Culinary Adventures with Camilla

July is National Pickle Month! And, as we all know, I'm a little pickle obsessed. I have pickled everything from blueberries and pumpkin to radishes and ramps . So, I invited some blogging friends to join me in kicking off the month. Here's the pickle line-up... The Beard and The Baker: Quick Spicy Pickles Karen's Kitchen Stories: Jalapeño Pickled Eggs A Day in the Life on the Farm: Gardiniera Savory Moments: Quick Pickled Radishes Lemon Blossoms: Pickled Jalapenos (Taqueria Style) Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Quick Pickled Radishes with Black Peppercorns Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Pickled Quail Eggs Pickled Quail Eggs  I had received some quail eggs from friends and was excited to pickle them. Another friend said that she had tasted pickled quail eggs recently. I piped up, "I have some quail eggs!" Of course you do , she said. Ingredients 12 quail eggs 1 shallot, peeled and slice...

This month, I am hosting  Food'N'Flix , the movie-watching, food-making group rallied by Heather of  All Roads Lead to the Kitchen . So for July's Food'N'Flix, I chose The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society .* This was a movie that I started on the plane to Denmark, over the holidays, but I dozed off during the twelve hour flight and forgot all about the movie. Something jogged my memory recently and I decided to watch it. And I found it so charming, I opted to host it for this month's event... and suggested it for one of my book groups this month also. My older son came in when I was about halfway through the movie and sat down with me. At the end, this was his synopsis: "It's a bunch of crazies on an island with books...and gin. No wonder you like this movie. Those are your people." Probably true. But I am hoping that my fellow Food'N'Flixers and Lit Happens Book Clubbers agree. I can't seem to find the movie ...

At the beginning of the month I posted a photo of R's birthday cake with the caption - "His requests: Bánh mì and a chocolate cake...in the woods." This was the cake. What followed was an illuminating exchange of amicable banter about what makes a chocolate cake a chocolate cake. I had - wrongly, as it turned out - assumed that if I put chocolate frosting on the cake, regardless of the cake-part, it was a 'chocolate cake.' Kathey posted: My friend Camilla is an amazing food blogger and experimenter. She posted a photo of a cake she deemed chocolate, and a friendly back and forth ensued as to what really constitutes a “chocolate cake.” Now I’m curious: how chocolatey does a cake have to be for you to consider it a chocolate cake? For me, the cake and frosting both have to have chocolate involved. I think Alla feels the same way. What do the rest of you think? Monday morning musings as I eat my breakfast. Responses included... "Its [sic] what...

If ever there was a cocktail that was no-fail, the Bloody Mary - and all its variations - would be it, for me. I don't think I've ever had a bad Bloody Mary; I mean, I've had some that are phenomenal and, obviously some are better than others. But it's pretty tough to screw up spiked spicy tomato juice, right? So when I saw a listing for a Bloody Mary event later in the year, I decided to see how else I could use those flavors that I love in something other than a drink. Don't get me wrong, I will use this event as an excuse to try my hand at making a Bloody Geisha (swapping in sake for vodka), a Brown Mary (whiskey instead of vodka), a Green Mary (using tomatillo juice instead of tomato), and so much more! But I started with a meatball variation because we had gone to a party and two of mine didn't get to try any of the meatballs I brought. I had some ground pork from my friends at  California Kurobuta Pork . You can read the article about Jack Kim...

These three books are on D's summer reading list for Honors English. And since I had never read any of them, I decided to dig in while he was reading one of his other assigned books. I already posted about Licorice Laces, Orange Soda, and the curious incident of the dog in the night-time ; but this post is about The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominque Bauby*. Quick synopsis: Bauby, editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine, suffers a devastating stroke at age 43. The damage to his brain stem leaves him with locked-in syndrome - almost completely paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking his left eye. Bauby painstakingly dictates his memoir via the only means of movement and expression left to him. I read that the book took approximately 200,000 blinks to write with the average word taking approximately two minutes to convey and transcribe. And on March 9, 1997, just two days after the book was published, Bauby died of pneumonia. Before I...

This book - the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon* - has been on my radar for years. A friend recently placed it in his top seven most influential reads of his life. But I never found the occasion to read it till it appeared as an option on D's summer reading list. In fact, there were multiple books on his list that I had never picked up. So, we bought them, and I breezed through three of them this week. On the Page Christopher John Francis Boone knows every prime number up to 7,057. He loves animals, especially his pet rat Toby. Being on the autistic spectrum, he lacks understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand being touched. And he despises the colors yellow and brown. This book has at its core Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog named Wellington. But it's really a jaunt through the mind of an autistic boy just navigating his life. He narrates: "This will not be a funny book. I ...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with and in preparation for the July #ItalianFWT event. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links Next month - July 2019 - I am hosting the #ItalianFWT group as we delve into tasting and pairing Prosecco DOCG. You can read my invitation to the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers here -  You're Invited: Tanti Auguri (Many Wishes), Prosecco DOCG!!   And you can read about my first exploration here, where I looked at the difference between Frizzante and Spumante . The Martinotti Method I decided to open up my second bottle from the Corsorzio*, the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Millesimato Extra Dry from Prosecco Toffoli. And, in doing research, I came across a new-to-me term: the Martinotti Method. The characteristic sparkle of today’s Prosecco is the result of advances in science. The original design of the autoclave - a pressurized chamber to raise ...

To celebrate the end of a successful school year, we took the boys to our favorite restaurant, La Balena . We've long been friends with the owners, Emanuele and Anna. And I love that I always come away inspired. One of the first dishes we tried was Burrata with Anchovies. So simple and yet so amazing. I think that's the way food should be. Well, most food. It lets the ingredients speak for themselves. And on the summer solstice, I recreated the dish for us. It's not a really a recipe. But I'll share it, in the hopes that it will inspire you to try it for yourself. Ingredients serves 4 as an appetizer 4 balls of burrata 4 anchovies, cured and packed in oil olive oil freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper toasted bread, optional (I served it without at home) Procedure Place burrata on a serving plate or platter. Top each burrata with an anchovy. Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' June event. W e are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , to   share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  And this month, Sid of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking is also hosting as we share appetizers that includes seafood . Before I get to my recipe. Here's the rest of the #FishFridayFoodies' offerings... Deviled Crab by Palatable Pastime Grilled Stuffed Squid by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Oysters on the Half Shell by A Day in the Life on the Farm Shrimp Bites by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking Shrimp Rémoulade by Karen's Kitchen Stories  Sunshine Sauce Prawns On Cucumber Salad by Sneha's Recipe  An Appetizer and A Wine Pairing Next month one of my wine pairing groups - #WinePW - is focusing on Rioja wines and grilled foods. I received one bottle as an industry sample, for the event, but decided to pick up a few other bottles ...