Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Inspired Chef Sean Brock's episode in Mind of a Chef  (season two) when he and his pastry chef at Husk make hand pies. I've included an affiliate link for the Mind of a Chef  DVD at the bottom of this post ih case you're interested. The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I decided to make hand pies for ourselves. But we opted to make a savory version with some goodies - delicata squash and lacinto kale - from our High Ground Organics CSA . I ordered some borage blossoms last week from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals   along with some shisho blossoms. And I thought they would add the perfect flavor component to these hand pies. Borage are a little bit grassy and a little bit citrusy. I was right...they were a fantastic addition to this dish. Ingredients   Hand Pie Dough 1 C butter, chilled and cubed 2 C flour 2-3 T water 2-3 T vodka Filling 2 C roasted delicata puree 1 C whole milk ricotta 1 red onion, peeled and diced 2 C chopped kale 3 T...

It's time for the October  Secret Recipe Club  reveal. What's the Secret Recipe Club? It's a group started by Amanda of Amanda's Cookin'  but recently handed off to April of Angel's Homestead . Each month, every participant is assigned to someone else's blog from which they pick a recipe - or two - to make and post, but it's all a secret until the big day. Today's the day. I always love a kitchen challenge and some culinary adventure...and meeting new-to-me foodie bloggers. Meet Katie of This Chick Cooks  who writes: "I'm on a mission to learn more about healthful eating day by day and broaden my palate as I go. Basically, I'm going back to basics trying to focus on natural, whole foods and avoid processed items such as white sugar, white flour, high fructose corn syrup...." A woman after my own heart. I have fully trained all three of my boys - Yes, that includes my husband. He took the longest. - to read labels. I love when the...

When I first texted my husband about pie for Pi Day, he responded, simply,"Chocolate Silk." He claims I've made it before. I don't recall. And I don't see it on my blog, so it must have been pre-2010. I did a quick internet search for "chocolate silk pie recipe" and came up a list of recipes that claimed silky richness, decadence, and the ultimate chocolate experience. But, the one that caught my eye was the one that started with: "Ready for a Chocolate Orgasm?" Click here for Donna Diegel's French Silk Pie recipe I used as a jumping off point. I added some spices, added more chocolate, skipped the vanilla, and beat the egg whites for a more fluffy texture. I've seen recipes for Better-Than-Sex Chocolate Cake and now this; I wouldn't go that far, but it is a good pie. 1 baked pie crust 3/4 C butter, softened 1 C organic granulated sugar 1-1/2 C chipped dark chocolate dash of ground cinnamon dash of smoked paprika 2 larg...

Because my apple hand pies were such a hit, and because a friend recently posted about pumpkin pies at McDonald's (not that I would go there to get them!), I decided to give hand pies a shot with the pumpkin puree I made this afternoon and the pears I got from my parents. The crust... 2 1/2 C flour 1/2 t smoke sea salt 2 sticks frozen butter, cut into little cubes 1/4 C sour cream 1/2 C ice-cold water Place flour, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl; with a pasty cutter, cut butter into the flour and salt mixture until it resembles coarse sand. In another bowl, whisk together sour cream, and water. Slowly drizzle in the liquid mixture to the flour and butter, blending just until a rough ball forms. Pour out onto a lightly floured board and knead until just combined. Pat dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. The filling... 2 C pumpkin puree 1-1/2 C heavy cream 2 large eggs 1 C packed dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cin...

Nothing says 'autumn' to me as much as picking apples in an orchard. After spending the morning at Clearview Orchards in Watsonville with some friends, I let the boys pick a few things they wanted me to make with their loot. Jake wanted apple-turnovers. Looking for a turnover recipe, I came across recipes for pocket pies and hand pies. Have you had hand pies before? They’re adorable. There’s something about the idea of a small pocket of pie crust filled with goodies, all bundled together in an easy-to-hold portable package that is incredibly appealing to me. Hand pies are basically in the same family as all self-contained, individual-sized stuffed pastries.  They’re closely related to empanadas, samosas, and turnovers; I figured these would fit Jake's request. I even made them with white flour. 2 1/2 C flour 1/2 t smoke sea salt 2 sticks frozen butter, cut into little cubes 1/4 C sour cream 1/2 C ice-cold water 4 t lemon juice 4 large apples, peeled and cut i...