Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ceviche  is easily one of my top three favorite appetizers of all time. It's a simple dish of seafood "cooked" by the acid in lemons and limes. It's so easy, but it requires incredibly fresh ingredients. I usually ask my fish monger which is the best choice for  ceviche  that day. Sometimes he'll say shrimp, sometimes it's the scallops. The day I made this, he said both. So, I used both! Ingredients 1/2 pound scallops, sliced (click  here  to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch findings on scallops) 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise 1 t freshly ground salt ½ t freshly ground pepper 6-8 fresh lemons, juiced (I used Meyer lemons from a tree we have in our yard) 1/2 C chopped organic red bell pepper 1/2 C chopped organic cucumber 2 organic green onions, thinly sliced 1 T olive oil 2 T salsa or hot sauce (I used some Carrot Karma Hot Sauce from Intensity Academy ) fresh lettuce, ...

Ingredients Southern Gold Pork 3 to 4 pound boneless pork roast 4 cloves garlic olive oil 12 ounces barbeque sauce (I used Voodoo Chef's Southern Gold) 1/2 C water pretzel buns for serving Garlic Goodness Slaw 2 C shredded cabbage 1 T hot sauce (I used Intensity Academy's Garlic Goodness) 1 T vinegar 1 T mayo Procedure Southern Gold Pork Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven. Quickly brown garlic cloves in hot olive oil. Brown the pork roast completely for approximately 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Add in the barbeque sauce and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 3 to 4 hours. By that point, you should have just a little bit of liquid left in the pot. Remove from the heat. Then, using two forks, shred the pork. It will absorb most of the liquid. Return the pot to the heat and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed. You can cook until your preferred crispness. Garlic Goodness Slaw Combine ...

I was inspired to make these sweet potato fries after smelling and tasting Island Thyme Herb Seaoning by  Caribeque   and Chai Curry 'Chup by  Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces . They are simple and I love that they are baked and not fried. Ingredients sweet potatoes, 1 person usually works well olive oil Island Thyme Herb Seasoning Blend* Chai Curry 'Chup* for serving Procedure Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Cut them into fry-shaped pieces, trying to cut them into similarly sized pieces so the fries will bake evenly. Place the fries in a large mixing bowl and pour in enough olive oil to lightly coat the fries. Dust with seasoning. Then, turn the fries onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten them into a single layer without over-crowding. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the fries. Bake for another 10 to 15 more minutes, or until the fries are crispy. Serve hot with some Chai Curry 'Chup by  Intensity Academy ...

Here we are at day two of my  Hot Summer Eats event . As promised, I will be sharing a grilled recipe, a non-lettuce salad, and/or a cocktail. So, for the non-salad offering today, here's my recipe for a garlicky bean salad...with a little help from one of our event sponsors:  Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces . Intensity Academy's  Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce  added the perfect amount of heat and flavor to my bean salad. I use dried beans, but you can certainly speed it up by using canned beans. Ingredients 1 pound beans (I used dried Moro beans. Click here for how to cook dried beans .) 4 onions, peeled and sliced 1 T butter 1 t local honey juice from 1 organic lemon zest from 1 organic lemon olive oil 1 to 2 T Intensity Academy's  Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce 1 T fresh herbs (I used parsley) Procedure In a large flat-bottom pan, melt the butter over a low heat. Add the onions and cook, over low heat, until caramelized. Mine took appr...

Last month I hosted an 8-day online event celebrating food and romance - #TripleSBites. Along with 19 other bloggers, we shared over 130 recipes. I wanted to give my readers an easy way to view the recipes from each sponsor. Here are the 13 recipes posted using  Intensity Academy 's Chai Sweet Chili Sauce and/or Spicy Mayo. Thanks, again, for sending product to the bloggers and for providing a wonderful prize package for our readers! Check out everything from cake to calamari. These recipes are listed in alphabetical not chronological posting order. Enjoy! All  of the  Intensity Academy   Recipes... Amped-Up Chicken Salad Phyllo Cups by The Weekend Gourmet Chai Sweet Chili Baked Brie Bites by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Chai Sweet Chili Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Debbi Does Dinner Chai Sweet Chili Pickled Cherries by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Chai Sweet Chili Shrimp Cocktail Cups by Famished Fish Finicky Shark Chai Sweet Chi...

Eat dessert first! I've heard that, but given that I don't have a huge sweet tooth, I rarely abide.  However, to kick off our #TripleSBites event I decided to bake a cake. Click to read more about how we're celebrating romance with #TripleSBites . Welcome to the first day of  Triple S. Triple S means spicy, saucy, and sexy. So this is just an Intensely Spicy, Sexy Chocolate Cake from my kitchen to yours. Just for fun, I made it heart-shaped. Click for the HOW TO: Make a Heart-Shaped Cake without a Heart-Shaped Pan . I've read many Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake recipes. Really? Sorry, no cake is that good! And I've heard of people using mayonnaise in cakes before. I was unconvinced. But, after The Precise Kitchen Elf showed me the science of making a cake with mayo - from the book he got for Christmas - we decided to give it a try. Besides I had gotten a Spicy Mayo from Intensity Academy , one of the event sponsor, and thought that would fit into the t...

You will see these Chai Sweet Chili Pickled Cherries as part of an upcoming dish. But they would be a wonderful addition to any cheese and charcuterie platter. When I received the Chai Sweet Chili sauce from Intensity Academy * - for participating in the upcoming online blogging event #TripleSBites - I knew that I wanted to make some kind of pickles. Then I saw cherries at Whole Foods and a lightbulb went on. Pickled Cherries. I mirrored the spices you would use in chai instead of the typical pickling spices. Ingredients 1/3 C organic granulated sugar 1 1/4 t salt (I used a red Hawaiian salt) 1 t coriander seeds 2 cinnamon sticks 8 whole cloves 3 star anise 1/2 C organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar 1/2 C water 2 T Chai Sweet Chili sauce (thanks,  Intensity Academy * ) 1 pound fresh cherries Procedure In a small saucepan, combine water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and stir in Chai Sweet Chili sauce. Cook ...

Last month I hosted a 10-day online event - #10DaysofTailgate. Along with 21 other bloggers, we shared over 130 recipes. I wanted to give my readers an easy way to view the recipes from each sponsor. Here are the 18 official recipes posted using  Intensity Academy   goodies. Thanks, again, for sending product to the bloggers and for providing a wonderful prize package for our readers! Check out everything from sliders to dips and pizzas to nachos. These recipes are listed in alphabetical not chronological posting order. Enjoy! All  of the  Intensity Academy     Recipes... Buffalo Chicken Sliders by girlichef Carnitas-Stuffed Potatoes with Carrot Karma Pico de Gallo by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Carrot Habanero Duck Meatballs by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Chicken Parmesan Sliders by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy Corn and Cheddar Dip by Sew You Think You Can Cook Grilled Avocado with Melted Chee...

It's not a party without some carnitas. I recently won a recipe contest with my Legend of Laguna Carnitas over Pan-Fried Polenta Cakes . And - though I won - one of the comments made by a judge stuck with me: "It's not really carnitas because she didn't make it with lard." While I quelled my gag reflex - lard!?!? - I did start to think about what the lard would do and how it would change my dish. I was thinking that bits might crisp in lard and figured that I could achieve the same effect with butter. So, as a riff on ubiquitous tailgate baked potato skins, I made Carnitas-Stuffed Potatoes with a Carrot Karma* pico de gallo, using Carrot Karma Hot Sauce by Intensity Academy - one of  our #10DaysofTailgate sponsors. The sauce added a slightly sweet, subtle heat to my fresh salsa. Ingredients Carnitas 3 pounds skinless, boneless pork, cut into 2-inch pieces  2 C  liquid (I used a mixture of beer, chicken stock, and water) 1 T Carrot Karma Hot Sau...