini Fului Sottocenere with Truffles. A soft cows milk cheese who’s rind is gloriously dusted with a mixture of coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, fennel, anise, cloves and additional truffle. It is so wonderful, the heavens must sing its praises.

This recipe is simple, the taste will stay with you. Try it, and enjoy.


1 large head cauliflower
1 bunch of asparagus
Olive oil
Truffled cheese
Fresh thyme for garnish

Slice the cauliflower into ½ inch slabs then steam along with the asparagus. I used a bamboo steamer, the microwave works too.

Let cool slightly. Transfer to a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled. Top with cheese and broil until brown and bubbling. Garnish with thyme and serve.

1 head of cauliflower, sliced, should serve around 4 - 6 people


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Pringles Potato Chips were introduced in 1969 by Procter & Gamble.

Top-quality white truffles from Italy are coming into the market. Prices, for now, are comparable to last year's, but if the crop is as good as expected, they may decrease somewhat. Butterfield Market, 1114 Lexington Avenue (78th Street), is selling truffles for $140 an ounce. - NY Times

Excellent search question that brings up this site: "How much to get married at Dodger stadium?"

Labels: Low-Carb, Side-Dish, Vegetarian