Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I know that tomatoes had their chance and we're moving into hard squash season. But I still have tomatoes coming in from Jake and D's garden and a friend dropped off a box full recently. So I took the opportunity to make a tomato tart for dinner and want to share it with you in case you still have tomatoes available. This is based on a traditional French tart whose crust is smeared with mustard and topped with sardines. But I was the only one in the mood for sardines, so I'm not including it today. You can still see my slice - with the sardine! - at the end. Oh, a traditional tart would have a butter crust; I decided to make one with olive oil. Ingredients makes one 9-inch tart Olive Oil Crust 50 grams organic granulated sugar 1 large egg + 1 egg yolks 800 grams oil (I used olive oil) zest of 1 organic lemon, approximately 1 teaspoon 280 grams flour (I used all-purpose flour) pinch of salt 1 teaspoon baking powder Also needed: 9" tart pan with removable bottom, parc

  I love Halloween. I really do. I especially enjoy creating foods that look creepy.  Forget heart-shaped and red foods for Valentines' Day, though I do those, too; I have the most fun creating things such as a  Creepy Eyeball Martini   and  Cobweb Eggs ! So when I saw a friend post a photo of a chocolate chip cookie with the melted chocolate dragged out to look like spider legs, I knew I had to make them. They didn't end up being as easy as I thought. Maybe it's the kind of chocolate chips that I had, but they didn't melt into an oozy chocolate mess. I had to melt chocolate separately and draw on the legs with a toothpick. Still, they were worth the effort for a creepy, crawly chocolate chip cookie. You can use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is just one of many that I make. This one ends up being more crisp and a little bit more flat than my salted olive oil chocolate chip cookies . Have fun! Ingredients  makes approximately two dozen 3-inch cookies

During Fall Break, earlier this month, I did a lot of reading. Well, I read a lot all year long. But Fall Break afforded me full days of lounging and reading...between hikes and family dinners. One of the books I devoured was The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb.* On the Page At first I didn't really know what was meant by the gothic literature; then I realized that Edgar Allen Poe's books and stories practically invented the genre. Okay. I'm with it now. Though that still isn't really a genre that I read regularly. Brynn Wilder arrives in the tourist town of Wharton, on Lake Superior, to regroup and refresh after a year of taking care of her dying mother, the split from her longtime boyfriend, and being on sabbatical from teaching; she isn't sure that she wants to return to her old life at all. Her friend arranges her stay at a guesthouse with a motley cast of characters who are also in town for the season - Jason and Gil, a gay couple who have Alice, Jason

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive . Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own. Do you do 'Taco Tuesday' in your household? Ours is not every week, but we do love our tacos. I enjoy repurposing leftovers into tacos such as my Duck-os (Leftover Duck + Tacos) . And in recent weeks Spiced Smashed Potato Tacos with Homemade Purple Corn Tortillas have made a showing because Jake eats plant-based during the week. But when I had some fresh local black cod this week, I decided to make some fresh fish tacos. And I always have homemade kimchi in my fridge, so I went with an Asian-spiced fish. I used the  Winter Ambrosia vinegar  from The Quail & Olive* which has become my go-to for a tart, but bright vinegar; plus it balances the saltiness of soy sauce nicely. Ingredients  serves 4 with leftovers Fish 1 to 2 pounds fish, deboned and cut i

Last week a friend dropped off freshly smoked trout. Uh-huh. I was torn between saving it for a special dinner and tearing into it right away. I did both. I made two recipes as part of an appetizer course. This Smoked Trout Paté is the first recipe. It's super easy and big on flavor with the addition of fresh horseradish. Also, if you don't have smoked trout, use whatever you have on-hand - smoked salmon, smoked herring, or smoked mackerel would work just as well. Ingredients serves 4 to 6 as part of an appetizer board 3 to 4 ounces smoked trout 3 ounces mascarpone cheese milk, as needed 1/2 teaspoon prepared white horseradish, drained 1/4 cup fresh chives, snipped or chopped plus more for garnish freshly ground salt, to taste (my trout was salty enough without any more) freshly ground pepper, to taste Also needed: crackers or flatbreads for serving Procedure   Remove the skin from the fish and discard. Crumble or flake the smoked fish into a small mixing bowl. Add mascarpone c

  Let's start with this: There is no recipe in this post. I wanted to be able to share a Hidden Heart Loaf Cake with this book post, but I ended up with a gooey, misshapen chocolate heart in most of the slices. So, I'll skip the recipe until I can produce a cake that not only tastes good, but looks pretty! Okay, if you're still with me, I'll be sharing my thoughts on The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister* and recapping how my hidden heart loaf cake completely flopped. It tasted great, but it was unevenly baked. So, I'll be trying that again soon. For now, let's talk about the book that inspired this attempt. On the Page I didn't actually know that this was a sequel when I bought it. But, now that I've entered the world of Lillian and her restaurant, I will definitely be ordering that first book! This isn't a plot heavy novel; it's just a compelling series of character-driven narratives that intersect in a satisfying book.  There's Lil

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive . Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own. I am not big on eating candy. But if I had to pick one, I'd choose SweetTarts every time. I love the tartness that makes my mouth pucker with a kiss of sweetness at the end.  I feel the same way about salad dressings or any kind of drizzle. This is one that I've been making for years...with whatever vinegar I happen to have in the house. But my recent collaboration with The Quail & Olive* has given me an army of delicious vinegars with which to play.  For this version, I opted for the earthy sweetness of the  Star Anise Vanilla Bean Balsamic  and the crisp tartness of the  Winter Ambrosia vinegar . Also, I change the herbs based on whatever is on my counter at the time. Yesterday, I had dill. During the summer, I add in basil most of the time. Ingredients makes

  Kelley of  Simply Inspired Meals  is hosting this month's Food'N'Flix; she has asked us to watch Halloween movies - anything Halloween related - and be inspired into the kitchen. Read her invitation  here . On the Screen Earlier this month, I posted A Shrunken (Apple) Heads Tart + The Indiana Jones Movies for this event. I must really like archaeological action flicks because I decided to watch The Mummy* , the 1999 version with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Well, I thought it might be a fun trilogy to spread out throughout the weekend. My younger son, who is a teenager, didn't make it through. He said it was too creepy. So, I don't even have a movie review other than to report: yes, it was worthy of a few Halloween shrieks. But I do have a recipe for you. In honor of The Mummy ,  I made homemade mummy dogs. A little bit about hot dogs first... My favorite podcast is FoodStuff. And Anney and Lauren got frank about hot dogs; you can hear that  here , but I'

  Though I have shared how to make shrunken apple heads in previous posts, we decided to create a Shrunken (Apple) Head video for the Culinary Cam YouTube channel this weekend. So, I am creating an updated blogpost and you can watch the clip here . It was a quick, easy, and fun family activity to get us ready for Halloween. That new hashtag - #CulinaryCam - will appear on all my blogposts that have a YouTube accompaniment. Ingredients medium-sized apples water juice from one citrus fruit (I used limes in this case because that's what I had) also needed: knives, peeler, wire rack that fits over a baking sheet Procedure Prepare a bowl with water and lime juice. Peel the apples and carve the faces in each apple. Then drop the creations in the water bath.  They don't need to be perfect. Remember you're baking them and they will shrivel. So, imperfect is perfect! Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat apples dry and place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet.  Bake for 2