A recent New York Times article as a comic strip was a reminder of a classic Italian dessert – trite, ubiquitous, yet delicious – the tartufo.  Tartufo means “truffle” and when you look at this chocolate and ice cream confection you can understand the resemblance.  The article describes the tartufo as a maraschino cherry surrounded by a half chocolate, half vanilla ice cream ball, the whole of which is encased in a chocolate shell.  There are of course many variations on the ice cream, including fruit flavors.  My memory of the tartufo at the Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona is of a pure chocolate bomb. The original is said to be the tartufo di Pizzo, in Calabria. This is generally hazelnut ice-cream surrounding a core of chocolate ganache.  The whole thing is then rolled in cocoa powder and frozen.  In general if you can find a non-industrial, locally-made version, it’s a great treat and totally worth the caloric splurge!