The SFoodie Advent Calendar counts down the days before Christmas/Nondenominationalwinterholiday, one treat at a time.
The cold and rain of December always finds us fighting a losing battle against salty-fatty cravings. Maybe it's just our bodies insulating for winter, but we still don't appreciate the extra pounds, and Boccalone's holiday mortadella with black truffles ― available through the end of the month ― isn't helping.
A carnivore's fantasy version of fruitcake, Chris Cosentino's fat- and pistachio-studded mortadella gets a festive touch thanks to bits of earthy-tasting black truffle. There's some restraint here, thankfully, since the intense truffle flavor manages not to overwhelm the sweet and lightly spiced mortadella. It's at its best sliced paper thin, allowing for maximum expression of flavor, aroma, and texture, but the sheer slices also give you the delusion that you aren't really eating that much.
Boccalone Salumeria: Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building (at Embarcadero) #21, 433-6500. Black truffle mortadella is sold sliced ($32/pound) or in 8-ounce logs ($25 each) at the Ferry Building shop through the end of the month, or via mail order through Dec. 27.
Previous days:
Dec. 1: Fruitcake from Schubert's Bakery
Dec. 2: Vegan Peppermint Joe-Joes
Dec. 3: Coconut snowball from Sweet Adeline
Dec. 6: Cranberry linzer verrine from Citizen Cake
Dec. 7: Panettone from Dianda's
Dec. 8: Clarine's Florentines
