Mmmmm...truffle oil

So a good friend of mine just got married to a fabulous guy who happens to be an amazing cook. He doesn't just serve food at dinner parties, he plates it. And of course, they're having fun using all their new wedding gifts off the registry (including a cleaver from me!), and cooking up a storm.

I was kicking myself for not having my camera handy last night, but dinner for five consisted of grilled pork chops with carmelized onions and a reduction of cranberries and apples; pan-seared brussel sprouts (which we plucked off the stalk - who knew?); and super-smooth mashed potatoes, consisting of both white and sweet potatoes. The best part of the creamy potatoes was the drizzling of truffle oil that went on top.

Truffle oil, apparently, is high-quality olive oil infused with black or white truffles. It's super earthy, and seems like a great way to make ho-hum mashed potatoes (not that these were) instantly gourmet. I'd had it in restaurants but never considered buying any for my home kitchen before. This recipe recommends mixing it into the potatoes, but I like the drizzling idea myself.

I called around, and Trader Joe's has black truffle oil ($8.99 for 8.5 oz. bottle, which sounds kinda cheap to me). They'd been out of it for a while, but it's back now. (None in white, though). It's a seasonal item, and will probably be gone by February.

Wild Oats at Deerfield Towne Center has both black (1.9 oz., $8.99) and white truffle oil (1.9 oz., $9.29). A bigger bottle of white truffle oil (3.4 oz.) is $17.49.

Besides making potatoes taste great, what do you use truffle oil for?