Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Stuffed grape leaves are a family favorite. I make them with whatever meat and whatever grain I have on hand. These were, seriously, everything but the kitchen sink! Lots and lots of leftovers...and the boys declared these the best stuffed grape leaves. Ever. Ingredients 2 C cooked grain (I used leftover forbidden rice) 1 pound 96/4 organic grassfed ground beef 3 shallots, minced 2 stalks of celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped dash of ground coriander dash of ground cumin freshly ground salt and pepper handful of fresh parsley, roughly-chopped 1/2 C salsa (I used leftover  ix'ni pec ) water organic lemon, thinly sliced 2 T ouzo Procedure In a large, flat-bottom pan saute the shallots and celery in a splash of olive oil until softened. Add the beef and cook thoroughly. Season with spices and stir in the cooked grains, salsa, and parsley. Place a tablespoon of your filling in the center of a grape leaf. Keeping constant pressure, roll the grape leaf into a ...

It's a virtual potluck - #PicnicGame - with the #SundaySupper crew, and you had better come hungry! Today we are celebrating International Picnic Day by bringing you a basket packed with goodies from A to Z, in the style of the picnic game ! Drop by the Sunday Supper Movement to see the whole picnic spread out on our virtual blanket. I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing... Asian Chicken Salad from Try Anything Once Culinary Beautiful Beet Salad from Small Wallet, Big Appetite Chicken Muffuletta from Marlene Baird Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups  from The Dinner-Mom Elote from Peaceful Cooking Fennel Slaw from FoodieTots Greek Farro Salad from That Skinny Chick Can Bake Honey Porter Glazed Chicken and Vegetable Skewers from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Italian Pasta Salad from Casa de Crews Japanese Plum Sushi from NinjaBaking.com Kudos Kitchen Kolaches from Kudos Kitchen by Renee Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake from In The Kitchen With KP Molasse...

This weekend, when I was busy shooting photos for my next  Edible Monterey Bay  story, D and R were popping in and out of the Turkish import store in the same arcade. D sat down and went through the cookbook on the couch. He asked me to make these:  Zeytinyağlı Elma Dolması,  Turkish Stuffed Apples. So, I looked up the recipe and made due with what I had.... Needless to say: this is not a traditional recipe, but more of my own take on a traditional Turkish dish. Ingredients 5 Braeburn apples from Gizdich Ranch cooked arborio rice 1 T honey + some for serving 1/4 C raw pecans, chopped 1/4 C dried cranberries ground cinnamon ground nutmeg ground cardamom 1 egg olive oil Procedure Cut off the tops of the apples using a small knife, setting the tops aside because you will use them. Core the apples cut room for a filling. In a large mixing bowl, mix the remaining ingredients - except the olive oil. Stuff the apples with t...

A couple of years ago, my best girlfriends and I went to an event at a local tasting room:  Meeting the Queen of Quince . She had us roll  Yalanchi Sarma , Armenian stuffed grape leaves. Ever since, they have been a family favorite. I use whatever I have on hand. Today, I had a quinoa, millet, and buckwheat mix along with some ground beef and roasted chestnuts. Yum! Stuffing 2 C cooked grain (as I mentioned, I used a mix of quinoa, millet, and buckwheat) 1 pound 96/4 organic grassfed ground beef 3 shallots, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground nutmeg freshly ground salt and pepper handful of fresh parsley, roughly-chopped handful of chopped roasted chestnuts In a large, flat-bottom pan saute the shallots and garlic in a splash of olive oil until softened. Add the meat and cook thoroughly. Season with spices and stir in the cooked grains, chestnuts, and herbs. Place a tablespoon of your filling in the center of a grape lea...