Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today, the From Our Dinner Table group is sharing all manner of St. Patrick's Day recipes. The prompt read: "We are all Irish on St. Patrick's Day! Traditional Irish food includes lots of potato recipes, meat pies and stews, as well as fish and shellfish! Try expanding beyond corned beef a cabbage and try something more traditional this year. Or just make AMAZING corned beef and cabbage." Here's the line-up... Bangers and Mash by Everyday Eileen Easy Boxty by Our Good Life Brownie Batter Fudge for St. Patrick's Day by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Cod Cakes by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Green Velvet Cookies by Kelly Lynn's Sweets and Treats Irish Buck Cocktail by Family Around the Table Irish Cheddar Ale Mac and Cheese by Cheese Curd In Paradise Irish Cream Poke Cake by Strawberry Blondie Kitchen Irish Soda Bread Scones by Kate's Recipe Box Nutty Irish Car Bomb Cake by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Potted Crab by Kare...

Picture this: I walk into a room with a piece of paper and a pen. "I'm going to the store to pick up groceries for tomorrow. What do you want? Anything at all," I say. I get a blank stare in response and, then, a quizzical, Why?  So, I write the number 43 on the piece of paper and hold it up. Oh, is that tomorrow? "Yes. Tomorrow is your birthday and I'm taking requests for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert." Most people would jump at the opportunity to name whatever they want to eat for an entire day...from my kitchen. Seriously. The boys make requests down to the snacks on their birthdays. But my husband just looked at me and said, "I can only think of two things right now: tiramisù and beer." Fine.  Twenty years ago, I took my new boyfriend on a birthday camping trip. On the morning of his 23rd birthday, he woke up and told me that he was going to marry me. I almost left him there...on the bank of a river. I'm glad I didn...

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples  from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. Here we are at the final day of an amazing week of recipes to inspire your brunch menus from appetizers to libations. Many, many thanks to Terri of  Love and Confections  and Christie of  A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures  for coordinating, wrangling, managing, and inspiring all of us! You can go to  this post  to read more about the sponsors, the prizes, and to enter the giveaway! This  recipe includes ingredients from a couple of our event sponsors:  Dixie Crystals   and  Nielsen-Massey . So grateful for the inspiration! But, you can use whatever sugar and almond extract you have on-hand. Zabaglione alle Mandorle Some people might object to this as a true Italian zabaglione since I didn't cook it over a double-boiler, so, pe...

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Nonna! So, last night I asked the boys if we should bake her a cake. They both shook their heads. Pie, they decided. Okay . Pumpkin pie. Okay . And you have to roast some pumpkins while we do our homework. Oh, okay. The boys delivered her pie this morning on their way to school. I didn't have any pumpkins, but I had two kabocha squash from our High Ground Organics CSA . So, while they boys finished up homework, I made some kabocha puree. I've always called it a Japanese pumpkin. Close enough. Ingredients for one 11" pie 2 C all-purpose flour 1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C finely ground blanched almonds or almond flour 1 C butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes dash of ground cinnamon 3 to 4 T ice water 3 to 4 T Frangelico 4 C kabocha puree (make a puree like this: click here ) 4 eggs 2 C organic heavy whipping cream 1/2 C organic granulated sugar spices to taste (D used some ground ci...

I have had a copy of this cookbook from  Quirk Books  - Madeleines: Elegant French Tea Cakes to Bake and Share by Barbara Feldman Morse* - on my pile of 'to-review' for several weeks. I think I was avoiding it because I have never actually eaten a madeleine (did I just admit that aloud?!), I needed to get a madeleine pan, and madeleines looked so complicated. Well, I finally got my hands on a madeleine pan and I had run out of other cooking projects. So, it was time. Morse has divided her recipes into seven chapters with six different categories of madeleines from 'Not Just Plain Vanilla' and 'Indulgent' to 'Savory.' Yes, savory. I'll share one of those recipes another time. But, for this review, I am going to share an indulgent madeleine, her Hazelnut and Frangelico Madeleines. I was more than a little tickled to discover that these cakes are not just elegant, they are easier than they look. With Morse's helpful hints and detailed ...

Inspired by my bounty from Tony Inzana's farmers' market booth, I decided to make a traditional Torta Di Nocciole Piemontese , a hazelnut cake from the Piedmont region of Italy. 1 T baking powder 3 eggs, separated 1 C organic granulated sugar 8 T melted butter 1 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 2 C raw hazelnuts, chopped 4 T milk 1 T pure vanilla extract 1/2 t anise seeds Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking powder with the egg yolks. Fold in the melted butter, then add the sugar, flour, hazelnuts, anise seeds, and milk.  The batter will be very thick.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until thick and stiff. Gently fold the whites and vanilla into the batter. Pour the batter into a buttered round pan. Place in oven and bake between 35-45 minutes until cake is lightly browned. Serve with a cordial of Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) while still warm.