Our good friends and longtime nextdoor neighbors Cindy Joseph (http://www.boombycindyjoseph.com/) and Bruce Kocher (creator of the beautiful bowls, cutting boards and other wooden marvels profiled previously on TOC) have, as of a few days ago, moved to California...
It will be very hard to lose them, but as these generous friends prepared for their departure, they delivered a wondrous stream of Christmas presents to our door almost daily... Things great (firewood) and small (stone-ground mustard) that they thought we might like or need that they didn't plan to take with them.
So dinner one night took full advantage of one such gift... Crema di porcini tartufatti... OMG!!! This is a very smooth purée of porcinis, truffles, and EVOO that they'd brought home from a recent trip to Italy. Of course I decided I needed to try it out, while having no real idea where I was going...
So I made a very basic risotto...
http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/perfect_risotto_at_home_with_chicken_and_tarragon/
...using chicken stock, shallots, a bit of chicken I poached in the stock and, to garnish, a few chopped chives. Once the risotto was ready, I turned off the heat and whipped in a heaping tablespoon of the Crema, along with a handful of Parmesan... and the gorgeous funky truffle-y mushroomy aroma took over the kitchen!
I plated the risotto, topped each serving with some extra Parmesan and a shower of chives... and all of a sudden, a late Wednesday meal... late because of a Yonkers Landmarks Board meeting... turned into a magically indulgent meal that had us wanting to linger at table long after we'd finished.
Good food does that.
Cindy and Bruce, thank you... Not just for the Crema, but for many years of friendship. Bon voyage... and have a blast on your new adventure!!!