Slice like a pro: off-label uses for truffle shavers

You might not have the knife skills of an Iron Chef, but don't let that crush your dreams of ever managing those paper-thin slices of garlic you've seen clinging to the linguine in swanky restaurants. And you don't even need a pricey mandoline slicer to pull it off. All it takes is a simple kitchen tool designed for shaving truffles that happens to work wonders on other foods as well. Formally known as a tagliatartufi, luckily this device is much easier to use than pronounce.

But before you go Googling "tagliatartufi," or even the less expensive-sounding "truffle shaver," be prepared for prices as high as you'd expect for something meant for use with rare fungi that have been sniffed out by specially trained sows in the forests of Italy. It's not unusual for specialty shops to list them around $35, and some cost upwards of $60.

Here's a little tip: When called a "chocolate shaver," the same little puppy will set you back a mere 7 to 10 bucks. And it certainly works wonders for coaxing delicate curls from a hunk of dark chocolate to sprinkle on cakes and other desserts.

Most truffle shavers are adjustable so you can determine the thickness of the slices. Tighten it up and you can quickly turn a clove of garlic into dozens of wispy slivers that will make even simple soup and pasta dishes look glitzy. It's definitely easier than chopping, and the results are so much more impressive. Try sprucing up your salads with a topping of ultra-thin slices of garlic or shallots that you've fried till crispy in a small amount of olive oil.

Other stuff ripe for the slicing:

• Mushrooms -- Not just the posh, dried, imported kind this nifty little contraption is designed for. Adjust it for thicker cuts and use it to quickly get perfect, even slices from an unassuming button mushroom.
• Radishes -- Now you can get them ultra thin even if you don't own (or don't want to bother dirtying) a food processor. Same goes for fennel and cucumbers and carrots and celery... You get the idea.
• Chiles -- Delicate slices not only look good, but help distribute the heat more evenly throughout a dish.
• Ginger -- This fibrous root is not the easiest thing to slice, but if you peel a hunk of it and run it against your truffle shaver along the grain, you can then easily cut these slices into thin matchsticks with a knife (again, working along the grain rather than against it). Excellent in stir-fries.
• Limes -- Paper-thin citrus... slices floating in water... an elegant touch (and a bad haiku).
• Cheese -- Unlike your average cheese slicer, a truffle shaver enables you to determine the thickness of your slices. Plus, it's the perfect tool for getting wide shavings of hard cheeses, such as parmesan and asiago. You can sometimes use a vegetable peeler instead, but that would be too narrow if you're working with a big hunk of cheese.

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