Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Not sure if it's because the first of my close friends just turned fifty, or what, but  Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem by  Laurie Notaro landed on my reading list and I happily indulged. I'll admit that, despite her being a New York Times bestselling author, I was completely unfamiliar with her. Now I have avidly lined up her entire collection, including: There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble , The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life , Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood , and It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy . On the Page Notaro's commentary is biting, irreverent, and hilarious. Just read a few clips: "Aren’t you proud that you know how to use a dial phone? That you lived a whole, full life without a digital device in your pocket? You remember who Gillig...

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza . We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  has asked the bloggers to celebrate New Beer's Eve. She shared: "Did you know that April 6th is New Beer's Eve? Evidently that is a thing. Let's celebrate by sharing recipes featuring the brew of your choice." Here's the Foodie Extravanganza's beer-filled line-up... Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm grilled up Bratwurst Burgers. Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe served up Corn & Peas Pulao With Beer Chicken Tandoori. Karen of Karen’s Kit...

It's hard to believe that we are inching our way towards the end of 2021. Crazy. Welcome to the October installment of our #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of  CulturEatz . Here's  her challenge .  This month, we are sharing Greek recipes. Here's the #EattheWorld line-up... Palatable Pastime: Spanakopita Bites   Magical Ingredients: Spanakorizo   Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Greek Cabbage Roll Rice Bowls   A Day in the Life on the Farm: Makaronia me Yiaourti   Pandemonium Noshery: Aginares a la Polita - Greek Artichoke Stew   Sneha’s Recipe: Greek Hot Dogs   Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Skordalia   Sugarlovespices: Greek Spinach and Feta Pie with filo pastry (Spanakopita)   Kitchen Frau: Classic Moussaka Skordalia is a delicious Greek garlic dip that has a thick base of mashed potatoes. You can serve it chilled or at room temperature. I used it as a spread on sourdough and as a side for roasted chicken thigh...

  Queso Blanco just means 'white cheese' in Spanish, but it's really synonymous with ooey, gooey, cheesy deliciousness that uses a chip as a vessel to my mouth, right?! Okay. Maybe not. But, chips + cheese = happy Cam. And this is so easy to make. We filmed this process for the CulinaryCam YouTube channel. Watch it here...or there . Ingredients Basic Queso 12 ounce evaporated milk 1/4 C all-purpose flour 1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 3 to 4 cups shredded cheese (I used pepper jack and mozzarella) Also needed: your favorite chips for dipping Add-Ins diced tomatoes pickled jalapeños green onions cilantro Procedure In a medium saucepan, whisk together evaporated milk, garlic, and flour until well combined. Heat until the milk begins to steam. Slowly add in shredded cheese. Stir or until completely melted and nicely thickened. Remove from heat and stir in whatever add-ins you want. Spoon the queso into a serving bowl and top with remaining herbs. Serve with chips....

Last week a friend dropped off freshly smoked trout. Uh-huh. I was torn between saving it for a special dinner and tearing into it right away. I did both. I made two recipes as part of an appetizer course. This Smoked Trout Paté is the first recipe. It's super easy and big on flavor with the addition of fresh horseradish. Also, if you don't have smoked trout, use whatever you have on-hand - smoked salmon, smoked herring, or smoked mackerel would work just as well. Ingredients serves 4 to 6 as part of an appetizer board 3 to 4 ounces smoked trout 3 ounces mascarpone cheese milk, as needed 1/2 teaspoon prepared white horseradish, drained 1/4 cup fresh chives, snipped or chopped plus more for garnish freshly ground salt, to taste (my trout was salty enough without any more) freshly ground pepper, to taste Also needed: crackers or flatbreads for serving Procedure   Remove the skin from the fish and discard. Crumble or flake the smoked fish into a small mixing bowl. Add mascarpone ...

Another week, another recipe for the Kitchen Matrix Project, named after Mark Bittman's  Kitchen Matrix  cookbook. You can read about it:  here . This month, I picked the recipes for the month am I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me. And I am thrilled with how simple these recipes are to make.  This week, I picked 'Miso+ 4 Ways' for the group. If you don't have the cookbook, Bittman's miso recipes are available online at the New York Times:  here . I had a tough time deciding because I was intrigued by the Miso Spice, Miso Butter, and - especially - the Miso Butterscotch! But I ran out of time this weekend, so those will be for another day. Stay tuned. More Miso An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients slight adapted from Bittman  because it was just "to mayo-y" according to my trio Miso Mayo 1/2 C mayonnaise 1 T miso 1 t soy sauce 1/2 t sesame oil Oven Fries 4 to 5 organic potatoes,...

Today marks the start of a year-long project that I'm calling the Kitchen Matrix Project, after Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix  cookbook. You can read about it: here . I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me. This week, I picked 'Party Dips + 3 Ways' for the group which means we could make Pork Rilettes, Pimenton Potted Shrimp, or Caramelized Onion Dip.  While all were intriguing - and I will make all of them - I opted to try Mark Bittman's Caramelized Onion Dip. Here's what the crew is sharing this week. I skipped the crisped leeks and added sumac to my dip. Yum! An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients 6 to 8 medium organic yellow onions, approximately 5 to 6 cups 2 T olive oil + more as needed freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 T fresh thyme leaves 1/2 t sumac (this is my addition!) 1-1/2 C yogurt (I used a whole milk Greek yogurt) 1 T lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed Meyer lemon j...

If there is one dip that we can all agree on, it's a caramelized onion dip. Homemade is so much more satisfying than a store-bought version! I still haven't figured out how to make ridged potato chips, so we noshed on the dip for a decadent afternoon snack with slices of German rye bread. Other members of the Foodie Football Fans also had dips on the brain, such as the  Chicken Swiss Dip  by The Life Jolie,  Creamy Pepita Dip  by The Mexitalian,  Jalapeño Ranch Dip  by A Joyfully Mad Kitchen, and  Corn Dip  by Me and My Pink Mixer. I think I need to have party where everyone brings their favorite dip. What do you think about that? Well, we might need a few heartier dishes. I can't wait to try  Traeger Pulled Pork  by Or Whatever You Do,  Slow Cooker Apple Cider Chicken Sliders  by Cake 'n Knife, and  Chorizo Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates  by Feast + West. The Full Line-Up Chicken Swiss Dip by The Life Jo...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Moms Meet .  I received complimentary product for the purpose of review, but all opinions are honest and they are my own. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. Spilling the Beans Beanfields started with a big idea—to help change the way people snack—by using beans as the main ingredient in their chips. They were also committed to using non-GMO ingredients. As a longtime vegan, Reed Glidden wanted a chip made from one of his favorite meals: beans and rice. His wife, Liza Braude-Glidden, created the first bean and rice chip in their kitchen. The result: Beanfields was born. The chips tasted great and the rice+bean combination rendered them more nutritious than regular chips. In the Spring of 2011, Beanfields launched with its first four flavors: Sea Salt, Pico de Gallo, Salt & Pepper, and Unsalted. They garnered fans and awards and have consistently gi...

As we continue on with our May  Foodie Reads Challenge , I wrapped up  Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour .* I suppose if I had to pick my "usual genre" it would certainly be a foodie memoir. And this one definitely qualifies. On the Page... For one year, Salma leaves New York where she has a career as a successful food journalist, a steady boyfriend, and an established life. She sublets her apartment, packs her bags, travels to Lebanon, and moves into her family's apartment in Beirut. While she's there, she explore the sites, sounds, and tastes of her childhood. She gets reacquainted with family members and childhood friends; she also vividly details her love affair with Lebanese food. And, as a food writer, h er descriptions of food are lush and positively drool-worthy - baked goods from all over the city, festive foods from holidays and countless parties. We are immersed in her retelling of the texture, flavors, colors, and aro...