Caring for a large, Sicilian-Irish family during the 1970s, my mother frequently referred to her Betty Crocker cook book for hearty vegetable dishes that would satisfy her six children. Telephoning the Food Network”™s Rescue Chef was not an option.
As a bunch, we were constantly complaining, hungry or halfway out the front door running late for baseball or basketball practice. Suggesting we eat something nutritious before we bolted was cruel or unusual punishment. However, if you did observe mom”™s rules and arrived on time for dinner, there were some secret rewards.
For example, if her vegetable du jour was Mr. Healthy Broccoli, you could pretend you ate it by folding the florets into the dinner napkin. But if it was her legendary mashed potatoes served family style, snagging three extra servings often meant hatching a scheme that would beat the other siblings to the punch.
Fast forward to 2008 ”“ For my family, I have been dishing out the new and improved version of Mom”™s Mashed Potatoes. Just minutes before serving them, I top my mash with a dash of da Rosario”™s organic black truffle oil. Its intense flavor will transform you into a possessed monster masher! After I first tried it, I became obsessed with serving truffle oil over potatoes. The excitement quickly spread to other vegetables. And now finishing a grilled veal chop or steak with a splash of organic white truffle oil or porcini mushroom oil becomes part of the operation.
What makes this line of oils so special? I asked Rosario Safina, truffle expert, entrepreneur and author of “Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure.”
“My oils are pure and real. The white truffle extra virgin olive oil is made with real white truffle pieces and real white truffle flavor. The black truffle extra virgin olive oil and porcini extra virgin olive oil are made the same way. The line is 100 percent USDA-certified organic. The product is imported from Umbria, Italy, and shipped to The Olive Oil Factory in Watertown, Conn., for bottling and packaging,” Safina said.
Now I am perplexed. In my kitchen pantry, I told Safina, I have jars of black truffle spicy oil, white truffle honey, white truffle butter and black truffle cream nestled on the shelves.
Should I hire a CSI-trained truffle expert to sniff out the frauds? Should all the jars that emphasize words like “aroma,” “fragrance” and “essence” on their labels come out of the closet and reveal their true contents?
“Yes. The imposters should be exposed!” explained Safina. “This is why I decided to produce my own brand and give people a real truffle. Today”™s celebrity chefs have gone more natural by investing in better quality products and consumer desires have followed the same route. It is worth paying the extra $5 or $7 for a bottle. Indulgence is worth it ”“ for the real thing. “
Over the next 12 to 18 months, the da Rosario collection will expand to about 15 USDA-certified organic products, however, the process is grueling, expensive and slow.
“You know, there is no guarantee your product will get approved by the FDA. For me, I look at the big picture; I need to consider cash, time, risk factor and a backup plan. Oh, I also hired the top food scientist ”“ food mycologist from Umbria ”“ a 19-year veteran. And off the Internet, I found David Miller, owner of The Olive Oil Factory, to package my oils.
David is one of the only companies in the Northeast certified as an organic handler. Frankly, it is one cost after another running my business,” Safina added.
Indeed. But Rosario is accustomed to being at the helm and tackling high tides. Besides promoting organic truffle oils and his book during the late spring and summer, the Safina family enjoy another “ultimate luxury, everyday pleasure” sailing around Long Island Sound. Why not? It is real, it is pure and it is just like da Rosario ”“ simply irresistible.
Note: The da Rosario organic truffle oils can be ordered online at Earthy.com and theoliveoilfactory.com. In New York City, Zabar”™s and Gourmet Garage stock the line. “Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasures” can be purchased at Barnes & Noble and Borders or online at Amazon.
