Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I am so rarely in front of the camera. But my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf grabbed my camera as I was heading to the table to serve the Osso Buco. And I told him I'd use the photo. I've made osso buco a handful of times, including Jamie Oliver's Ossobuco with Bean Ragout  and a lamb osso buco , but I was inspired to do osso buco this year for Thanksgiving because, well, I am anti-turkey. Sorry...I know that's almost un-American. Osso buco , literally means, hole in the bone. So have your butcher cut the shanks into 1" to 2" lengths that have the bone - and marrow - showing. I was so excited to finally get to use my brand-new Dutch oven. So, so happy. Ingredients serves 6 six 2" osso buco-cut beef shanks flour for dredging 3 T butter 2 T olive oil 2 leeks, cleaned, trimmed, and chopped 3 carrots, chopped 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped 6 C organic chicken stock (it should come about 2/3 of the way up the sides of th

This week's #SundaySupper event is a DIYers dream. 'Gifts from the Kitchen' is the theme for the event, so we're sharing recipes for homemade holiday presents. I've made and think these would make great gifts, too:  Salted Caramel Sauce , Gin-Drizzled Gravlax , Cranberry-Clementine Infused Gin , Stone Fruit Jams , and Quick Pickled Asparagus . But today, I'm sharing a recipe for Boozy Olives; I had intended to make Homemade Cocktail Onions, too, but life has been more chaotic than usual and I am still between two kitchens. I'll post the cocktail onion recipe later. For the olives, go for a variety of colors. I used the green Castelvetrano, purple Alfonso, and black Niçoise. Be forewarned, this recipe takes 2 weeks to age; so, make them now to have them ready in time for the holidays. Cheers! Ingredients  fills 5 jam jars 4 C olives 1 1/2 C gin (I prefer Hendricks) 1/4 C dry vermouth 2" piece of Buddha's Hand Citron (click to rea

I was very excited to learn about this wine - Donkey & Goat 's 2013 Roussanne, Stone Crusher - from Martin at ENOFLYZ Wine Blog . Thanks for the great tip! First, Donkey & Goat is based in Berkeley; though I haven't lived there in almost 20 years, it still has a warm spot in my heart. Second, there's Jared and Tracey's manifesto: read it here . These are two winemakers I'd really love to meet. Maybe someday. I actually ordered their Thanksgiving 6-pack, so I have five more Donkey & Goat wines to try. I'll definitely be uncorking one soon. I poured this with the first course of our Thanksgiving feast that included a White Velvet Soup and a Duet of Salads . Now about the wine. They have been making this orange wine for about 5 years, when they realized that the skins helped  their natural fermentation finish. Yes, I did write "orange wine." It's not white, or even pink. It's not red. It's really orange. See.

As part of our soup and salad course, I created a duet of root-based salads. One featured celeriac, the other showcased a combination of beets, carrots, and radishes. And I put my brand-new mandolin to great use. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get one. It's outrageously easy. Salad One: Celeriac-Apple Salad A bright mustard vinaigrette is tossed with celery root and tart apples for a light salad with a delicious crunch. Ingredients  for the Mustard Vinaigrette 2 t Dijon mustard 2 T apple cider vinegar 3 T olive oil 2 T walnut oil (or you can use 5 T olive oil if you don't have any walnut oil) freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper for the Salad 1 medium celery root 2 medium tart apples (I had some Granny Smiths from our High Ground Organics CSA ) 4 medium celery stalks juice from 1 organic lemon 1/2 C fresh herbs, finely chopped 1/4 C toasted pecan pieces for garnish Procedure Whisk the

Preparing radishes this way take them from somewhat piquant to perfectly smooth. We love them prepared like this...and they were the perfect addition to my Putting Down Roots menu for Thanksgiving. I used pink radishes and some Black Spanish radishes from our High Ground Organics CSA . Ingredients 2 T butter radishes, cleaned, greens removed, halved or quartered lengthwise (see photo above for how many I used - 5 pink and 4 black) freshly ground black pepper freshly ground sea salt 1 T honey (I used a local honey) 1/2 C water 1 T fresh herbs, thinly sliced olive oil Procedure Use a pan large enough to hold the radishes without crowding. Melt the butter over medium heat, letting it brown slightly. Add the radishes, honey, and water. Stir to combine. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes or so. Uncover, increase the heat to high and bring back to a boil. Cook for anoth

This round Simon, at  briciole , selected  That Old Ace in the Hole  by Annie Proulx for our October-Novemer  Cook the Books  project. Here's  her post .  I have to be honest: I couldn't get through this book. I tried. Twice. The first time, I was reading the words without really engaging. I decided to restart, thinking I just needed an attitude adjustment.  The second time, I  was  more interested in the characters and the story, but that only lasted for about the first fifty pages. Then, again, I was slogging through.  I used to be a stubborn reader, determined to finish any book I started. But I am not that reader anymore; if a book doesn't hold my interest, I know that there are plenty more that will. I am thoroughly enjoying Jim Gaffigan's  Food: A Love Story . But just as I was about to throw in the towel and declare that I was out for this round, I read a page about Cy's Old Dog Café and knew that I could cook something from the book...even if I di

I had intended to just serve roasted turnips, but I ended up having other roots that needed roasting. So my sidedish ended up as roasted roots, including purple top turnip, Black Spanish radishes, potatoes, and carrots, too. Ingredients 1 large purple top turnip 2 Black Spanish radishes 2 potatoes 2 to 3 carrots 1/8 t cayenne pepper 1/4 t ground nutmeg 2 T olive oil freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1/4 C shaved parmesan Procedure Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Quarter the turnip and radishes and slice into 1/4 to 1/2" pieces. Slice the carrots into 1/2" coins. Place the roots in a large mixing bowl. Season with cayenne, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Transfer roots to a rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and roast until golden on both sides, approximately 30 minutes. Turn them over halfway through baking. To serve, transfer to a serving dish and shave cheese over the top.

I  wanted to start off the Thanksgiving meal with something silky and luscious. (This photo makes it look lumpy, but it really wasn't. I promise!) This soup was made even more decadent with a drizzle of white truffle oil. Ingredients 1 head of cauliflower 2 medium onions 5 potatoes (I had red potatoes) 1 C water 5 C vegetable broth juice of 1 organic lemon freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper olive oil white truffle infused olive oil fresh herbs (I used a mixture of chives, mint, majoram, thyme, and parsley) Procedure Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Wash and cut your head of cauliflower into small pieces. Slice your onions and potatoes into wedges. Spread them out onto the baking tray. Drizzle olive oil over top. Put trays into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the edges have become a nice golden tinge. In batches, blend the veggies mixed with water and st

Seasoned with sassafras, sarsaparilla and a variety of other herbs and spices, the ingredient list for homemade rootbeer is daunting. But I finally got around to amassing what I needed. The boys were so excited. And it was perfect for our 'Putting Down Roots' Thanksgiving menu. Ingredients 1/2 C sassafras root bark 1-1/2 t sarsaparilla root extract 1 T licorice root 1 t ground ginger root 1 T dandelion root 1 hop flower 2 kaffir lime leaves 2 T birch bark 1 t juniper berries 1 cinnamon stick 10 C water 1 C organic cane sugar 1/2 C fresh whey* Procedure *First you have to make the whey. It took about an hour for me to get 1/2 C of whey from my plain yogurt. I've read to leave it overnight, but I just did it till I got what I needed for the recipe. Line a colander with cheesecloth, then spoon your yogurt into it. Let drain. Place all of the ingredients - up to the water (on the list above) - in a large souppot.