Culinary Adventures with Camilla

With Sue of  A Palatable Pastime   as our host, we're sharing our favorite French recipes! She wrote: "We're baking  foods from France this month, by popular demand. Sweet or savory, some portion of the  recipe should be baked." I can't wait to have some new French recipes. Here's the line-up... Alsatian Bacon and Onion Tart (Tarte Flambée) from Making Miracles Blueberry & Cream Cheese Croque Cake from Sneha's Recipe Broyé du Poitou (Shortbread from Poitiers) from Tara's Multicultural Table Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bon Bon Cookies from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Crème Brûlée from Karen's Kitchen Stories Easy Cauliflower Gratin from Cook with Renu Fraisier - French Strawberry Cake from Veg'n'Bake French Breakfast Puffs from A Day in the Life on the Farm Gratin aux Courgette from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking Pain de Campagne (French Country Bread) from Caroline's Cooking ...

Happy Pi Day! Every year Coleen of The Redhead Baker invites her blogging pals to post pie recipes in honor of the day. And, in previous events, I've shared Lamb, Basmati Rice, and Grape Leaf Pi(e)  and   Matcha-Chocolate Pie . And I actually just did a round-up earlier this evening in my post  Mathematics, LEGO, and a Pie Parade . But here's the pie rack for the 2019 edition of #PiDay with Coleen... 4 Ingredient Lemon Ice Box Pie by Creative Southern Home Brownie Pie by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Carrot Pie by Savory Moments Grapefruit Pie by Kate's Recipe Box Kentucky Pie by For the Love of Food Key Lime Pie by Simply Inspired Meals Lucky Lemon Pie by The Spiffy Cookie Mexican Chicken Pie by Karen's Kitchen Stories Mini Shepherd's Pies by Cheese Curd In Paradise Mushroom Galette by Caroline's Cooking Rhubarb Berry Pie by The Redhead Baker Sky High S'mores Pie by Food Above Gold Spaghetti Pie by A Day in the Life on the Far...

It's  Food'N'Flix  time - where we watch movies and head  into the kitchen and cook or bake or make something based on a recipe they actually make in it or just something we were driven to make after watching it. This month's film - A Good Year - was selected by Tina at Squirrel Head Manor . You can see her invitation: here. What a delicious foray into life in Provence! While the wine flows freely and the scenery makes me want to buy a one-way ticket to France, food doesn't have a starring role in the movie. Wine, yes. Food, not so much. The sole exception: dinner at Francis and Ludivine's home. Francis gestures at various home-cooked dishes at the table: caviar of eggplant, headless larks, mushrooms, and, finally, civet of wild boar, marinated in red wine, and blood pressed from the carcass. And that - those few lines - was enough to launch me on a culinary adventure to make a civet for myself.  The only thing I asked my boys: duck or rabbit? Tho...

As part of our Sint-Niklaas dinner, for the grown-ups, I made  Advocaat. This is a potent Dutch zabaglione .  Proost ! 5  egg yolks sprinkle of salt 2/3 C organic granulated sugar 3/4 C brandy Beat the egg yolks, salt and sugar until thickened. Slowly trickle in the brandy, still beating. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and warm over a low heat, continuously whisking. Be patient. If it boils, the alcohol will evaporate. The advocaat is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Serve the advocaat with a dusting of nutmeg.

On Friday, the wind and rain battered us as we ran from the parking lot to the classrooms. Dylan's hand was wet in mine. "Mom," he suggested, "I think it's an eggnog and cookies kind of a day. What do you think?" Sounds good, Sweetheart. But do you mean to drink or to bake into cookies? "Both!" Perfect.  Well, I'm two days late, but it's still an eggnog and cookie day! And even though Dylan was my kitchen elf tonight, I'm calling this part of Riley's 12 Days of Christmas Cookies series. Dylan started with my trusty crust that I use for my lemon squares...with an eggnog twist. 2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C powdered sugar 3/4 C butter pinch of pink Himalaya salt 1 T cold eggnog Preheat oven to 350. Place flour, powdered sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in butter till the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in eggnog until the mixture forms a ball. Press the dough into a 9"x13" bakin...

Confession time: I served my kids cake for breakfast this morning...with frosting. And they washed it down with mugs of frosty eggnog. 'Tis the season, right? 1/2 C butter, at room temperature 1-1/2 C organic brown sugar 2 eggs 2 T brandy 2 t pure vanilla extract 2 C flour 1 t baking powder 3 C Fuyu persimmons (the flat, hard variety), peeled and thinly sliced Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and liquids to form a this batter. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder until just moistened. Stir in the persimmons and spoon into a buttered baking dish. Bake for an hour until the cake is golden brown and springs back when you press it in the middle. Let cook in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack; let cool completely. I topped this with leftover cream cheese frosting*, but it would just as good with a dusting of organic powdered sugar. *I made this for Jet's birt...

This afternoon when Jenn called to see if we wanted to meet her and Gabe at the Greek Festival, we loaded up in the car and headed over there. Food, fun, and my favorite three-year-old. Oh, I was not missing that. The annual Greek Festival - during Labor Day weekend - in the Custom House Plaza is the only festival that I attend each and every year. Sometimes, we go on multiple days during the three-day weekend. This year, however, today was it. We swapped money for tokens and waited in line for dolmades, meatballs, gyros, and more. Then we lounged in the sun and enjoyed the day and the company. We capped off our Greek culinary adventure with some sweet treats. Gabe chose Kourabiedes. Check out the powdered sugar streaming from the wrapper! He was devouring this with such delight that I have put this on my short-list of cookies to make. Kourabiedes (pronounced “koo-rah-bee-YEH-thess”) are Greek butter cookies traditionally baked for Christmas and Easter; the Chr...

I found several recipes for Finnish mustards at an online Nordic Recipe Archive .  I made a coffee mustard - with brandy! - and an apple mustard. They were easy, interesting, and the perfect foil to some roasted sausages. I took a shortcut by using some prepared organic mustard. Coffee Mustard with Brandy mustard espresso brandy Apple Mustard with Brandy mustard applesauce cream ...and I didn't measure. I just blended to taste. Delicious!

Along with my tiramisù  and  Estonian rhubarb cake , I decided on a dessert shot to round out my sweet trio. I had all of the ingredients and I couldn't resist the name; I knew the guys would be all over it. And I was right - no man turns down a hummer. 1 mini scoop of lemon sorbet 1 mini scoop of mango sorbet (the original called for orange, but I wanted mine a little more exotic) 1 shot of Calvados or brandy Sweet. Potent. Cheers! I neglected to get a photo of saucy shot - 'The Citrus Hummer' -  but it was a hit. Here's a photo of the saucy hostess instead.

 After watching the very disappointing tiramisù demonstration aboard the Star Princess, I've been craving my version. I learned how to make this in Italy...from a woman who didn't speak English. That has to be authentic, doesn't it?!? Layer 1: ladyfingers moistened with an espresso + brandy mixture (with a 2:1 ratio) Layer 2: zabaglione (3 egg yolks + 3 T organic granulated sugar cooked over a double boiler until frothy) + 3 egg whites beaten until peaks form Layer 3: marscarpone cream + 1/3 C espresso Layer 4: unsweetened whipped cream + unsweetened cocoa powder