Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Here we are in November for another installment of our #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of  CulturEatz . Here's  her challenge . In February we kicked off the project with  Cuba ; in March we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a tabletop trip to  Ireland !  Thailand  was our April destination. May had us headed to  Kenya . You get the idea. Last month Evelyne invited us to a special edition: #EattheWorld for Halloween . What spooky, delicious fun! And, this month, we are continuing our culinary nods to international festivals by posting Indian recipes in honor of Diwali. Diwali Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and is celebrated every autumn in this hemisphere. From my limited research, the festival symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. That is much needed in this day and political climate. So, while I'm always up for learning about different internat...

Welcome to Day Two of #CranberryWeek, hosted by Caroline's Cooking and A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures . We'll be sharing cranberry-inspired creations all week long in celebration of national cranberry day.  Search #CranberryWeek to keep up to date and follow the #CranberryWeek Pinterest board for more cranberry inspiration. But first, see all the other cranberry recipes being shared today: Baked Pork Chops with Cranberry Thyme Sauce from Hostess At Heart Cranberry Caipirinha from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures Cranberry Chicken Thokku from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Cranberry Cornbread Dressing from Sew You Think You Can Cook Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing from Cindy's Recipes and Writings Cranberry Oatmeal Sourdough Muffins from Cooking With Carlee Cranberry-Sage Breakfast Sausage from Palatable Pastime Jaegerschnitzel with Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce from Caroline’s Cooking Pumpkin Cranberry Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Determ...

I was on a deadline last night and the boys were coming home late anyway. So, I wanted a dinner that was mostly hands-off. This requires a little bit of active time, then it goes in the oven, and you don't have to think about it again for over an hour. It was perfect for me to get in some good, uninterrupted writing time. And that crispy duck skin! It's amazing.  The spice blend I used was an Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf special which means that I really have no idea what he put in it. But, from what was left out on the counter, I know it had juniper berries, cardamom, coriander, paprika, and some cayenne. It was deliciously spicy. Maybe use your favorite spice blend... Ingredients 4 duck legs 1 T butter splash of olive oil 1 large onion, peeled and cubed 1 C chicken stock, preferably homemade 1 C red wine 1 to 2 T spice blend (your choice - D whipped up something with juniper berries, cardamom, coriander, paprika, and some cayenne)   Procedure ...

This weekend, the Wine Pairing Weekend crew - #WinePW on social media - is pairing sherry with foods. Join the conversation on Twitter on Saturday, July 9th, at 8am Pacific. A Sherry Primer What is sherry? Yes, I did actually ask myself this when I saw that Jeff of FoodWineClick was hosting a sherry-pairing event.  Whhhaaaatttt? I - yes, I was this ignorant! - thought sherry was just for cooking. I had no idea you could drink it...much less enjoy it. Whoops. Thanks for the chance for illumination, Jeff. So, I got to work, reading, researching, and - finally - sipping and recipe testing. Hopefully no one is as clueless as I was. But, just in case, bear with me. Sherry is fortified wine from the southwest part of Spain; it comes in a range of styles - dry, straw-colored or sweet, mahogany-hued or somewhere in between. Dry sherries are usually served chilled while sweet sherries are served at room temperature. Those are the basics. Now, we'll get a little bit...

The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was a little bit grumpy today. First, he was not allowed to go with Daddy and R on the class camping trip. "Ummmm...you're not invited. You're in 6th grade and it's an 8th grade class trip."  But we always go camping as a family , he bellowed.  Second, he was a little saddened about a grade he and his partner received today on a project. We worked so hard...I thought we would do better!   "Well, it's not always about how hard you worked. If your teacher thinks there's room for improvement, you should listen to him. Listen to what he thought was missing or could have been done better." So, I decided to cheer him up with a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Dinner. No surprise, he picked Chicken Tikka Masala with Naan. It's definitely his comfort food. Ingredients Chicken 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1/4 C organic whole milk yogurt 2 T walnut oil 2 t freshly squeeze le...

Here we are at day four of one of my favorite blogging weeks of the year: Brunch Week. Each year, Terri of  Love and Confections  coordinates this multi-blogger, multi-day celebration of all things brunch. This year Christie from  A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures  is co-hosting.  Since I lean towards the savory in my brunch preferences, I wanted to share one of my favorite meaty finger foods! Lamb lollipops make any meal feel instantly fancy.  I love making different variations based on what I have on-hand. I've  made them with black garlic and shiitakes ,  grilled them with garlic salt , and  glazed them with morello cherries . Ingredients 8 French cut rack of lamb, trimmed into chops and trimmed of excess fat 1/2 C dry white wine 1/2 C apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced 2 t ground cumin 1 t ground coriander ¾ t grated turmeric 1 t grated ginger ¼ t ground ...

Because I was testing a recipe for Edible Monterey Bay this weekend that required pickled radishes, I decided to make some quick pickled radishes with coriander seeds. The coriander mirrored the flavor profile of the dish I was testing. And I will happily munch on these till the jar is gone. These radishes are "quick pickled" because they are ready to eat within twenty-four hours. Really quick! You can, of course, let them pickle for longer; their flavor will just get better. Ingredients radishes, trimmed, quartered, and enough to fit in your jar 3/4 C apple cider vinegar 3/4 C water 3 T organic sugar 1 T salt (I used some large-grained flake salt) 1 t black peppercorns 1 t coriander seeds 3 to 4 bay leaves Procedure Place your radishes in a sterilized mason jar, packing them in tightly. Place all of the other ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the top of the radishe...

As another entree for the blueberry baby shower last weekend, I made Blueberry Chutney-Glazed Chicken Thighs. So easy. Ingredients makes a dozen 12 organic, bone-in chicken thighs 6 cloves garlic, crushed 1-1/2 t ground cardamom 1-1/2 t ground paprika 1 t ground ginger 1 t ground coriander 1 T ground cumin 1 t ground turmeric 1 t freshly ground sea salt 1 t freshly ground black pepper olive oil red wine blueberry chutney (my recipe here ) Procedure Place chicken thighs in a lidded container where they can lay flat in a single layer. Add the remaining ingredients and rub the spices into the meat. Drizzle with olive oil and red wine. Cover the container. Refrigerate overnight. Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want to start cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken in a baking dish. Drizzle with more olive oil. Roast in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is browned and crisp and...

The beauty of this dish comes from the surprising burst of citrus of caviar limes. They are so pretty and so tasty. Don't they look just like fish roe? Ingredients 1 lb prawns, deveined with shell and tail intact 1/4 C freshly squeezed lime juice (I used fresh Bearrs lime) 1/4 C olive oil 2 T tamari or soy sauce 1 t ground coriander 1 t ground smoked paprika 1/2 t freshly ground pepper caviar limes for serving fleur de sel for serving Procedure Whisk all ingredients together - except for the caviar lime- and marinate prawns, on skewers, for at least 2 hours. Longer is better. Grill over hot coals till opaque. To serve, remove prawns from skeweres. Squeeze half a caviar lime on top of each prawn and sprinkle with fleur de sel . Serve immediately.

While the list of ingredients seems lengthy, this soup is fairly easy to make. The longest process is to caramelize the onions though it is largely hands-off. Don't skip this step, however, as it add a delicate sweetness to the dish.You can also make this soup the day before you need to serve it. Ingredients 1 cauliflower 1 onion, thinly sliced, approximately 1 C while raw olive oil 1 can organic coconut milk 2 C organic vegetable broth water, as needed 1/4 t ground cardamom 1/2 t ground turmeric 1/2 t ground coriander 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground cinnamon 1 t ground smoked paprika 1 t ground cumin freshly ground salt, to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste organic grapes, quartered lengthwise, to garnish green onions, thinly sliced, to garnish sliced almonds, to garnish kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced, to garnish* Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Quarter the cauliflower head and place on a parchment-linked baking sheet. Dr...

After 10 days in the wilderness, using my oven was a treat. I love that this recipe is so hands-off, but the resulting dish is tasty and tender! Ingredients 6 chicken thighs 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 t ground cardamom 1 t ground paprika 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground coriander 1 T ground cumin 1 t ground turmeric 3/4 t freshly ground sea salt 3/4 t freshly ground black pepper olive oil Procedure Place chicken thighs in a lidded container where they can lay flat in a single layer. Add the remaining ingredients and rub the spices into the meat. Drizzle with oil oil and cover the container. Refrigerate overnight. Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want to start cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken in a baking dish. Drizzle with more olive oil. Roast in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is browned and crisp and cooked through. Serve hot.