Sunday Spices - Vegas Edition

So, this being Vegas, I can't be ordinary and present anything run-of-the-(spice)-mill. So today our Spice (...) of discussion is going to be as extravagant and opulent (and expensive) as this glittering playground in the sand - the truffle.

I've not had much experience of truffles in my life - indeed I think the first time I ever tasted them was at a fancy dinner party thrown by my mate Alec Von Bargen in Tokyo. He had run all over the city trying to find them, and doubtless had to mortgage his internal organs to pay for them.

It's an unusual flavour - I've no idea how I'd approach cooking them. Anything that expensive, I'm cagey about preparing. I am all about trial-and-error - so long as the trials aren't too pricey! And, as blogged previously, I hate waste. So messed up truffles would be a disaster.

Tonight at the MGM, I met my dear and lovely friend Ruth, (Dr. Ruth, indeed), and we had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant there. We shared a bottle of wine called 'Irony' (how perfect is that?) and then came back two hours later for more food. Splendid all round - but the triumph of the evening was convincing our second waiter to prepare the truffled potato chips with a lighter cheese than the one on the menu. Waiter #1 was no help, but #2 was marvellous. Guess who got a good tip?!

Here are some photos of Ruth and her truffled - delicious - potatoes, Traci and her extravagant dessert, and Ruth and me posing. Viva Las Vegas!