Mushroom Madness

The baker had taken over the arena, but finally here is the first post written entirely by the braiser!

This dinner was inspired by the wonderful aromatics and robust earthy flavors of White Truffle Oil. Upon learning the best technique for showcasing the pure truffle flavors, which was simply using the oil as a drizzle, I chose a very simple recipe to keep the truffle oil as the main flavor of the dish.

Start with about 1lb of new potatoes; quarter the potatoes laying them out skin side up on an ungreased sheet pan salt and pepper to taste. An interesting side note is that pure white truffle oil can have a peppery taste. I decided that all of the dishes could have a fungal theme, so I bought ravioli stuffed with portabella mushrooms and Parmesan cheese.
First, I boiled the ravioli then let it dry in the strainer. When the ravioli is dry to the touch lightly fry them in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

Our meat dish was sun dried tomato and mozzarella stuffed pork sausage. I cut the casing off and sauteed the sausage with a small amount of oil on high heat until the sausage started to stick to the pan. The little pieces of dried meat that stick to the bottom of the pan are called fonds and play a huge role in making the sauce. Once the fonds become noticeable add enough wine to fill the bottom of the pan. I used white wine but any stock, wine or spirit can be used. Once the wine is added, scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them, creating a basic sauce.

The next step is to let this reduce. Once you notice bubbles form around the pan let the sauce reduce for another 2 minutes then add two tablespoon of butter. The amount of butter varies greatly depending on the dish.

Now turn the heat off, let the butter melt in, mix well and enjoy!