Culinary Adventures with Camilla

While R and his friend were busy working on their science fair project, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I logged a couple of hours watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks together.  "Let's make duck," he declared yesterday afternoon. "You do the duck and I'll make the kale salad for dinner. Does that sound good?" That sounds great. I love having a partner in my kitchen shenanigans.  After making Lapsang Souchong Blondies last week - and having Jake comment that he thought the intense, smoky flavor would go better with a savory - I thought I'd make a lapsang souchong sauce for my duck. It was well-received by my three. What do you think? Do you cook with tea often? Ingredients Braised Duck 4 duck legs 2 large onions, peeled and cubed 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thickly sliced 2 C diced celery root 1-1/2 C stock, preferably homemade 1/2 C brewed  lapsang souchong tea 1 shisho blossom Lapsang Soucho...

Though I typically shun "national food holidays" - click to read that previously posted rant - I made an exception for today. Happy National Licorice Day! I happily packaged up bags of licorice candies for a few of my favorite people and planned a dinner that was heavy on some licorice-relatives: fennel and anise. Those recipes will be posted later. In case that flavor-family confuses you, here's a brief run-down... Although they share a similar taste profile—reminiscent of black licorice—and both belong to the  Apiaceae  family, fennel and anise are actually two different plants. Though, adding to the confusion, what we call fennel, here in California, is often (mis)labeled as anise in other parts of the country and the world. However, if you're eating the bulb, stalks, and fronds of the plant, more than likely, it's fennel. Normally the seeds of the anise plant are all that is consumed. [Click to read a post I did on anise seeds previously.] Let me add...

Clafoutis is as easy to make as it is fun to say. Klah-foo-tee! And I had a gob of fresh cherries, so I put Dylan to work - with his cherry pitter - and whipped up some for dessert. Just a note: this is not marashcino cherry clafoutis. It's cherry clafoutis spiked with maraschino liqueur. 2 C cherries, pitted 4 eggs 1 C organic granulated sugar 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1 C milk 2 T maraschino liqueur 2 t anise seeds powdered sugar for dusting Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter your baking dish(es). The amounts above gave me one 9" clafoutis and one 8" clafoutis. Spoon the cherries into the bottom of the dish(es). Whisk the eggs, sugar, and flour together until smooth. Add the milk, maraschino liqueur, and anise seeds. Whisk until smooth. Pour over the cherries. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When you pull it put of the oven it will jiggle a bit. That's normal. Place on a ...

I've never made, or even heard of, a clafoutis . But when I was searching for something to do with a jar of cherries, recipes for clafoutis kept popping up. Sounds like a sign. This dessert comes from the Limousin region of France and is traditionally made with black cherries; other variations are made with plums, prunes, apples, cranberries or blackberries, but those are called flaugnarde . And here's another interesting tidbit, for clafoutis purists, the cherries are baked with their pits intact. The pits, when heated, supposedly impart a unique flavor to the custard-like batter. My cherries were already pitted so...not traditional. Not surprising, right? Also, I skipped the almonds and subbed rum for amaretto. Camilla's Anise-Kissed Clafoutis adapted from Simply Recipes 2 C cherries, pitted 4 eggs 1-1/2 C raw turbinado sugar 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1 C milk 2 T rum 2 t anise seeds powdered sugar for dusting Preheat the oven to 350F. Bu...

Craving something sweet tonight, I really wanted to bake some cookies. But, alas, I had no butter in the house. What's a cookie-craving gal to do...without having to hoof it out to the grocery store? Make olive oil cookies, of course! Baking with olive oil creates cookies that are more cake-like in texture, but with a crisp outside. Just make sure you use a good, flavorful olive oil. 2 1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 t baking powder Pinch pink Himalaya salt 1 C organic granulated sugar 2 eggs 1/2 C olive oil, plus a little for baking stone 1/2 C dry red wine 1 T aniseed Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs with the olive oil and wine. Use a rubber spatula to stir the liquid mix plus aniseeds into the dry one, just until well combined; if the mixture is too stiff, add a little more wine. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly baking stone and back for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool a couple of minutes, then remove...

And because I never make anything the same way twice when Riley requested "the same rolls you made for breakfast yesterday", this was my version today.... I loved the addition of the anise seeds. 1 cup warm milk 5 t active dry yeast 6 1/2 T butter, room temperature 2 eggs 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground nutmeg 1 T anise seeds  1 t ground cinnamon 2 T organic granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 cups all-purpose flour - yes, I refrained from using whole wheat flour, just for today! 1/2 C butter, softened 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 2 T ground cinnamon Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let bloom for about 3 minutes. Mix in 6 1/2 T of soft butter, eggs, spices, 2 T sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 C of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Cream together the remaining butter and sugar. Stir in the cinnamon. ...

I love that this is all mixed in one bowl. Perfect for a hectic get-'em-out-the-door-for-school morning. 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 2 t baking powder 1-1/2 t baking soda 1 t ground cardamom 1 t ground ginger 4 eggs 2 C organic raw sugar 1 C unsweetened applesauce 1/2 C olive oil 1 C chopped pecans 1 T anise seeds Preheat oven to 350. Whisk all wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Fold in dry ingredients until just moistened. Scrape batter into cupcake liners and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Liquore Strega (saffron liqueur), chocolate, espresso, and anise-infused cream...this mousse is a chocolate lovers' dream: rich, decadent, and a perfect addition to my amuse-bouche menu.  INGREDIENTS: 1 ½ pounds semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate ½ C espresso ½ C Liquore Strega* 4 egg yolks 1 C anise-infused heavy cream** ¼ C sugar 8 egg whites pinch of pink Himalaya salt PROCEDURE: Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler or bain marie over low heat. Stir in the espresso and liqueur. Cool to room temperature. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.Whip the cream until thick. Gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks form.Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the cream.Fold the egg white-whipped cream mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour into individual serving glasses and refrigerate for – at least – 2 hours before serving. *If you do not have any Liquore Strega - it is available through BevMo! - Sambuca or Gallian...

Whenever I ask the boys what I should make for dinner, it inevitably involves meat.  This afternoon, while we were walking around Trader Joe's, Riley decided on meatloaf.  Meatloaf is so easy; all you need is meat, a binding agent, and some fun flavors. In this case, I used 2 pounds of 96/4 grass fed beef, 1 egg, 1/2 pound of sliced crimini mushrooms, 1/2 C diced onions, 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 t anise seeds, 1 T dried oregano, 1/2 t ancho chili powder.  Blend all the ingredients together until they are well-mixed.  Press into a buttered loaf pan and prick the top with a fork.  Spread the top with barbeque sauce* and bake at 350 until the sides of the meat pull away from the pan.  Serve with more barbeque sauce. *Barbeque Sauce 1 C organic ketchup 1/4 C water 1/4 C lead-free balsamic vinegar 1/4 C brown sugar 3 T olive oil 2 T paprika 1 T ancho chili powder 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 t cayenne Mix all ingredients together in small saucep...

All month long, I've been blog-hopping through linky parties.  What a fun way to see what other people are crafting and cooking!  I've even linked up a few of my recipes.  One idea I really liked on one blog was a monthly spotlight ingredient.  So, here's my take on it.  Once a month I'll pick a flavor, tell you a bit about it, and give you some recipes - both sweet and savory - that utilize it.  Hope you'll follow along, get inspired, and get cooking. My pick for January: ANISE SEED What is it? Anise Seed is a graybrown oval seed from Pimpinella anisum , a plant in the parsley family. It is related to caraway, dill, cumin, and fennel.  What does it taste like? It smells and tastes like licorice. Around the world... Europeans use anise in cakes, cookies, and sweet breads. In the Middle East and India, it is used in savory soups and stews. Its licorice-like flavor is popular in candies and anise oil is used in liqueurs. Some ideas from Cu...

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.

When searching for a recipe in which to use my cactus paddles, I came across Rick Bayless's recipe for Sopa de Hongos y Nopales (Mushroom-Cactus Soup with Roasted Tomatillos), published in From Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen (Scribner, 1996).  The title of this post is accurate; I was inspired by the flavor combinations in his recipe but completely diverged to create my own version.  And the verdict: all three of my boys devoured their bowls.  Jake even said that it was "red book worthy."  I have a red journal into which I've been tucking family favorites for the past ten years.  So, I'll say this was a successful culinary adventure. Rub three cactus paddles, two red bell peppers, and four tomatoes with olive oil.  Roast in a 350 degree oven till the skin begins to char and pull away from the meat, about an hour.  Let cool and rub off the blackest parts of the skin.  Slice into 1/2" squares. In a large souppot, brown minced onions, shallo...

For some reason, there is a debate as to whether or not cioppino is really an Italian dish. General foodie-consensus seems to be that cioppino , as we know it here, is really an Italian-American creation that became an iconic San Franciscan dish...and has no roots in any regional Italian dishes. I read that it could be 'cioppino' is simply an American bastardization of 'ciupin' which, in turn, was simply the truncation of the Italian zuppina , or “little soup.” But looking closer at the Genovese ciupin recipe, it relies heavily on bony fish and does not include the variety of seafood found in cioppino . A soup that is closer to cioppino might be cacciucco alla Livorno or buridda from Liguria . But having lived, worked, and cooked in Italy, whatever you want to call it - cioppino , ciupin , cacciucco, or buridda - I think this is a quintessential Italian seafood stew. It's made with whatever seafood is readily available; the flavor combinations are all ver...