Truffle salt...how do i love thee?

Hubs and I are head over heels for this indulgent jar of salty splendor. My awesome boss gave me a jar of this recently and we are addicted. I love opening the jar and just taking a deep whiff. I love the way my fingers smell after I have sprinkled it. Truffle salt will add an earthy sultry aroma/taste to just about anything. So far we've thrown it on filet mingon, frittatas, each other. I read on the WS site to try it on hot buttery popcorn—I can not wait!

Go buy a jar. Then go buy jars for all of the people you love because you won't stop talking about it. It is a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

A couple of years ago I tried a bite size pumpkin whoopie pie from One Girl Cookie in Brooklyn and it was delicious. Since then I have been intrigued by the thought of making them but never got around to it, until this week. While browsing the stacks at B&N I came across the "Baked" bakery cookbook. After drooling over their pumpkin whoopie pie and sweet & salty cake recipe, I decided to painstakingly write them down in my trusty little notebook—only to come home and find both recipes on MarthaStewart.com. Arg.

The recipe.

They were really easy to make. The batter was straight forward: mix the dry, mix the wet, then mix them together. The recipe yields 12 pies, but made them smaller, getting 18 complete pies. The cookie/cake is super moist. I was worried that I may have slightly undercooked them, regardless they were awesome.

Pies cooling, pictured with a non-blog worthy chocolate carrot cake. Assembly was simple, I skipped the piping bag and just dished the frosting on with a large spoon, spread slightly and then put the pies together.

A friend gave me a bottle of Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste recently and I've really enjoyed using it. I am partial to their extract, but this is the first time I've used the paste. The paste is used exactly like the extract, but I typically save it for frosting—where the lovely little vanilla beans are visible.

Week 1: Buffalo Chicken Frittata

Okay, I know what you're thinking...Buffalo Chicken Frittata? Gross. Couldn't you have started off with something a bit more good-for-you sounding? Of all the wonderful ingredients in the world, really,  Buffalo Chicken? Well folks, here's the deal: Before the New Year, hubs and I designated Sundays as frittata night in our house. I got to thinking that it would be fun to experiment and take turns with the ingredients all the while documenting the journey, hence "fifty-two frittatas". While scoping our ravaged fridge after our holiday away I noticed that we had a surplus of blue cheese and that was about it. Buffalo Chicky was the first thing to pop into my head. I thought it would also be a great way to garner some enthusiasm out of hubs. Sure enough his eyes lit up when I mentioned it.

This was a thin frittata, I was a bit stingy with the eggs.

5 eggs
tablespoon soy milk
1 chicken breast
buffalo chicken sauce (to bake the chicken in) and to add to the eggs
crumbled blue cheese
~5 small potatoes
1 shallot

I chop and boil my potatoes for about 6 minutes. I use this delightful trio of potatoes I get at Wegman's—white, reds and blues. All the while sauteing my chopped shallot in olive oil in my frittata pan. Add the potatoes and stir. Meanwhile the chicken, coated with Buffalo sauce is cooking and my 5 eggs are beaten together with soy milk, 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles and about a tablespoon or so of b. sauce (depending on how spicy you want your frittata). Cut up the chicken and add to the potatoes, then pour egg mixture over that. Let it sit over medium heat for a bit to set up. With a flexible spatula, start to peel the sides and let the eggs fill the sides. Once it is pretty well set, throw it in the oven to cook off the remaining runny egg on top. Broiling does the trick nicely.

Overall taste: delicious. The flavors were fantastic. I tend to let my shallots and potatoes get a little crispy and browned, combine that with egg, buffalo chicken and blue cheese—and you've got one terrific bite. Follow it with a swig of frosty brew.

Drawbacks: I found that I slightly overcooked this one, it was a bit dry. It is hard to get the timing perfect, especially when you have a shallow pool of runny egg on top. Less time on stove top and a nice hot broil? Or should I invest in the wonderful calphalon frittata pan over at William S.

My little frittata helper. Hubs had his weekly tennis match the night I made this, but he'll be mixing up the eggs next week.