Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Earlier this month, I participated in a blogging event - a Virtual Mad Men Finale Party , hosted by the authors and publisher of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook. * Here's their recap of the event . It was a great, great fun. And, to make it even more so, they had prizes and door prizes for the participating bloggers. Judy Gelman, one of the authors, dropped me a line right after the event to let me know that I would be getting a box full of retro candy. Sweet! When it came, the inside box read "Sugar Memories." I refrained from peeking, deciding to save it for my husband's 40th birthday camping trip. We opened it this weekend under the redwoods. And it  really  was all about sugar memories.  Friends picked up different pieces and commented, nostalgically, "I remember eating this at my grandmother's house." Or "Oh, these were my favorite when...." There were candies that most everyone knew. And there were candies that no one rem...

When the authors of The Unofficial Man Men Cookbook extended an invitation to toast the Mad Men Season Finale at their Mad Men Blogger Virtual Dinner Party , I almost skipped reading the rest of the email because, well, I had never seen Mad Men. Then I discovered I can stream the episodes on Netflix. Sweet. So, over the course of several weeks, my husband and I knocked out five seasons! We're still plugging away on the sixth. But this cookbook by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin - below along with the seasons on DVD  - inspired me to host a Mad Men-themed Party for one of my best friend's 42nd birthday celebration. Along with another friend, who borrowed the cookbook to pick some recipes, we whipped up Sterling Cooper Blini and Caviar, Classic Shrimp Cocktail, Jackie Kennedy's Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa, Betty's Swedish Meatballs, and Trudy's Ribeye in the Pan. We planned on letting the kids try the Popcorn Balls, but my air-popper decided to poop out that...