Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Book Club Cookbook . I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development, but all opinions are honest and they are my own.  This page may contain affiliate links. Earlier this summer, my contact at  The Book Club Cookbook  emailed, offering me a few  new spice blends  to participate in their 2020 #BlendsBash.  You betcha!  photo from The Book Club Cookbook's Facebook page Though I haven't read the book on which this blend was based - The Secret Life of Bees  by Sue Monk Kidd - I selected The Secret Life of Teas (Smoked Tea Rub) because I am a nut for anything with lapsang souchong tea. Really. Its smokiness is one of my favorites. Ingredients serves 4 When I think of lapsang souchong , I always think of duck...and crispy duck skin. I decided to use the spice in a braised duck dish. 4 duck legs 1 large onion, peeled and thickly sli...

In preparation for an upcoming the Cabernet Franc event for Wine Pairing Weekend crew, I got ahold of three bottles of Cab Franc and took two over to a dinner party. You'll hear about that tasting next month, but the third bottle I kept for my own table. And, on a stormy evening this weekend, Jake and I paired it with some tea and pepper-crusted filet mignons. In My Glass Martian Ranch & Vineyard is a biodynamically farmed vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Created by Nan Helgeland in Los Alamos, California, the name is a blending of her sons' names, Martin and Ian. I was able to track down a bottle of their sold-out 2014 Cabernet Franc. Helgeland has a drive to find a plot of land best suited for each specific varietal. Here's the 'Martian's eye view' of her vineyard...the Cab Franc is cultivated in plot 08. from martianvineyard.com In the glass, the wine is inky, almost black. On the nose, I get aromas of cherries with a hin...

Tammi from Momma's Meals s our hostess for today's #SundaySupper. Tammi picked a 'beantastic' theme. So anything and everything made with beans. I wanted to make a smoky bean ragoût without bacon. No reason for the restriction, I was just intrigued by friends' comments that my Lapsang Souchong Blondies tasted like they had bacon in them. I figured I'd give this substitution a try. Success. Ragoût is a thick, hearty French stew; there's a similar version known as ragù in Italy. The defining characteristic of ragoût: it is cooked slowly over low heat for a long, long time. The extended cooking allows flavors to develop, creating a rich layered flavor. In terms of ingredients, there are no rules with ragoût. And because ragoût can be filling, serve small portions. Leftovers are fantastic because this stew tastes even better on the second day! Ingredients Bean Ragoût 5 C dried beans, soaked (I used red adzuki) 2 T butter splash of oliv...

While R and his friend were busy working on their science fair project, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I logged a couple of hours watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks together.  "Let's make duck," he declared yesterday afternoon. "You do the duck and I'll make the kale salad for dinner. Does that sound good?" That sounds great. I love having a partner in my kitchen shenanigans.  After making Lapsang Souchong Blondies last week - and having Jake comment that he thought the intense, smoky flavor would go better with a savory - I thought I'd make a lapsang souchong sauce for my duck. It was well-received by my three. What do you think? Do you cook with tea often? Ingredients Braised Duck 4 duck legs 2 large onions, peeled and cubed 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thickly sliced 2 C diced celery root 1-1/2 C stock, preferably homemade 1/2 C brewed  lapsang souchong tea 1 shisho blossom Lapsang Soucho...

I was recently introduced to  Spicely Organics ' spice and tea-infused chocolates*. I've known about Spicely for awhile; I buy their spices and herbs at Whole Foods all the time. But when we took our youngest Kitchen Elf on a chocolate walking tour in San Francisco , as an early birthday adventure,   we discovered that Spicely also has chocolates infused with spices and teas.  My son was so enamored with the chocolates that he changed the dessert course for his birthday party to a Curated Chocolate Tasting of a dozen Spicely chocolates. What I love about Spicely's infused chocolates: they are distinctive and potent. The pieces are small, but because the flavor is so intense, you don't need very much. I opted to create a recipe to showcase my favorite of the infused chocolates, the Lapsang Souchong. It's exotic and smoky.  In fact, one of my friends to whom I gave a sample called me and queried, "It's not bacon in there, is it? It's smoky, but...