Truffle

The truffle oil is not essential, but it's a nice indulgent touch. Since the oil's flavor dissipates with heat, add the oil to this first-course soup just before serving.

At the Fifth Floor, this is prepared with quail. Game hens make an easy-to-find substitute.

Le Cirque's elegant take on roast chicken.

White asparagus has a delicate flavor that works especially well with our truffle vinaigrette, but try the dish with green asparagus, too.

In this classic French dish, a veal roast is sliced and layered with a combination of soubise (onion) and duxelles (mushroom) stuffings, then put back together in the shape of the roast. Traditionally, it's covered with more stuffing and heavily coated with a Mornay sauce (which glazes the roast as it's heated in the oven). In our updated version, we keep the soubise and duxelles separate and arrange them side by side — black contrasting with white — on each veal slice, so the stuffings are visible. We use only a very thin coating of Mornay to glaze the dish, and serve the rest on the side.

Goat cheese and truffle oil add rich flavors to the humble sweet potato.

This salmon is wrapped in rice paper, which gets very crisp when sautéed.

October is the beginning of white truffle season, but if you have trouble finding white truffles, don't despair — these soufflés are delicious without them. Much of the deep flavor of this dish comes from Bra Tenero cheese. We tried lots of alternatives, and American Münster was the closest, though it won't turn the same golden brown color.

You can make this dish with white truffles as well. Canned white truffles are more pungent than the black ones and provide an exciting gastronomic treat when added to the sauce.