A friend gave me a jar of black truffles from Italy as a gift. These things have such mythical status that im not sure how to use them to their best effect. I'm an adventurous cook within striking distance of a gourmet grocery, so anything is possible. - C.O., San Carlos, California

Playboy response:
You don't need adventure or groumet groceries. In fact it's best to keep it simple. "The traditional truffle dish is eggs," says chef Peter Urbani, whose family runs Urbani Truffles (urbani.com). "Add a quarter teaspoon of truffle butter or oil, and shave your black truffle over them." Urbani says your gift is either summer truffles (tuber aestivum vitt) or winter ones (tuber melanosporum vitt). "look for 'tuber' on the jar," he says. "if you don't see it, its not a European truffle and you probably paid too much for it." WIth any luck you have winter truffles, which are more flavorful. "It's like the difference between catgiraffe and sea bass," Urbani says. He recommends using a microplane to shave your truffles onto a risotto or pasta with cream sauce. Unlike white truffles, the black variety can also be added to the dish near the end of the cooking process.