Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Bon appetite! Or, as Czechs say, Dobrou chuť ! I realize that I had some catching up to do on our cooking adventure. This fragrant stew paired nicely with our Bramboracky , savory Czech potato pancakes. 1 medium onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 C sliced brown mushrooms 2 zucchini, sliced 2 lbs cubed beef or pork olive oil freshly ground salt and pepper 1 T chopped oregano 2 C hot beer (why hot!? I don't know...that's what everything I read told me) 1 T vinegar 1/2 C tomato sauce 2 T white whole wheat flour 2 tomatoes, chopped  Heat oil in stew pot then add chopped onion. And cook until the onion is golden. Add cubed meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, vegetables, vinegar, and beer. Mix thoroughly and simmer about 45 minutes or until tender. Add flour to thicken and stir in oregano.

And here we are on the final 'D' country of our Cooking Around the World Adventure: the Domenican Republic, not to be confused with Domenica, the country we cooked and ate last night. Remember the map? Just in case you need to see it again... Much like Gallo Pinto in Costa Rica, Habichuelas Guisadas Dominicanas (Domenican Stewed Red Beans) is a table staple in the Domenican Republic, served in almost every household at least once a day. Since gallo pinto is a family favorite, I decided to try the red version. Habichuelas Guisadas Dominicanas The secret to habichuelas is the sofrito or seasoning - a long-simmered sauce chock-full of garlic, onions, and fresh herbs. In a large flat-bottomed pan, saute 2 T minced garlic, 1 chopped onion, 2 sliced carrots, 1C diced celery, and one diced bell pepper (traditional recipes use a green bell pepper; I had a yellow one). Once these are completely softened, add 1 C tomato sauce, 1 T vinegar, and 1/2 C of red win...

Here we go. Here are all of the submissions for the June Food'N'Flix event where I selected Mistress of Spices as our inspiration and starting point. Black Pepper Chicken Elizabeth, from The Law Student's Cookbook , whipped up a Black Pepper Chicken that showcases black peppercorns. They used to be known as “black-gold” and were used as a form of money. I love learning tidbits of information such as that and I know that I would love this dish! Cocoa Rubbed Fish with Coconut Chutney As for me, I wanted to use turmeric. I created a dry rub for fish and served it with a coconut chutney. Turmeric has a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. Fragrant and sweet with a little bit of heat, this was a fun, summer dinner. I might just have to do something with fenugreek on a Tuesday or fennel on a Wednesday! Native American Sweet Meat Or Tofu Balls Malice, from Malice in Dunder...

The final two countries in our Cooking Around the World adventure for the letter 'D' are Dominica and the Domenican Republic. Yes, those are two different countries. I had to look that up myself. I'm pretty sure that I, ignorantly, have used those names interchangeably. Whoops. But you can see from the map, above, that Domenica lies in the archipelago that begins with Anguilla in the north and ends with Trinidad and Tobago in the south while the Domenican Republic is further west, closer to Jamaica and Cuba. So, first we're traveling to Domenica. Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due primarily to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs, finally falling under French control. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763 who, then, made the island a colony in 1805. Finally Domenica gained its independence in 1978. Reading about the Domenican cuisine, they seem to have access to a variety of fruits and vegetables, incl...

From Denmark, we traveled by tabletop to the tiny African nation of Djibouti, pronounced dja-booty. And, yes, my boys were giggling and dancing around the dining room, singing: "Shake dja-booty! Shake dja-booty!" Facing the narrowest point of the Persian Gulf, Djibouti lies in a strategic position and was, therefore, used as a landing point for trade vessels for many centuries. As a result, in addition to its native cuisine which is very similar to its neighbor Ethiopia, Djiboutienne cuisine had strong Arabic, Indian and British influences. The Portugese also brought the techniques of roasting and marinating foods to this country; Arabs introduced saffron, cinnamon, pomegranate juice and other spices to the country as well as various citrus, bell peppers, chiles, tomatoes and maize. I had some past-their-prime bananas and thought that Djiboutienne banana fritters would make a fantastic breakfast...along with some maize pudding. They did. We especially liked the nutme...

And that's a wrap. I told the boys we were doing a series of Danish dishes in honor of our favorite Danes - Rikke, Ulla, Danya, and Stella - during our cooking around the world adventure. So after three dinners and a breakfast, I think they're ready to move on to our next country. Here's the Danish round-up... (click on the recipe titles to go to the recipe and original post) Breakfast = Crepes with Rabarber-Hindbærsyltetøj (Crepes with Rhubarb-Raspberry Jam) These delicate pancakes are scented with cardamom and I received the best compliment ever when I made them: "Mom, these taste just like Danya and Ms. Ulla's!" That is high praise from my 10-year-old. Lunch = Smørrebrød (Open-Face Sandwiches) Though this is traditionally a mid-day meal for the Danes, we ate them for dinner, outside on a warm summer's evening...and loved them! I had initially thought to pre-make the smørrebrød, then I realized it would be more fun to unlea...

Smørrebrød means 'buttered bread' in Danish and refers to traditional open-face sandwiches with a myriad combination of toppings that are presented atop slices of dark Danish rye bread ( rugbrød ) and washed down with a crisp, cold lager beer ( øl ) . I found a nice long list of traditional smørrebrød  and started with the bread and butter... I had initially thought to pre-make the smørrebrød, then I realized it would be more fun to unleash the boys' creative palates. So I presented platters of ham, hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, potatoes, avocados, rhubarb-raspberry jam, cornichons, fresh radishes, fresh sugar snap peas, fresh mint, and fresh parsley. Then the boys had some fun.... And, this concludes our Danish Cooking Around the World Adventure. We're off to Djibouti next.

Meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes. For a country where no one lives more than 30 miles from the coast, Danes sure do like their meat! My boys are very happy this week. Tonight I made S tegt Flæsk Med Persillesov, roasted pork with parsley sauce. What I didn't realize was that, though I saw a translation of this dish as "roasted bacon" it's traditionally an unsmoked bacon. Maybe cuts of pork belly. I'm not sure. I had applewood smoked bacon in my fridge, so that's what I used. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the bacon flat in a baking dish. Roast for 20 minutes. Flip. And roast for another 20 minutes. The fat should be rendered and the meat crisp and browned. Let drain on a paper towel to absorb the excess fat.     Boil your potatoes until cooked. And make the parsley sauce. I had in my head a fresh, herb-heavy sauce, more like an Argentinian chimmichurri, but the Danish parsley sauce, persillesov, is essentially a cre...

I have to say that I wanted to like this place. I really, really  did. I could never be a vegetarian again because I love meat. Sorry, Veg-friends. It's true. I was a vegetarian for the better part of a decade. And though we eat a lot of fresh vegetables and have plenty of vegetarian meals, lamb lollipops, roasted pork tenderloin, and tasty burgers top our favorites list!  After a fantastic morning in Point Lobos, I told the boys we were going to try out a new burger place. "Great!" they cried in unison. They are always keen for a culinary adventure. New places, new foods. They love it. I usually make a concerted effort not to be negative and to give people and places a fair shot - at least once. But, seriously, within two minutes of walking into this restaurant, I wanted to leave. However, the boys had their hearts set on trying it, so I stuck it out. Needless to say, we won't be back. That's one of the great things about living where we do: countles...

Riley asked for Danish crepes this morning and I had no jam in the house, but I did have two stalks of rhubarb and fresh raspberries. So, I made a quick jam ( Rabarber-Hindbærsyltetøj ): 1 C chopped rhubarb, 3 C fresh raspberries, 1/2 C water, 1 C organic granulated sugar. And I received the highest praise ever for my crepes. "Mommy," Riley announced, "these are just like Danya's and Ms. Ulla's." Dylan didn't say anything; he was too busy stuffing his face. Success! 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 3 eggs 2 C milk 1/2 t ground cardamom Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well until all clumps are gone. Let rest for at least 20 minutes. Heat a large flat-bottom pan and rub the bottom with butter. Pour the batter in the middle of the pan and quickly make a tilting motion to distribute the batter all over the pan. The goal: have as thin a batter layer as possible. Cook until the pancake is a bit stiff...

  And to go with our Brunede Kartofler  Dylan and I stuffed a pork tenderloin with apples and dried prunes. pork tenderloin pink Himalaya salt and flower pepper 1 tart apple, peel and sliced dried prunes 5 pearl onions, peeled and halved olive oil 1/2 cup cold water 2 T corn starch Cut tenderloins lengthwise almost in half. Sprinkle cut sides with salt and pepper. Place half each of the prunes and apple down center of one side of each tenderloin; cover with the other side.   Lace with butcher's twine (100% cotton). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large, flat-bottomed pan, quickly brown all sides of the roast. Then place the roll in a baking dish with the onions and any leftover apple slices. Season with more salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for an hour - or until the meat is firm to the touch. In a small saucepan, whisk water and cornstarch together. Gradually stir in pan drippings - with the onion...