Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today is our final January post in our year-long project that I'm calling the Kitchen Matrix Project, after Mark Bittman's  Kitchen Matrix  cookbook. You can read about it:  here . I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me. Next month, Wendy at A Day in the Life in the Farm picked the recipes. I can't wait to follow along with her choices. This week, I picked 'Clafoutis + 3 Ways' for the group which means we could make Cherry-Pistachio Clafoutis, Peach Clafoutis with Star Anise, or Mango Coconut Clafoutis...along with any variations or adaptations that we needed or wanted. But, first, I'm going to be a little bit of a stickler on terminology. You wouldn't expect anything else from me, right?  Clafoutis comes from the Limousin region of France and is traditionally made with black cherries; all other variations - made with plums, prunes, apples, cranberries, blackberries, peaches, and mango - are called flaugn...

Eight years ago, on January 17, 2010, I published my very first blogpost. I had no idea what I was doing!  Like most bloggers, I cringe when I look at those early posts. A serious dearth of story telling. No measurements. Just a stream of consciousness narrative that described how I made something. Yikes. The only thing I am mildly satisfied with are the photos. My photos weren't bad; the rest was abysmal. So, along with a group of foodie bloggers, I have decided to re-do one recipe post a month. This will be a humbling exercise, I think. It will also be inspiring to see how far we've come. Spiced Hot Chocolate I kept the top photo because I love the festive red of those espresso cups and my Christmas amaryllis. Ingredients makes 4 demitasse cups or 2 large cups 2 C dark chocolate (I prefer 70% cacao solids or higher) 2 C milk 1 T flour 1 T organic granulated sugar 1 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t ground nutmeg 1/4 t ground cardamom pinch of cay...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Le Creuset . All opinions are my own. Last term, I taught a class about rice dishes from around the world and had approached my contact at Le Creuset about getting a tagine for when we, by tabletop, traveled to Morocco. Yes! She said 'yes.' Then the final week of my class was canceled and I never got a chance to use the pot. I was guilt-ridden. So, I signed up to teach another six-week class and made sure that I used the tagine during the second week of class...just to make sure we didn't have another scheduling snafu. So, I am finally using the tagine as I said I would: to teach kids to cook! Tagine A tajine or tagine is a Maghrebi dish named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. So, it refers to both the cooking vessel and the resulting food; it is also called a maraq/marqa in North Africa and the Middle East. Mentions of the tagine date back to Harun al-Rashid who was a rule...

Sixteen years ago I never, in my wildest dreams, would imagine that I would be hosting a round-up of chocolate cake recipes in honor of National Chocolate Cake Day. Sixteen years ago, I didn't eat chocolate. But, here I am. I gathered up some of my favorite foodie bloggers and we're sharing chocolate cake recipes that are going to make you want to stick your fork into your monitor. Don't do it, though. Please. But, I know, it's tempting!! The Chocolate Cake Walk Jolene's Recipe Journal:  Best Chocolate Cake Ever! A Day in the Life on the Farm:  Chocolate Mug Cake Amy's Cooking Adventures:  Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes The Redhead Baker:  Fudgy Chocolate Bundt Cake Cindy's Recipes and Writings:  Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks:  Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Double Chocolate Cake with Whiskey Ganache Palatable Pastime:  Flourless Chocolate Cake Cooking With Carlee:  Chocolate B...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Quirk Books .  I received a complimentary book for the purpose of review, but all opinions are honest and they are my own. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. Back in October, I mentioned an inspiring cookbook that had me running to the store for maple syrup -  Maple: 100 Sweet and Savory Recipes Featuring Pure Maple Syrup  by Katie Webster. *  Over the course of the past few months, I have cooked my way through several of Webster's creations...with slight modifications based on what I had in my kitchen. I was inspired to sweeten my chia pudding with maple as well as my hot cocoa. I put maple syrup in my pizza dough as well as my whiskey cocktails. But the recipe that has cemented itself in my salad rotation is her Kale Skillet Salad...with Nuts and Maple. She wrote the recipe with walnuts and maple. I make it with whatever nuts - or seeds - I hav...

I haven't been good about posting recipes that use a tagine. I don't know why, but I've set a goal to remedy that...especially since I'm leading the kids in my Spices of the Souk class in making a chicken tagine with preserve lemons and olives on Friday. So, bear with me as I get all of these photos off of my computer and recipes written. Tagine A tajine or tagine is a Maghrebi dish named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. So, it refers to both the cooking vessel and the resulting food; it is also called a maraq/marqa in North Africa and the Middle East. Mentions of the tagine date back to Harun al-Rashid who was a ruler of the Early Muslim conquests and it appears in the 9th century collection of stories One Thousand and One Nights. At the same time, it was noted during the Islamic reign of the Abbasid Empire that stretched from the Middle East/Asia to North Africa and Andalusia.  The dish was used by nomadic Bedouin people of th...

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice mixture that I always have on hand. It's a breeze to make and adds something fabulous to olive oil for dipping and - I've just discovered - as a spice rub on any kind of meat or fish! While za’atar has a few key ingredients, you can add whatever you want. The proportions are up to you.  Last week for my Spices of the Souk cooking class, I had the kids make their own versions of za'atar. D added in juniper berries and crushed bay leaves. And when we received our portion of hamachi from our CSF (community-supported fishery) Real Good Fish , he asked if we could make za'atar-encrusted hamachi. Sure thing! Ingredients  serves 4 1 pound hamachi, skin on (I usually serve a 1/2 pound piece per person)  1 T butter 1 t olive oil za'atar spice (there's one version of za'atar in this post ) Procedure Melt butter in olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season fish generously with za...

Today Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures rallied her foodie blogger friends to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day with her. And it just so happened that I had this peanut butter cookie that I made in December and never shared...because you know this month, Jake and I are not eating added sugars. Funny story to tell as I've been adapting recipes to be without added sugar. Jake said, "You know those peanut butter cookies you made on New Year's Eve?"  Yes.  "Do you think you could make a version without sugar?"   Are you talking about the ones that are rolled in sugar?!?  "Oh, yeah. Nevermind. But can you can you make them in February?"  Sure thing. So, I'll be making these again soon. In the meantime, here's what everyone else is sharing.  All the Peanut Buttery Yumminess 3 Healthy Peanut Butter Smoothies by Bear & Bug Eats Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce by Everyday Eile...

Today on week four of our year-long project that I'm calling the Kitchen Matrix Project, after Mark Bittman's  Kitchen Matrix  cookbook. You can read about it:  here . I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me. This week, I picked 'Wilted Spinach + 3 Ways' for the group which means we could make wilted spinach with with skirt steak, with bacon, or with chicken...along with any variations or adaptations that we needed or wanted. An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients 2 bunches organic spinach, destemmed and rinsed 5 thick slices bacon, chopped 1 sprig fresh thyme 2 C sliced mushroom (I used crimini)   Procedure  Place bacon in a large skillet and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Add in the thyme sprig and stir in the mushrooms. Cook until they are softened. Remove the thyme and toss in the spinach. Cook in the rendered fat until just wilted. Remove from heat and s...

This was one of those dishes that I created to match a wine. Actually, I think I go that direction quite a lot. Instead of buying a wine to match a dish, I'm usually looking for flavors in a dish to match a wine I already have.  In any case, I was matching a locally-made Chardonnay that I'll be featuring in next month's #WinePW event when we highlight women in wine. Very excited about highlighting Nicole Walsh and her Santa Cruz-based  Ser Winery ! When What to Drink with What You Eat (read my post about that wonderful reference here )   suggested ginger and fish, I decided to make a lime-ginger beurre blanc to serve with the fresh black cod I had just picked up at the market.  Ingredients  serves 4 Fish 1 pound black cod, skin on (I usually serve a 1/2 pound piece per person)  1 T butter 1 t olive oil freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Beurre Blanc 1-1/2 C unsalted butter, cut into cubes 1⁄4 C dry white wine (I ...