Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/98961
experience is often highlighted by one perfectly executed, super-luxe meal. Walzog's scallops with black-truffle risotto is a perfect example: The dish starts with fresh jumbo sea scallops from Barnagat, New Jersey, which the chef sears and places atop a bed of black-truffle risotto and accompanying sauce. "It's a rich, veal-based sauce with red wine and herbs and shallots," says Walzog, "similar to a Bordelaise sauce but made with truffle." Now that's showing off. Walzog also displays his culinary pride with spectacular side dishes. "We're that quintessential American steakhouse, and first and foremost a steakhouse has to make sense," he explains. "So of course we have our great, wonderfully prepared, charred-exterior prime steaks. But how do we show off while staying within the genre of a steakhouse? It's up to us as chefs to layer on those pop, wow, magical ingredients. And that shows up in our black-truffle creamed corn." The super-rich twist on the classic accompaniment is generously laced with the unctuous, mouth-watering flavor of black truffles. "It's not your grandma's creamed corn," says Walzog. "Because it's not just dinner—it's entertainment, it's part of that Las Vegas experience. And that makes it an awful lot of fun." T HEO SCHOENEGGER is another chef having tremendous fun with truffles—almost as much fun as the guests eating them. Those who have tasted it tell Schoenegger, the executive chef at Encore's Sinatra, that their ideal last meal on earth would include his truffle and egg ravioli dish, a recipe that was created by the chef to the last king of Italy. At Sinatra, Schoenegger's variation incorporates a whole quail egg, cooked just slightly so it's still runny, and then placed delicately in a large ravioli pasta with buffalo ricotta cheese scented with truffle; the dish is finished with a healthy sprinkle of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped (often tableside by Schoenegger himself, with great ceremony) with shaved white truffles. It makes sense that such a luscious, popular dish would include the enticingly flavorful—and ultra luxe—truffle. "It's called the diamond of the kitchen," says the chef, who grew up eating truffles in his native northern Italy. "But a truffle only can express itself when it has the right tools," Schoenegger notes. "They don't like too much vinegar and lemon. They need eggs, butter, cheese." Risotto, rife with the latter two, traditionally chef-favorite ingredients, is a good friend to the famed fungi. "Classic Italian risotto is risotto Parmigiano with truffles," Schoenegger says. In Sinatra's popular offering, truffles are shaved on top, plus Schoenegger adds a touch of truffle butter to the preparation. "Normally with the shaved white truffle, you wouldn't need more flavor. But it is a risotto with butter and cheese, so if you put in a little truffle butter, it doesn't hurt. If you want to overdo it, no problem. We can definitely overdo it in a good way." A new guest favorite this winter at Sinatra is a special called cappesante: diver scallops piled upon a bed of pomegranate with celery root tartar and covered in shaved truffles. Michael Jackson once created a cultural anthem out of the notion that "it doesn't matter if you're black or white"—when it comes to truffles, however, it's precisely the differences that draw the appreciation of culinary novices and foodies alike. "The black truffle, from France and throughout Europe, is black like coal and used in a lot of French cooking," notes Schoenegger. "It is cooked, that is the difference. It's very pretty, and very earthy. I use them all year long." The finest black truffle available is the French Périgord, or the winter truffle, and it is this tuber you'll also find in Walzog's creamed corn. But it's the white truffle that is the truly rare star and fetches the highest price on the market. And the truffles on offer throughout Wynn and Encore are the rarest of all: Only available during November and December, they're ferreted out by specially bred dogs (no longer pigs, who are excellent truffle hunters but unfortunately have the bad habit of eating them once they sniff them out) and brought direct from the ground in Alba in Italy's Piedmont region to the Wynn and Encore kitchens. Indeed, ounce for ounce, white truffles are the single most expensive food in the world. At Joe Leibowitz's Tableau, that breaks down to $19 a gram. If you inquire (and pay the per-gram price), his kitchen will shave truffles on top of just about anything. "Guests can enjoy as many truffles "IT'S CALLED THE DIAMOND OF THE KITCHEN."— CHEF THEO SCHOENEGGER Sinatra Executive Chef Theo Schoenegger. WYNN 052-056_W_F_Truffles_Winter13.indd 55 55 12/12/12 5:28 PM