Fresh winter white truffles from Alba are available.  There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this year we are looking at the most expensive truffles of all time.  (How's that for hyperbole?) The combination of a lousy growing season and the strong Euro adds up to a truly rare delicacy.  We just received 1/2 lb of these little gems and they are on a first come-first served basis.  Please come in for these puppies.

New for us from one of our favorite French producers, Pascal Belliverie, is Saint Nicolas de la Dalmerie.  This raw goat from the Languedoc region is similar to a Livarot and is soft, tangy and fresh (only 3 weeks aged).  Pascal brings us the Truffe de Valensole, too.  This little cow is crumbly and dense in pate.  It has no truffle in it - it is shaped and dusted with ash to resemble the truffles famous from this region.

Truffe de Valensole
Another wonderful producer, Jacquin, brings us the Barceau Tradition - nicely packaged medium aged and dusted goat from the Loire.  Also from France (the Pyrenees) is the Ardi Gasna with Esplette Pepper. This sheep's milk cheese is semi-hard with a dense texture - lightly punctuated by the indigenous, southern France pepper.

How about fancifying your stuffing this year? Not sure how?  Let Leslie Macky of Macrina help.  In fact, she's made it simple by putting everything you need in a bag. Macrina Holiday Stuffing comes complete with dried porcinis and directions.  Nothing's better or simpler.  La Mole baked products are perfect for dessert when you've just eaten too much but want to have something a little sweet and delicate.  The Carezze, Sorrisi and Ricciolini are each baked puffed- pastries with caramelized sugar.  Think palmiers, but from Torino.  We also have Macrina Panettone in the house.  We have them baked each week so they're as fresh as you can get.  Panettone - not just for Christmas anymore!  Speaking of panettone, look for the deluge of Italian panettone and pandoro to arrive next week.
Our Café
You know lunch in our café is out of this world and, now, breakfast is too.  We've brought in our favorite Macrina Pastries—not so much for you but for us!  The employee discount is probably used most on these little baked goods.  Get in on the secret.

As noted above, the Northwest fall releases are flowing in.  Offerings from Owen-Roe, Syncline, Cayuse and L'Ecole (Washington).   We're proud of our recently arrived and allocated Pinot Noirs from Oregon as well, including: J. Christopher, Ken Wright, Cameron, Racine and others.  They don't last long, so drop in before the crowds do.

The Northwest wines are coming in, and that's great.  But please do not miss the some of the wonderful Italian and French wines that just got off the boat:  wonderful Burgundies like Domaine du Prieure Cotes de Beaune and Savigny les Beaune and my new favorite Barbera from Damilano.  Speaking of Barbera, in the category of "the girl that brought ya," the La Spineta Barbera is back.  Pound for pound, the La Spineta is one of the best wines in the store.

Our recommendation for a nice turkey dinner is....Oregon Pinto Gris.  Acidity, texture and a little sweetness at the end mates so well with the savory character of turkey and stuffing.  Van Duzer, Solena and Ponzi are delicious.

Saturday Tastings
As always, tastings are from 2-4pm upstairs in our wine department.
10 November - French Wines
17 November - Shiraz, Shiraz, Shiraz and other big reds from Penfold's

In addition to a new recipe, I've decided to start a tradition - somebody has to, right?  This will be the first (or second, depending on how you look at it) year of including my mom's Pumpkin Chiffon recipe in the Thanksgiving newsletter.  Loyal readers of this rag will note that it's referred to as "my grandmother's" recipe but since my mom is, well, a grandma, I'm giving her the props from now on.  Consider this the dessert equivalent to that cranberry dressing they go on and on about on NPR every year.  This is something you'll actually eat!