Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Delicata squash are a family favorite. And this is a quick preparation that you can season however you wish. Last night, I simply sprinkled the cooked delicata with fleur de sel and some fennel pollen. Ingredients delicata squash olive oil freshly ground pepper fleur de sel fennel pollen Procedure Preheat griddle over medium heat. Halve the delicata and scoop out the seeds. Destem, then slice into 1/4" to 1/2" wide pieces. Arrange the slices on the griddle. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until the squash is softened and beginning to caramelize. Move to a serving plate. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with  fleur de sel and fennel pollen. Serve immediately.

I know, I know. Risotto is made with arborio rice. But I had barley...and I really wanted to make a citrus-y 'risotto' to go underneath my seared scallops for this week's project. So, this isn't really risotto, but I didn't want to invent a word for barley done risotto-style. Here we are moving into the second half of November.  That means that the Kitchen Matrix Cooking Project - really Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories , and I - have been doing this for ten months already. You can read more about our project  here . And this month, Wendy picked the recipes. This week, she selected Scallops  + 12 Ways. Bittman offers a dozen preparations with scallops including six grilled and six raw. I will definitely be trying his Miso-Glazed Scallops and Panzanella Scallops on the cooked side. For the raw scallops, the Salsa Cruda and Tartare were intriguing. I love scallops, but it's not the preferred seafood at my ho...

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 ! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out  HERE . This month, we're celebrating chocolate with Ellen of  Family Around the Table  leading the charge. She wrote: "Share you favorite recipe made with chocolate for chocolate lover's month and Valentine's Day." I decided to share my favorite panna cotta as I've posted too many chocolate cakes within the past few weeks - Double Chocolate Cake with Whiskey Ganache and Nutty Irish Car Bomb Cake . All the Chocolate-y G...

Here we are at day six of one of my favorite blogging weeks of the year: Brunch Week. Last day. I can not  believe the week is over! 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. There were so many fabulous recipes created and shared. I hope you have time to check them all out! On this final day of BrunchWeek v.2016, I wanted to leave you with a sweet recipe that has lots of applications. I used it recently to drizzle over olive oil shortbread. Wow. And I was excited to use sugar from one of our event sponsors again. Did I ever tell you that they shipped me 20 pounds of granulated sugar and 20 pounds of powdered sugar?!? Ingredients 2 C organic granulated sugar (I used  Dixie Crystals ) 12 T butter, cubed 1 T instant coffee or espresso 1 C organic heavy cream 1 T  fleur de sel  (or any ...

I can't decide whether this should be called 'candied bacon' or 'bacon candy.' Whatever you want to call it, it's amazing! You'll see this in at least three of my dishes for the Tasty Murder Dinner. Click for the menu: here . Ingredients 1 lb Applewood Smoked Bacon (must be thick-cut) 1 C organic brown sugar 1 t ground sweet Calabrian chile 1 t ground cinnamon pinch of fleur de sel Procedure Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top of that. In a small mixing bowl, blend all of the dry ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Place the bacon on top of the wire rack. Spoon 1 T of the sugar mixture over each piece of bacon and spread evenly over the surface. Place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and, gently, spread the caramel that has formed over the bacon. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip the bacon...

Every year I make cookie platters for co-workers. I used to have to make a bunch - when Jake was part of a crew - now it's just for the guys at my office. This year, I went with some booze-kissed cookies and included some tequila shortbread. Ingredients 3 C flour 1-1/4 C organic granulated sugar 1 T tequila zest from 1 organic lemon (you can use a lime, but we have a Meyer lemon tree in our yard - and I like to use what I have) + more for sprinkling 1/2 t fleur de sel + more for sprinkling 1 C olive oil Procedure Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, tequila, lemon zest, and fleur de sel. Pour in the olive oil and stir until the dry mixture is completely incorporated into a cohesive ball. Transfer the dough to a baking dish - I used a 9"x13" rectangle. My stoneware didn't require greasing, but you might want to grease your dish first. Use your fingers to press the dough into an even ...

The Precise Kitchen Elf has a cookie exchange at school tomorrow. He asked if we could make gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free cookies to accommodate his friends' allergies. Yes, multiple friends with multiple sensitivities. He perused cookbooks and we decided to adapt chocolate crinkles into something that fit his parameters. I made a version for the class, then added in instant espresso powder and chopped pecans for a version we could enjoy after the kiddos went to bed. Success! Ingredients 1-1/2 C lightly packed organic dark brown sugar 1/2 C olive oil 4 eggs 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 t coffee liqueur 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder 1 T instant espresso powder 2 C gluten-free flour 2 t baking powder 1 t fleur de sel 1/4 C raw pecans, chopped 1/2 C organic powdered sugar (for coating) Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk toget...

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.

Last month, to celebrate my dad's birthday, we went to the Lionfish Supper Club Dinner at MEarth . For dessert, they made a Chai-Poached Pear Crisp with Candy Cap Ice Cream. I was intrigued by the flavors and decided to make my own version. Mine starts with a salted fennel caramel sauce. The first time I made caramel I was managing a cafe in Charlottesville and the baker needed help and I left the front of the house to help her. It was nerve-wracking. But I finally got the hang of it. Ingredients 2 C organic granulated sugar 12 T butter, cubed 1 C organic heavy cream 1 T fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt) tad fennel powder Procedure Place sugar in heavy saucepan that holds, at least, two quarts. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking as it begins to melt. The sugar will begin to form clumps. Keep whisking and they will melt back down. Once all the sugar has melted, swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar continues...

Another festive 'recipe' for Halloween. It's less of a recipe - it's your basic caprese salad; it's more of a presentation... Ingredients mozzarella balls mini heirloom tomatoes fresh basil, chopped olive oil fleur de sel to taste Procedure Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Serve on a platter with some toy eyeballs as "garnish."

Every year we go Halloween camping with some good friends. And the kiddos trick-or-treat between the our group's campers and campsites. What fun! This year I decided to whip up some spiced hot chocolate mixes and hand those out from our tent. Ingredients makes 14 mason jars full 16 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder 16 ounces organic dark brown sugar 16 ounces organic granulated sugar 2 T ground sage 1 T ground cinnamon 1/2 t fleur de sel Procedure Mix all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well-combined. Scoop into jars. Easy peasy!! Here are our happy campers... To make hot chocolate: Add 3 heaping T to 4 to 6 ounces of hot milk.

Welcome to the  Foodie Extravaganza !  v. October 2014 = a Pretzel Par-tay We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food!  Each month we will decide on an all-famous National Monthly Food Holiday in which we will base our recipes around. This month the ingredient is  pretzels  with an optional ingredient of  caramel .  Yes, October is National Pretzel Month along with a whole array of other delightful things!! Get excited!! We hope you all enjoy our delicious pretzel treats this month and come back to see what we bring for you next 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 ! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out  HERE . Here's what the whole gang made... Apple Cinnamon...