Napa Truffle Festival: Truffleluxe!

Ending the Napa Truffle Festival on a High Note!
Closing out four full days of the Napa Truffle Festival, Feast it Forward and Sunset Magazine’s Truffleluxe event ended the truffle-filled weekend on a high note. This curated affair brought together the butcher, the baker and the Napa winemaker for an afternoon of tasting, sipping and culinary education!

Hosted in a private event space just outside of the Oxbow’s main building, Truffleluxe featured four Napa Valley wineries, plenty of truffle-infused cheese to go with deliciously fluffy bread, as well as two cooking demonstrations with the Oxbow’s very own Cate & Co. and Five Dot Ranch. In conjunction with our very own Feast it Forward Founder, Katie Hamilton Shaffer, the cooking demonstrations allowed guests to get up close and personal with preparing cuisine that utilized fresh truffles.

From Cate & Co., a tasty Salute Santé grapeseed oil-infused frittata with fresh truffle shavings on top provided a delectable bite for attendees. A step by step demonstration was given while members of Cate & Co. passed out the recipe for guests to take home (see recipe below). During the butchery demonstration with Five Dot Ranch, they showed guests how to properly cut various cuts of beef with sharp cutlery from Tahoe Kitchen Co., and then served a delicious bite of puff pastry stacked with Wellington-style steak, mushroom mousse and a thick slice of truffle. Delicious!

In between the demonstrations, guests mingled about in the convivial atmosphere, tasting wines, taking nibbles of truffle cheese and wandering out to Feast it Forward’s luxury Ultimate Airstream lounge—“Sophia.” Fully prepared for luxury lounging, Sophia provided the right destination for those looking to get off their feet for a few minutes between tastings.

As for the wines, a range of styles provided for an afternoon of pleasant variety. From Jamieson Ranch Vineyards, the limited production 2013 Double Lariat Cabernet Sauvignon was served. Aromas of raspberry, blueberry and chocolate enticed palates; dry on the entry, this wine’s luscious palate boasts juicy raspberry and cherry cola flavors, with notes of tobacco leaf and cocoa, wrapped up in pleasantly grippy tannins. This wine was a real crowd-pleaser!

From Webster Cellars, a true Right Bank Bordeaux-style wine was served and received with much praise. Made using only neutral oak and with majority Merlot, Webster Cellars’ true-to-Bordeaux style 2012 Right Bank spent 24 months in neutral oak before bottling. Dry in style and showing beautiful raspberry and cherry fruit, these flavors give way to more terroir characteristics, such as earthy, soil-like qualities and granite, with very distinguished and nuanced texture. Of course, all of the wines showed well in their Bordeaux-style Stolzle glassware—no matter what the context, remember, the glass always makes a difference!

But the “luxe” didn’t stop there. The owners of Bos Wine also joined the FEAST, pouring their boutique Napa Valley portfolio alongside another diamond in the rough, Reid Family Vineyards. The star of Feast it Forward’s show, “Drinks With A Twist“, Christopher Long of Libations Unlimited served a unique gin infused cocktail with lemon, rosemary and bergamot oranges. Certainly the most expensive drink one may ever enjoy. I’ll have a second, please.

For those who have an affinity for furry friends, there was even a truffle hunting demonstration with a fully trained truffle hunting dog from Truffle Dog Company —who was quite the celebrity by the end of the afternoon, posing in pictures and selfies with dog-loving guests!

From start to finish, the well-orchestrated and enjoyable Truffleluxe was a great success, and the perfect way to end the full four days of Napa Truffle Festival events. Given that this was the premier Truffleluxe event, I think it is safe to say that all in attendance are looking forward to the event’s return to next year’s lineup of truffle activities!


Potato & Cheese Mini Frittatas

• ½ tb Salute Santé Grapeseed Oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 pinch Kosher salt
• ¼ lb. roasted fingerling potatoes, diced small
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup Mexican crema or crème fraiche
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup grated 4-cheese blend, any cheese
• Non-GMO sunflower oil spray
• Shaved truffle

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Heat oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat until simmering; add onions and a pinch of salt and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Fold in roasted potatoes, remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, crème fraiche, salt and nutmeg until well combined and frothy.
2. Spray a standard 12 muffin baking pan with the spray oil. Divide the potato mixture evenly among the 12 pan wells, follow with the egg mixture and then a sprinkle of cheese.
3. Bake until golden brown and just set, abut 15-20 minutes. Allow frittatas to cool 5 minutes before unmolding, topping with shaved truffle and serving.
4. (Makes 12.) Note that frittatas may be made one day ahead, and stored wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. To serve, warm in a 325F oven for 5 minutes. (Recipe courtesy of Cate & Co.)
   

*Originally published on Feast it Forward.