sweet potato biscuits

since she is a loyal follower, (if not my most loyal) visits to my mom result in her request for me to cook. which is exactly why i got so excited when i saw this recipe in bon appetit on the plane, on my way to visit. what's more, they even seemed like they would be the perfect accompaniment to solstice dinner. i admit that i was a little intimidated by the term biscuit. after all, i hear homemade biscuits and i think of someone's grandmother somewhere (preferably in a southern state) taking all day to roll out dough with lard. i decided to take a more rustic biscuit approach. i also skipped the ham component of this. but that goes without saying.


sweet potato biscuits (originally sweet potato biscuits with ham, mustard, and honey)
from bon appetit

• 1 3/4-pound red-skinned sweet potato (yam), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (i used spelt)
• 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup chilled buttermilk *NOTE: begin my rustic approach...i didn't have buttermilk so i added some lemon juice to regular low fat milk and allowed to sit for a few minutes.

• cook sweet potato in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. drain, cool, and mash.
• position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 425°F. butter bottom and sides of 9-inch cake pan with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
• whisk flour and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
  
• whisk 3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to flour mixture; toss with fork.
  
• gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. turn dough out onto floured work surface and pat into 1-inch-thick round. Using 1 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits, flouring cutter after each cut. gather scraps; pat into 1-inch-thick round. cut out additional biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once). *NOTE: continue rustic approach...i didn't roll out or cut my biscuits, i just grabbed pieces of dough and gently shaped them and patted them down.
  
• arrange biscuits side by side in prepared cake pan. brush with melted butter. bake until puffed and golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 22 minutes. cool 10 minutes in pan. turn biscuits out and gently pull them apart.
• makes about 24 biscuits
  

outrageous chocolate cookies

i wanted an impressive dessert recipe that wasn't too over the top, for a bbq i was going to. i almost hate to say it but martha stewart is just the woman for the job; specifically martha's cookie of the day. now being that i was going with martha, i sort of feel as though my first batch of her outrageous chocolate cookies was bound to be a failure. once i had completed mixing everything together, i was left with a batter...not a dough. uh oh. i tried baking a batch anyways but the cookies were runny and therefore very flat and crispy. i was quickly brought back to a failed martha meringue box project my mom and i had tried one time.

the failed batch (still tasted yummy):

ok, so i panicked. you know that whole rule about not making something new for company? well i ignore it. i made a few phone calls and thought long and hard. i decided to refrigerate the batter for a little bit. bingo! the batter firmed right up and the resulting cookies were soft, chewy and the perfect amount of crazy chocolatyness. i even drizzled a bit of melted white chocolate on top of them (really not necessary). they were a hit. bottom line: these cookies are awesome. go make them. now.

after refrigerating the batter:

outrageous chocolate cookies (from martha stewart) makes 2 dozen large cookies

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (or chocolate chips)
  
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose (spelt) flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)

• preheat oven to 350 degrees. heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. in another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• in a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. mix in flour mixture until just combined. stir in chocolate chunks/chips.
• drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. don't overbake! cool on sheets 10 minutes.

spelt banana bread french toast (banana bread experiment part II)

you have not read about some of my other experiments (such as the brownie pancakes) because they were complete and utter disasters. but you've got to keep trying because every so often something amazing like this happens. yes, amazing. sadly, i cannot take full credit for this but i can claim execution rights. now, a google search just revealed 280,000 results for "banana bread french toast" but i honestly never thought of it-the boy did.

what to do with that pan of banana bread that's been occupying the counter for the better part of the week THATIDIDNOT eat all in one sitting (i'm proud)? frrreeennccchhh toast! so obviously, you'll need some banana bread. the one i used was similar to that of the original banana bread experiment. i guess the bread doesn't have to be stale but it will certainly help with that whole holding together factor. then just whip up a simple french toast batter.


spelt banana bread french toast

• banana bread
  
• 2 eggs (for a small batch)
  
• milk (yes, i used real live low-fat cow's milk but i'm sure soy would work well too. use this to make it as rich (half and half) or not (nonfat) as you want it.) i don't measure the milk, i just add a bit more than a splash; you want it more eggy than milky.

• beat together egg and milk in a shallow bowl.
• i did not add cinnamon nor vanilla because the banana bread was already so sweet-but you certainly can.
• let it sit for a few minutes (especially if your bread is spelt based).
• heat a pan and add some butter. fry bread on both sides until golden brown.
  

a cake that's perfect for breakfast

what do you think of when you hear about a cake made with olive oil and oranges? i think, "wow, doesn't that sound like the perfect breakfast cake?" hence the sunday morning bake-fest with my favorite baking pal, becky crocker. crocker is the perfect person to bake with since she let's me do all of the things i deem "fun." in this case, it was supreming oranges. that is, until i had done 6 of them and the cut in my hand was stinging of citrus. enter crocker to the rescue, finishing off the job. then there's mixing. i am known to have the amusement level of a small child aka enjoy whipping heavy cream until it's almost whipped cream and my arms are so tired they feel like they are going to fall off. remind me again why i don't just go buy a freaking hand mixer. enter crocker again, to the rescue.

this cake recipe appeared in last week's nytimes dining section and uses olive oil as the fat source. oranges, orange juice and yogurt ensure its moist texture. we used mostly regular oranges instead of blood oranges since the blood ones are not so plentiful in our respective neighborhoods. we weren't so careful about keeping our wet and dry ingredients separate until the end; becky crocker defies the laws of baking.

an alternative serving method to the recipe: serve cake warm (microwave if you have to) and top with vanilla frozen yogurt--YUMMMMMMMM...

blood orange olive oil cake

• Butter for greasing pan
• 3 blood oranges
• 1 cup sugar
• small container of plain yogurt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups flour (i used spelt, as per usual)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Honey-blood orange compote, for serving, optional (see note)
• Whipped cream, for serving, optional.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.
• Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.
• Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup. You will have about 1/4 cup or so. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in oil a little at a time. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.
• Bake cake for about 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up. Serve with whipped cream and honey-blood orange compote, if desired.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Note: To make a honey-blood orange compote, supreme 3 more blood oranges according to directions in Step 2. Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.

brunchalicious

i LOVE brunch. it's my favorite meal of the day. i don't care how cliched it is or how many sex and the city episodes mention it. it's perfect and new york has perfected it. where else are the streets deserted before noon on a sunday and then instantly flooded moments after? since everyone is freaking out about the economy (including me), i've been making a concerned effort to cook it more at home and eat it out less.

i've recently jumped on the corn meal train thanks to a friend's brunch cooked at her place (see picture above). last week she made cilantro and onion corncakes, which were basically hush puppies cooked in a pan rather than deep fried. she served them with black beans, scrambled eggs, cheese, guacamole and salsa. they were awesome and inspired today's cornmeal pancakes.

corn meal pancakes

pancakes:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

topping:

• 2 containers plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
  

a birthday brunch dessert!

i love magnolia bakery as much as the next person. (even though i can only lick the frosting off of the top of the cupcakes...sad, really...) ok, so i love babycakes as much as the next person and watching adults line up for cupcakes at magnolia but there seems to be a bit of a cupcake backlash brewing. i mean hell, martha stewart even has a new cupcake cookbook coming out. time to move on to the next dessert trend, people!

however, since the cupcake is such an innocent symbol of happiness that is hard to replace, when i had to prepare a birthday dessert in a short amount of time friday night, i started thinking towards a dessert that would at least be cupcake-esque and festive. it didn't take too long to remember an amazing little recipe i had received months earlier from a coworker: 5 minute microwave cake! i'm not sure where this recipe originated but it's as simple as simple gets. i made my cakes in a tall mug so that i could slice them and make sandwich cakes. i went with a filling that was supposed to be a hostess cupcake type filling from food & wine. what resulted was not-so-quite-as-perfect looking as a cupcake but perhaps even cuter, definitely yummy and frosting filled enough to get your fix.

and be sure to check out the pumpkin cupcakes at babycakes if you're lucky enough to catch them.

5-minute chocolate microwave cake

• 4 tablespoons flour (spelt, gluten-free, whatever you want)
  
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk (i haven't tried soy/almond yet but am using it next time)
  
• 3 tablespoons oil
• splash of vanilla extract
  
• chocolate chips (optional)

• take a large coffee mug, add dry ingredients and mix well. add the egg and vanilla and mix well. add milk and oil and mix thoroughly.
• place mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. the cake will rise up but don't worry! allow to cool a little before tipping out onto a plate.
• while the cake cools on the plate (you will need to slice it later on), make the filling...
  

filling

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  

• In a medium bowl, beat all ingredients until fluffy. transfer into a ziploc bag and snip off a corner tip to use like a pastry bag.

assembly

• slice the cake into rounds. pipe on frosting. top with another cake slice. roll in sprinkles, nuts, etc. if you want.

banana bread experiment

it's banana bread season. first, it appeared via the frozen brown bananas in my friend's freezer. "WHAT are those?!" i admit, i judged. what i did not realize was that they were bananas at their peak of banana breadiness (all nice and brown and squishy) and that this stage was being preserved in her freezer! genius! thinking of my own lone 1 brown banana at home, i wished i had thought of it myself. then, today, a friend at work brought banana bread to the office. it was not wheat-free and it made me cranky. again, thoughts of my lone brown banana. so when i got home, it seemed inevitable that my banana would take its journey to breadhood. the problem was, i only had one banana. your standard banana bread recipe calls for 2-3 of them. an experiment ensued.

i used a combination of a recipe from a baker friend, becky crocker, as well as another one that called for less banana. i thought i was home free but then it turned out that i was short on flour. so i threw in some oatmeal to make up the difference. and some walnuts and chocolate chips to compensate for the lack of banana. becky crocker is probably yelling about my lack of respect for baking chemistry but what could i do? i tried to call her...

since the bread is baking while i am writing, i must add that when i checked on the bread about 20 minutes into the baking time it had puffed way up. i poked it with a chopstick which seemed to let out some of the air. now (10 minutes later) it's lower and much more bread like. you may want to poke the bread to release the air halfway through cooking...

SUCCESS! my banana experiment was soft and crumbly with a caramelized crust on the bottom and a thin, crispy layer on top. deeeeelicious.



oatmeal chocolate walnut "banana bread"

• 1/2 cup of softened butter substance of your choice (i used 3 tblspns of butter and 5 tblspns of earth balance)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 mashed banana (more if you have it)
• 1 tspn vanilla
• 1 cup flour (spelt here)
• 1/4 cup oats (not gluten-free but if it needs to be, omit the oats and go with 1 1/4 cups of gluten-free flour)
  
• 1 tspn baking soda
• 1 tspn cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

• cream butter and sugar
• add banana, eggs and vanilla and stir
  
• add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and stir
• mix in chocolate chips and walnuts
• bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes--consider poking halfway through to release air if it's too puffy
  

chocolate coconut bread pudding

For those of you who may not watch the food network as often as I do, allow me to explain. I really prefer the cooking shows but granted that I'm not home all day able to watch them, I often catch prime-time food network. One show that I occasionally watch is throwdown, with bobby flay. I'm really not a huge fan of flay's and the show's premise seems to be flay running around in a pretentious fashion, thinking he can develop recipes overnight that are better than people who have dedicated their lives to certain dishes. This attitude was particularly on display during the episode I saw last week, bread pudding throwdown. Nonetheless, the chocolate coconut bread pudding that materialized from the episode looked pretty damn good--all gooey and chocolaty.

I figured that I should at least look the recipe up to see if it was doable. I was able to find the recipe on seriouseats.com (whether it's accurate, I guess we'll never know) and it did look complicated but not impossible. My friend's birthday was coming up so it seemed like the perfect excuse. On the show, flay's bread pudding has a slight twist--chocolate ganache mixed in it--and is served on top of a coconut creme anglaise and passionfruit sauce. I nixed the creme anglaise and the passionfruit, partially because I don't have enough pots and pans to get it all bubbling in my kitchen but mainly because it had to travel.

The first thing I needed to do was locate a quality loaf of bread that I could eat. I chose spelt (as I often do) and bought half a loaf at le pain quotidien, a chain with 17 locations in new york alone, as well as locations in LA, DC and connecticut. If you're gluten-free, silver moon bakery (upper west side) makes the best gluten-free loaf I have ever had although it's only available certain days of the week. It had a completely normal, non-gluten-free feeling texture. After the bread, the recipe was pretty straight-forward. There were 3 basic components and steps: the bread, the custard, and the chocolate ganache.

chocolate coconut bread pudding

ganache

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 6 oz heavy cream

• Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds then whisk until smooth, keep warm.

bread pudding

• 17 ounces of bread (crust removed before weighing), cut into 1 1/2 inch dice--I used half a loaf of spelt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  
• Chocolate ganache (recipe above)
  
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Put bread on a large baking sheet, drizzle with the butter and toss to coat. Bake until light golden brown, tossing several times, about 12 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
• Combine cream, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat, and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted.
• Whisk together the eggs and yolks in a medium bowl and slowly whisk in the warm chocolate mixture.
  
• Place the bread cubes in a single layer in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. Pour half the custard over half of the ganache and sprinkle with half of the coconut. Press down the bread to allow the liquid to soak in. Place the remaining bread cubes on the top, add the remaining custard and ganache, press down to submerge the bread. Top with the remaining coconut, cover, and let sit for at least 1 hour before baking.
  
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake until the sides are slightly puffy and the center is slightly set (but still jiggles a bit), about 40 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

dutch baby

i was reminded of a intriguing recipe that i saw on good eats now that i have my cast iron cookware. get ready, alton, i can actually make these things now! the recipe was for a "dutch baby," which i blame not knowing anything about on growing up in southern california. upon further research, i discovered that a dutch baby is the same as a german pancake, which is pretty much a large pancake baked in the oven.

the recipe looked fairly simple, so i decided to give it a go this morning. 30 minutes later, i had one of the most delicious breakfasts i have ever had. i used spelt flour for this (i'm fairly certain that substituting your favorite gluten-free flour would work just fine). the pancake rose up very high and browned on the sides but stayed soft in the center. what emerged was a wonderful baked confection that had a buttery, crispy layer on the top, was smooth in the middle, and chewy on the bottom. i couldn't stop verbalizing how much i enjoyed it. MMMMMM!


to alton brown, the amazing man he is, thank you for this EASY, uncomplicated, delicious recipe!

• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk (i'm going to try lowfat next time)
• dash of vanilla
• 2 eggs
  

• preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• place 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven to heat.
• wait a few minutes for the skillet to heat up, then assemble the remaining ingredients.
• mix flour, vanilla sugar, salt, milk, eggs and remaining tablespoon of melted butter in a bowl.
• pour batter into skillet. bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown. (according to alton) sprinkle with additional vanilla sugar and serve with lemon wedges. (I didn't do this part)

no weight loss resolution here!

New Years '09: The weather forecast was below zero, I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars to go out, most people were out of town, and I just got my brand new Le Creuset cookware set. The obvious answer was to stay at home and cook an outrageous meal. No, you say? You went out and partied the night away? Anyways...

On the menu: blinis and caviar, crab macaroni and cheese, and berries and chocolate. What's that? You would have rather been eating at my place? Me too. The new cookware (cast iron skillet and dutch oven) was instrumental in this meal as was my day-of Whole Food's visit. First on the list:

Caviar selection, serving, eating: The choice was between an $8.99 Whitefish caviar (light orange, golden color) and a $29 Paddlefish caviar (dark gray color). I am no caviar connoisseur but I figured that the Paddlefish was the way to go. The seafood counter man assured me that it was delicious; the seafood counter woman wondered why I was only purchasing one. Seafood counter man, again, reassured me. Seafood woman handed me a piece of wax paper with the bar code on it. That's right, you have to pay first, then pick the caviar up from customer service (where it will be waiting on ice). There's a reason I only do this once a year.

The blini route traditionally involves buckwheat blinis (gluten-free!) but I chose to get a little creative and use ingredients that I already had at home. I made the whole spelt and cornmeal blinis from a combination of recipes that I found online:

spelt cornmeal blinis
Combine dry ingredients:
1/2 cup whole spelt flour (substitute any gluten-free flour here, if necessary)
1/4 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Whisk in wet ingredients:
3/4 cup milk (Lactaid milk for me)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 egg yolks
Fold in 1 1/2 whipped egg whites
Butter pan and cook 1 tablespoon of batter per blini. flip when small bubbles form.


The blinis turned out a bit sweet from the cornmeal and sugar and were perfectly buttery for the caviar. I topped them blinis with creme fraiche, a bit of crumbled hard-boiled egg and chopped onion, and the caviar.


Crab macaroni and cheese: Originally, I thought I would make this with lobster but decided that crab meat would be just as good, more affordable and it actually turned out much easier to get at the store. I adapted a recipe from the Food Network's site (thanks, Brian Duffy, wherever you are!)


crab macaroni and cheese
1 pound brown rice macaroni
1/2 pound lump crab meat
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups milk
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, chopped
black pepper
kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed into 4 tablespoons of water
2 pounds grated cheese: gruyere, sharp cheddar, pecorino romano (I only used 1 pound of cheese and it worked fine)
bread crumbs (I get gluten-free ones from Whole Foods) if you don't have these, crumble up some bread or crackers

cook 1 pound brown rice macaroni until al dente. drain and set aside.
in a medium pot sweat 1 small onion in 2 tablespoons butter, then remove.
to the same pot, add milk, garlic, shallot and pepper. bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. slowly whisk in the cheese until it is fully incorporated.
whisk in cornstarch mix and allow sauce to thicken.
stir in onions and crab meat.
toss sauce with pasta and add to shallow baking dish.
sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, or until bubbly and browned.
Beware, sometimes gluten-free products don't seem to brown as well as wheat ones.)

Berries and chocolate: This couldn't have been easier. I bought pre-washed and mixed berries, then chopped up and melted some bittersweet chocolate in the microwave at low heat. Use small time increments so that the chocolate doesn't burn. When it's done, add a little bit more solid chocolate. The heat will melt and help temper it so it doesn't get funky. Pour the chocolate over the berries, or dip them, whichever you prefer!

Happy Eating in '09!

a trip to the other coast (NUMBER 1!)

NUMBER 1 - homemade pasta at dad's


Now I want no parental rivalry here. This one goes to dad (and not the buche) because it was a brand new thing for me. When I was growing up, when did anyone ever make homemade pasta? Well, it never happened, but this year my dad got a pasta machine as a gift. The plan was to try it out for the first time and make a scrumptious dinner. Now those of us who know my dad are always confident in his cooking abilities but the pressure had started to build and my dad seemed downright nervous about how he was going to pull this one off. Not only did he pull it off but it was DAMN GOOD. I might even go with the best pasta dish I've ever had--AND it was wheat-free. Beat that!

It had started to get a bit late, everyone was getting a bit nervous about the entire procedure. When I think of homemade pasta, I imagine bubby slaving all day in the kitchen. So, you can imagine the anxiety at Whole Foods at about 5:30 pm. Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way home and a few minutes after that the dough was well underway. The dough consisted of only two ingredients: eggs and flour; white spelt flour in our case. We did a couple of small batches at a time, about 2 cups of flour and 2-3 eggs. Then we rolled the dough, carefully and according to the machine's directions.


Once the pasta (linguine) was cut, we floured and piled it up (not recommended, to avoid sticking). This is when the pasta is supposed to dry but we were hungry and it was getting late, so this step didn't quite happen. Freshly made pasta cooks in just a few minutes. Now here is where it gets fun. Sauteed in a pan (in this order) went: olive oil, turkey bacon (no piggies here!), garlic, truffle paste (black AND white), oyster mushrooms, chives and italian parsley. With parmesan on top! The sauce was perfect; the truffles, mushrooms and turkey bacon melded together into yummy, savory, salty goodness. Definitely worth every bit of effort.