Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today, Ellen of Family Around the Table asked the Festive Foodies to share some red, white, and blue recipes ahead of Independence Day. I thought I'd try my hand at a red, white, and blue chia pudding...without the food coloring, of course.  So I considered what I could use that would make the liquids red and blue. Funny note, when I served these, my husband joked, "What's with the brown, white, and grey chia?" But, once he tasted it, he was a fan. First, here's what the rest of the crew is sharing... American Pride Cookies by Jolene's Recipe Journal Cherry Berry Buckle Cake by Cookaholic Wife Firecracker Marshmallow Pops by Family Around the Table Firecracker Roll by A Day in the Life on the Farm Patriotic Pudding Firecrackers by Daily Dish Recipes Patriotic Red, White, Blue Cupcakes by Girl Abroad Patriotic S'mores Brownies by Amy's Cooking Adventures Red White and Blue Burger Bites by Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Salmon what?!? you ask. I did, too. But not knowing didn't stop me from placing an order for it when the opportunity came from our CSF (Community-Supported Fishery) Real Good Fish . So...Salmon. Spoon. Meat. One of my chef friends responded to my post and wrote, "After filleting salmon a spoon is run along the backbone to capture any meat missed by filet knife - great for mousseline, quenelles or dumplings."  I decided to mix it with caramelized onions, poach it in wine, and spoon it on top of gnocchi. Yep. It was a hit! Ingredients Gnocchi 2 C whole-milk ricotta 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1-1/4 C flour + more for rolling 1 C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano dash of grated nutmeg freshly ground pepper Salmon Sauce 1 pound salmon spoon meat (or just boneless cubes of salmon if you don't have access to spoon meat) 1 organic onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 T olive oil 1/2 C wine (I used some leftover Chiaretto) 1/3 C butter 1

I originally decided on this dish for an upcoming #ItalianFWT event. In July we're pairing and sharing with Chiaretto. So, I went searching for traditional dishes from the same region. I came up with Trota agli Agrumi , or trout with citrus. It's common in the Lake Garda area where trout is plentiful. Well, trout isn't that common where I am, but I had received the opportunity to purchase an entire halibut though our CSF (community-supported fishery), Real Good Fish . I figured that halibut cooked this way would be fantastic. But, first, I had to fillet the whole fish. I mentioned it to Jake and came home to the fish cleaned and filleted. Did you take any photos of the process for my post?  I asked. I got a blank stare in return. I'm writing about this for a post...did the boys take any photos of you filleting the fish? Any photos at all?! "I'm not a food blogger," he responded. But I am!  I almost wailed. "Sorry," he

For R's fundraising dinner, I wanted to kick off the evening with plates of marinated olives and homemade giardiniera . As I was cooking and plating like a madwoman, I relied on the boys to serve and, when they felt like it, take photos. I'm not sure which on of them took this shot [below], but I like it! These need to marinate for at least three days. So, we headed to the farmers' market on Tuesday, jarred them, and they were perfect for our Sunday dinner! I had the boys pick vegetables based on color. I wanted to make a rainbow! We ended up with red onions, red and orange peppers, baby carrots, yellow cauliflower, and green summer squash. Then I added in fresh fennel, fresh dill, and some spices. Easy peasy. Ingredients  makes six quart jars assorted vegetables, approximately 3 C each of six different kinds (read above, I picked by color) 6 C distilled white vinegar  2 C water  3 T salt  5 t organic granulated sugar 2 T yellow mustard seed

To end the evening for R's fundraising dinner on Sunday, I wanted a dessert that looked impressive, could be served family-style at the table, and was either Italian or Greek. I considered trays of baklava until I realized that I've never made that. And this was not a time to experiment.  So, I landed on my fall-back: tiramisù. It was a hit. Pare the amounts down for the servings that you need. I needed to serve a crowd, but this can easily be cut in half or thirds.  Also, you want to assemble this dessert the night before you're serving so that the flavors have a chance to combine and the cookies soften. Ingredients  serves 30 6 packages of lady finger cookies (I only used 5-1/2) 3 C + 1 C espresso or strongly brewed coffee 1 C liqueur (I used a chocolate whiskey for this version) 12 eggs, separated into yolks and whites 12 T organic granulated sugar five 8-ounce tubs mascarpone cheese 6 C organic heavy whipping cream unsweetened cocoa powde

Here we are at the fourth and final #KitchenMatrixCookingProject post for June. This month, Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories  selected our recipes. This week she has us looking at Kebabs + 12 Ways. You can read more about our project:  here . We'd love to have you join us. And, if you don't have a copy of his cookbook, you can read  his kebab matrix online .  I found some interesting facts about kebabs in my research. Here are a few of my favorite tidbits: Kebabs are considered to have originated in Turkey when soldiers used to grill chunks of meat on their swords over an open flame; archaeological sites in Santorini unearthed a barbecue made of stone with holes for skewers dating back to the 17th century BC; and kebabs appear in both Asian and African cuisines. Now that it's grilling season, I am looking forward to trying several varations of Bittman's ideas such adding fennel to my kebabs and using a miso flavoring. Yum. Before I get to my selection,

Pesto  is a sauce that originated in the Ligurian region of northern Italy.  Pesto genovese,  from Genoa, traditionally consists of crushed garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with olive oil and  Parmigiano Reggiano.  The name derives from the Italian verb  pestare  which means to pound or to crush, referring to the original way of preparing it - with a mortar and pestle. The ingredients in a traditional pesto are ground with a circular motion of the pestle in the mortar. Now I use a blender. It's much easier! And...I use whatever greens and nuts I happen to have on-hand. So, for this version, I was inspired by my farmers' market find of purslane. Have you ever had purslane? I first encountered purslane in a CSA box years ago. It almost looks like a succulent. Amazingly, its leaves have more omega-3 fatty acids than in some of the fish oils. I think I read somewhere that it's technically a succulent herb. And it definitely has a lot of flavor. Think sour and salt

Welcome to the inaugural Burger of the Month event hosted by Kita of Girl Carnivore . Each month, she will be sending out a list of secret ingredients to inspire a new burger recipe. What delicious, carnivorous fun! You know I was in immediately. This month's line-up needed to include: radishes, spinach, lemon, and cream. Someone asked, "Do we need to incorporate all the ingredients? Or do you need to include just one of the ingredients?" The answer - yes, the challenge is to use all of them in your recipe, but they can be toppings, or accoutrements to the burger, so you can get all the components in a single bite. So, I decided to make lamb patties flecked with preserved lemon and stuffed with feta cheese on a bed of butter-braised spinach topped with pickled radishes. Needless to say, I did not have a good name for this crazy creation. So, I posted a photo to social media and asked the hive mind for their opinions. Lots of 'likes' and 'yums',