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I love finishing dishes with some truffle oil, a small bottle is really inexpensive and a very little bit goes a long way. Much easier then paying the high prices of actual truffles, not to mention the oil will last much longer in the pantry then a whole truffle.

Don't forget Oregon truffles! Truffles are foraged domestically in the Pacific Northwest and a few other spots around the country.

I didn't know much about truffles until this year when I had the good fortune of having a student in my class who actually operates a fairly large truffle importing business. Due to this, I probably know more about truffles now than your average joe. My student is hosting a uni (urchin) party tonight that I'm attending, and I should be able to sample some of his truffles there. He specializes in exotics beyond black and white and intends on starting a truffiere (sp?) in the near future. He imports from Italy and has been operating his business successfully for two years now. Not bad, considering he's only 16 years old!

If you're interested in checking out his company or obtaining some truffles, here's his site:
http://tartufiunlimited.com/

I love truffle salt! One of my favorite appetizers is to smear butter on radishes and then dip them in truffle salt. A little goes a long way, so it's not that expensive either.

I've never cooked with actual truffles, but enjoy them tremendously. I recently had truffle saffron risotto in Monaco and i have to say it was the best stuff ever!

i used to make a dish with white truffle oil flavoring mashed potatoes, served with seared scallops, pancetta and fried crispy things, i think it was parsley. i lost the recipe and haven't had it in years. got to start looking around for it.

ive had cheese laced with black truffle. very earthy.. very strong.. but good!

The chef at Viceroy Palm Springs makes a killer mac and cheese with real black truffle shavings. We had it this weekend...it's totally unreal good, and we like to call "mac and cheese for adults". Seriously, we pass up fillet to eat this. It's always soooo good.

I believe I read somewhere that truffle oil does not actually contain any truffles because the quality would vary too much. It's made with a synthetic flavoring agent.

I'll never forget the white truffle risotto that I had in Milan. 60 euros for an appetizer portion.

i bought a small black truffle from oregon to shave over a soup once, and found it to be really good - it probably didn't have the intensity of flavor of the ones you'd import from italy, but it was still quite pungent and added a nice earthiness to the dish. it wasn't extraordinarily expensive, either.

Best truffle dish ever - gnocchi with cream and truffles. Oh no let me take that back, fois gras with blackened truffle and sage from Julian Serano at the Belagio in Vegas - he doesn't make it any more, so sad...

I've tried cooking with truffles once myself - Oregon truffles over gnocchi and gorgonzola. Do so much, I think I'll stick to having them when I dine out - always a treat.

Truffle oil or butter over eggs (soft scrambled or over easy, amazing!). Truffle salt on popcorn with european melted butter, ridiculous. fresh truffles over fresh pasta or in risotto, awesome! So simple but always the best way to enjoy the most pungent and delicious fungus.

Prior to the world wars of the 20th century, truffles used to be more widely available because they *were* cultivated, rather than just sought wild. But 2 wars destroyed both the land and the people involved, disrupting the planting cycle and a fairly new cultivation technique.

Truffle salt on buttered toast!

I went to a truffle fair in Acqua Lagne and bought a white one about the size of the first joint of my little finger for 20 Euros. 1/2 of it was shaved over fresh pasta tossed in butter the night I bought it and finished the next day over organic scrambled eggs bought from a neighbouring small-holding. It was sensory overload - the flavour is relatively mild, but the aroma is so heavy you experience the truffle rather than taste it. Marvellous.

(I also bought a walnut-sized black truffle for 12 euros, but tragically it was ruined when overlooked during celebrations relating to a day spent at a truffle fair and left by a raging fire overnight. I still kick myself when I think of that)

One of the shops in Pikes Place market has has whole truffles the last two times I was there. Wasn't brave enough to ask how much though as I would have no idea where to begin with how to store one!