Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today the Sunday Funday group is sharing creative lasagna recipes. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group.  And, for this event, Stacy is hosting. She wrote: "I'm looking for layered casseroles that have a lasagna vibe so you can put a spin on your favorite lasagna recipe but add veggies or a spicy sauce. Change out beef for another protein source (fried tofu crumbles or ground turkey sauce, anyone?) or make a white sauce to layer with lasagna noodles and cheese for a seafood lasagna. OR make a traditional lasagna with meat sauce and cheese but replace the pasta layer with vegetables. The options are endless and I'll be happy with whatever you make that isn't just a random casserole like enchiladas or mac and cheese. I want lasagna layers!" Here's the line-up of our lasagna dishes from the #SundayFunday bloggers....

After the boys' day crabbing on Friday, we had several fresh crabs. We were talking about what to make. "We always makes crab cakes," D complained. "Can we make a crab pie instead?" Crab pie? "You know, Mommy...like a chicken pie, but with crab!" Oh, like a pot pie. Okay. First, we cooked the crab and cleaned it . Then, we got to cooking. Ingredients  for a dozen pot pies 1 batch Pâte Brisée (click name to go to my recipe post) 1 onion, diced 4 carrots, sliced 1 zucchini, diced 1 C shelled peas 2 C dinosaur kale, chiffonaded 4 C cooked, cleaned crab meat 1-2 C seafood broth beciamela sauce* juice from 1 lemon 6 fresh sage leaves, minced     *for the  beciamela  sauce: 2 T flour 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 C half-and-half 1/2 C seafood stock or clam juice salt to taste Procedure For the  beciamela  sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan and add the flour. Whisk to create a roux. Pour in the half-and-half and seafo...

Il Tricolore is what the Italians call their flag. I love serving this dish - pasta with three colors (read 'three sauces') - because everyone gets what they want D and I get pesto, R gets marinara, and Jake gets beciamela. Win, win, win. I cook one pot of pasta and then toss it with three different sauces for serving. For the green:  Mizuna Pesto , Dandelion Pesto , or whatever your favorite recipe is For the white:  Beciamela (recipe in here ) or whatever your favorite recipe is For the red: Fresh Marinara Sauce or whatever your favorite recipe is

You know how In'N'Out has 'Animal-Style'? Well, we have Mac-N-Cheese, Camilla-Style. Despite what one of my friends said about me becoming a mom and cooking out of "the blue box", I can proudly say that my kids do not eat that kind of macaroni and cheese. My version is a family favorite, so that's what I whipped up for dinner to celebrate the end of a successful school year. Onward and upward to 3rd and 5th grades. Wow. At least I have all summer to practice that: 3rd and 5th grades. 3rd and 5th grades. 3rd and 5th grades. How did that happen? First, some clarifications... Mine may or may not actually contain any mac (aroni), or elbow pasta; last night, it didn't. Instead I had a package of trottole , spinners. Mine is not orange. I use whatever cheese I have on hand. Last night it included: ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. So, it was mostly white-hued. Mine is not plain.  Last night I tossed in some silky, sauteed fennel slices...

My 'Fungi Feast for My Fun Guy' had some easy dishes - open jar and serve - and some culinary challenges that got me out of my comfort zone. Having never made a soufflé, I thought I'd tackle it for Jake's birthday dinner. It was well worth the effort. Keep in mind this egg-to-person rule: every egg you use represents a single serving. So, if you are having a soufflé party for 6, use 6 eggs. Simple. Slice whatever mushrooms you are using – in this case bear's head mushrooms from Far West Fungi were my fungus of choice - toss them into a hot skillet and sauté them until water bubbles out and they brown slightly. Separate your eggs and stir the mushrooms into the yolks. Whip your egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and fold the mushroom-yolk into the egg whites 1/3 at a time. Butter your soufflé ramekins, and fill them three-quarters of the way up. Put them in the oven - in a baking dish with water coming halfway up the ramekin. Bake for roughly ...