Iron Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Bobby Flay (above) will host Brunch at Bobby's, a new TV show that debuts 2 p.m. Saturday on the Cooking Channel.

Sunday brunch happens to be Flay’s favorite meal of the week, and he’s passionate about it. Brunch @ Bobby’s celebrates his favorite menus, which he’ll prepare from a relaxed kitchen in The Hamptons.

Truffles, often referred to as the “ultimate mushroom,” are known for their earthy flavor and wallet-denting price (up to $4,000 per pound).

Organic truffle oil is a less expensive option, with different varieties available online and at well-stocked natural and organic food stores.

But read labels carefully. As Chef Daniel Patterson of San Francisco’s Coi Restaurant reports in the New York Times, some truffle oils lack even a hint of real truffle.

“Most commercial truffle oils are concocted by mixing olive oil with one or more compounds like 2,4-dithiapentane (the most prominent of the hundreds of aromatic molecules that make the flavor of white truffles so exciting) that have been created in a laboratory,” he writes.

The Food Network’s Pick 

The Food Network purchases  USDA Certified organic truffle oil from da Rosario, a New York City-based company that sells organic truffle products to  the U.S. market.

Owned by Rosario Safina, author of Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasures, da Rosario sources truffles from a small plot on an organic farm in Italy’s Umbrian Valley. Products include USDA Certified 100% organic: 

• Truffle-flavored olive oils (white and black truffle)
• Savory truffle seasonings (white and black truffle)
• Acacia honey with white truffles
• Truffle butters (white and black truffle)  

“If the label says USDA 100% Certified Organic, you can bet there are real, organic truffle pieces inside,” Safina recently explained in The Daily Beast.

Chefs’ Recipes 

Celebrity chefs regularly use real truffle butter and/or oil in their favorite recipes. Check out:

1. Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Roast Turkey with Truffle Butter
2. Iron Chef Bobby Flay’s Parmesan-Crusted Portobello Mushrooms with White Truffle Oil
3. Prolific restaurateur Emeril Lagasse’s rich Root Vegetable Soup with Truffle Oil
4. Asian culinary superstar Ming Tsai’s Wild Mushroom and Pumpkin Risotto

Here in Los Angeles, hip restaurant La Cachette Bistro serves a Belgian Endives Salad with Organic California Walnuts, California Blue Cheese and Truffle Oil Dressing. Trendy Ketchup—known for its French fries tossed with Parmesan cheese and white truffle oil—has introduced a Summer Truffle Sausage Risotto.

For additional recipes, look no further than OrganicAuthority Publisher Laura Klein’s favorite truffle oil dishes.

If you’re planning a Memorial Day barbecue or attending a potluck, take a cue from celebrity chef Bobby Flay: Aim for simple and delicious.

“Real food does not have to be complicated,” says Flay, one of the Food Network’s Iron Chefs. “With a few basic ingredients, it’s easy to create a meal you can feel good about serving the whole family.”

Prep time for our weekend recipe is 10 minutes, chill time is 20 minutes, and all of the ingredients should be available at a well-stocked natural and organic food store.

You can quadruple the recipe if you’re expecting a crowd.

Bobby Flay’s Smoked Chile Cole Slaw

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available in the Mexican food aisle)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head green cabbage, finely shredded
2 large carrots, finely shredded
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine mayonnaise, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, lime juice, honey and cumin in large bowl. Season, if desired, with salt and black pepper.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Hellmann’s/Best Foods