Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month, for Food'N'Flix , Debra of  Eliot's Eats  is hosting. She asked us to watch  The Holiday * and you can read her invitation  here . We have already started with our holiday preparations. At the end of such a tumultuous year - being sheltered-in-place since March, missing every single celebration with friends and family since then including birthdays, anniversaries, R's high school graduation, and more, you get the drift - we needed a little Christmas spirit in our lives. The day after Thanksgiving, we drove up to the Santa Cruz mountains and cut down a tree. And I have had Christmas music streaming in the kitchen as I cook since then as well!  The Movie photo from amazon So, when I saw Debra's pick, I was excited to settle in for a holiday rom-com...alone. Everyone in my household looked at the movie and decided to vacate the living room and do something else. Anything else. Fine. Writer and director Nancy Meyers has also written It's Complicated (whi...

Today, we are sharing delicious dairy recipes. Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures posted: "June is National Dairy Month!  Show us your best recipes with anything made with milk, yogurt, cheese, if it's white and came from a cow at some point, cook with it!" Delicious Dairy Recipes Aspargus Gruyere Tart by Art of Natural Living Beer and Brats Mac and Cheese by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Beer Battered Deep Fried Cheese Curds by Cheese Curd In Paradise Best Oreo Milkshakes by Family Around the Table Cheese and Spinach Ravioli Casserole by A Day in the Life on the Farm Cookies and Cream Ice Cream by Simply Inspired Meals Individual Baked Macaroni and Cheese by Karen's Kitchen Stories Marigold Petal and Matcha Panna Cotta by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Palestinian Preserved Labneh by Pandemonium Noshery Sour Cream and Spicy Cheddar Ranch Dip by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table ! Join o...

Today we're celebrating National Blueberry Month. Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm  asked us to join her in posting a new blueberry recipe and celebrating these lovelies. Done. A few years ago, the boys and I went to High Ground Organics ' Harkins Slough Farm to pick blueberries. We didn't make it back there this year, but we still talk about that experience. Bushels of Blueberry Goodness Blueberry Baked French Toast by Palatable Pastime Blueberry Sour Cream Crumb Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm Frozen Blueberry Pops by The Redhead Baker Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Balsamic Blueberries by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Kentucky Cobbler Cocktail by Bear & Bug Eats Lemon Berry Dump Cake by Jolene's Recipe Journal Roasted Blueberry Gin & Tonic by Amy's Cooking Adventures Goat Cheese Panna Cotta  with Balsamic Blueberries I find myself making panna cotta frequently. Probably because it's flexible. I...

When I was trying to decide on a dessert for our Easter brunch, I was inspired by the bounty of beets I had just picked up from Serendipity Farms . I wanted to make a naturally bright pink dessert and settled on panna cotta . That is definitely my go-to, easy-to-make-ahead-of-time dessert. Some of my other versions include Espresso Panna Cotta , Cardamom Panna Cotta , Salted Juniper-Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta , and Matcha Panna Cotta . It's so easy to get creative. And the beets added that lovely pop of color. Funny story - I purchased PEEPs with the thought to use them to hold our place cards. Look right! The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was insistent: "Mom, PEEPs are not for decorating. They are for eating." Well, I'm not sure I agree with that. But he plunked them on top of my beet panna cotta and citrus mousse. And I can admit: they were cute. Beet Panna Cotta And Citrus Mousse Ingredients  makes eight 4-ounce servings Panna Cotta 3 envel...

A sweet for my sweets! I decided on a simple dessert for the end of our Valentines' Day dinner: panna cotta . I've made a lot of versions of panna cotta . But I opted for a simple panna cotta flavored with a sprinkle of my favorite spice. And, for some extra sweetness, I spooned some Amarena cherries over the top. Ingredients  makes eight 2-ounce servings 1 envelope gelatin 1/4 C cold water 2 C organic half-n-half 1/4 C organic dark brown sugar 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 1/2 t ground cardamom Amarena cherries for garnish Procedure Dissolve the gelatin in cold water in a medium mixing bowl.  Place all the other ingredients - up to the ground cardamom - in a medium saucepan and heat till it begins to steam. Do not let it boil. Let cool for 10 minutes, then pour the warm cream into the gelatin and stir till completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into your serving containers, leaving a little bit of space at the top and let chill until set, but at least fou...

With award season just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to throw an elegant dinner party. And the Sunday Super Tastemakers want to make it easy. So, this week, we're sharing our best show-stopping appetizers - or small bites - that would be perfect for feeding a crowd! Thanks to Wendy from   Wholistic Woman  for hosting! The Show-Stoppers Finger Foods BLT Crostini Sliders with Avocado Aioli by Casa de Crews Easy Caprese Puff Pastry Bites by The Weekend Gourmet French Onion Palmiers by Cooking With Carlee Ham and Mustard Spirals by Food Lust People Love Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Sticks by Grumpy’s Honeybunch Middle Eastern Deviled Eggs by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures Mushroom and Blue Cheese Gougeres by Turnips 2 Tangerines Simple Greek Pinwheels with Tzatziki Dipping Sauce by A Mind “Full” Mom Soppressata Puffs by Cosmopolitan Cornbread Hors d'oeuvres Baba Ganoush by The Crumby Cupcake Baked Fruit and Nut Camembert by Sunday S...

After I made three different versions of wine gummy bears - more on that soon! - I needed to make something without alcohol. Since I felt like curling up with mug of chai, I used 1/2 C to make a batch of Chai Latte Gummy Bears for my trio. They were all happy! Ingredients Chai Latte 4 whole cloves 2 white cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces 1 star anise 3 cups water 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1⁄2 cup milk 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons black tea (decaf is best, especially if you are sharing with kids) Gummy Bears 1/2 cup chai latte 3 envelopes unflavored gelatin 1 Tablespoon organic granulated sugar also needed bear mold (mine is a gummy bear silicone ice cube tray) Procedure Chai Latte Crush the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and star anise with a mortar and pestle. Place the pieces in a medium saucepan. Add water, ground ginger, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. R...

This morning I am wrapping up the #TastyParTEA online event. You can read all the details - meet the other bloggers, view our posting schedule, and enter the giveaway - at  my kick-off post . We have seen some amazing tea-filled recipes thanks to some talented, creative food bloggers. Stay tuned for my round-up where you can go to see all of the recipes together. A few notes about matcha green tea.  Matcha is "powdered tea." Unlike drinking other tea when you infuse the tea leaves in water and, then, strain out the leaves, with matcha, you are drinking the finely powdered leaves whisked into hot water. So, spring for the best quality of matcha that you can. There's culinary grade and ceremonial grade. I use ceremonial grade if I'm whisking and drinking; I use culinary grade for baking and cooking. Ingredients  makes eight 2-ounce servings 1 envelope gelatin 1/4 C cold water 1-3/4 C organic heavy cream 1/4 C organic whole milk 1/2 C organic gran...