Soup can be sexy

I just finished up my last audit for the month in San Francisco and after being fed cold spaghetti and meat sauce one day and rice and cold quiche the next, I was in the mood for good food. I made reservations at Masa's, a really nice French restaurant. They offer 6 course tasting and 9 course tasting meals. That night they were offering a special menu. Every course had shavings of white truffle, very rare and hard to get, and only in season for a short period of time. I was tempted since I love truffles (both the mushroom and chocolate) but at a price of $250, I couldn't justify it.

I went with the vegetarian 6 course menu and was not disappointed. Not only did I get two soups, I also had plenty of black truffles. My amuse bouche was a light and frothy lobster soup paired with a little gruyere puff. Then, I had a delicious layering of yukon gold potatoes with burgundy truffles, surrounded by a the smoothest, potato leek soup, topped with some creme fraiche. The pairing was brilliant. The earthiness of truffles combined with smooth and starchy potato was subtle, but oh so flavorful.

After the waiter pried the soup bowl from my hands, I thought to myself with a few key additional ingredients you can really transform a simple potato soup, into something rich and sexy. It can reach down into the depths of your belly and ignite a primal hunger, that takes all your will power not to lick the very expensive china bowl. A great soup can do that to you. And it may be the five days away from my husband, or the fact I am writing at 3am talking, but I dare even compare a great soup to sex on a spoon.