Although they say it is not a good year for tartufo, and it is late in the season, we nevertheless decided that we would have them this weekend.Tartufo (truffles) are the fruiting body of a subterranean fungus in northern Italy and they are very expensive because they are hard to find. Thinly sliced onto fresh pasta with butter or a fried egg, they have a pungent odor and a taste that lingers.And there was a restaurant beside a castle, outside the town of Alba, which offered them.

But then the chef appeared and offered his profound apologies, which I found out later were most insincere. It was all a masquerade. They were trufffe-less. We would have to look elsewhere.We continued into the hills the next morning, where the weather began to change.We found a market in Alba, and although concerned about the quality of the produce, negotiated and purchased. We drove through the storm back home to Milan.Preparations were made. And distractions avoided.At long last the tartufo was ready. And it was very good.