Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I will be sharing more about the 2020 Sin Banderas Rhône Rosé for the March 2021 #WinePW event that focuses on the wines of Washington State's Yakima Valley. Stay tuned for more on that next weekend, but I am going to be posting several of my recipes ahead of time. The participating wineries  were so generous that I have more seven pairings to share. Seriously. Seven. So, I'm starting now and will continue throughout the entire month of March. I love pairing  Rosés with chicken. I paired their 2019 with my  Shichimi Togarashi-Spiced Fried Chicken . But this 2020 was more delicate and wanted a dish that was still subtly spiced that didn't overpower the mouthfeel with crisped panko crumbs. I settled on a Thai-inspired chicken satay with peanut sauce. Just be sure to start this the day before you want to serve because the chicken marinates overnight. Ingredients serves 4 to 6 Chicken juice and zest from 1 to 2 organic limes 2 shallots, peeled and finely minced 1-inch k...

   This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive . Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own. When Anni at  The Quail & Olive *asked if I wanted to play with the  Raspberry Basil Vinegar  to create a recipe, I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. I love a challenge and I really love supporting and highlighting local businesses. So I went to her shop, picked up a bottle, and starting thinking about possible combinations on the drive home. I had some mushrooms on my counter and decided to share my super simple process for making marinated mushroom. You can make this with any vinegar, but I used the Raspberry Basil vinegar and mirrored the flavors with the addition of some fresh basil from the garden. This recipe makes three half-pint jars. You can easily halve the recipe if you don't want that much or don't have enough ingredients. Thes...

I had initially planned to share a recipe for baby octopus ceviche appetizer for the Fish Friday Foodies' December event that's coming up this week. But then I decided to save the baby octopus for the salad course and thought I'd make an easy appetizer of marinated seafood with capers, artichoke hearts, and roasted peppers.  Che squisito! Frutti di Mare Marinati is a simple dish of seafood "cooked" by the acid in lemons and tossed with some already prepared veggies. It's so easy, but it requires incredibly fresh ingredients. I usually ask my fish monger which is the best choice for  ceviche  that day. On the day I made this, he offered me big, beautiful prawns, some scallops, and petrale sole.  Ingredients 1/2 pound prawns, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise 1/4 pound scallops, thinly sliced 1/4 C petrale sole, cut into 1 to 2" pieces 6 to 8 fresh lemons, juiced (I used Meyer lemons from a tree in my mom's yard) + more for servi...

Yesterday, California's central coast had a record-shattering heatwave. We tipped over 90 degrees F on the Monterey Peninsula and it was over 100 degrees F at my office! Crazy temps. Needless to say: turning on my stove and oven were not high on my list of to-dos. So, I prepped lots of veggies and put them in the fridge for later. This is a riff on one of our favorites: Griddled Delicata Squash . So, I cooked them on the griddle when it was cooler at night, let them come to room temperature, doused them with a marinade, and put them in the fridge for a tasty salad the next day. It's on my lunch today. Yum. Ingredients Squash delicata squash olive oil freshly ground pepper Marinade 2 T white wine vinegar 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 T minced garlic 2 t fresh thyme leaves 1/3 C olive oil Also needed: lidded mason jar Procedure Squash Preheat griddle over medium heat. Halve the delicata and scoop out the seeds. Destem, then slice in...

I picked up a copy of Crazy Rich Asians  by Kevin Kwan* after hearing the author interviewed on NPR about the movie adaptation. I figured: if I'm going to see the movie - because after hearing the interview, I definitely wanted to see it - I'd like to read the book first.  Now that I've read it...eh...I'm not sure that I'll see the movie. And I am absolutely not going to read the remaining books in the trilogy. While I loved the way the book opened, it devolved into a sort of retro television soap opera featuring an all-Asian cast. Do you remember the show Dynasty?! Well, all that drama, except set in Singapore. But the ball gowns, the mansions, the mistresses, the jewelry, the drama, and the family feuds were all there. Additionally it's over 500 pages. Five. Hundred. Pages. I kept asking myself, "Is this necessary?" The writing grew repetitive and the story tedious. On the Page Rachel and Nick are professors in New York who have been dat...

Our CSF (that's community supported fishery) pick-up days is one of my favorite dinner days of the week. We love  Real Good Fish  for the quality, the freshness, and the philosophy! Today, Real Good Fish delivered to all of its members fresh market squid that was pulled up yesterday. Talk about fresh... I wanted to make something simple that really highlighted the squid. Since we couldn't agree, I made two recipes. This was the first. Ingredients 1/2 to 3/4 lb fresh market squid, cleaned 1 C organic heirloom cherry tomatoes 1/4 C thinly sliced organic red onion 3 T capers 3 to 4 T olive oil 1 to 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 to 2 T balsamic vinegar freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 to 2 T fresh parsley, minced Procedure Place squid tubes and tentacles in a large pot. Cover them with water. Make sure they are submerged by at least 1" of water. Bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, drain the squid. Once they are cool e...

I had leftover mushroom parts from different recipes, including the stem of a monster porcini [look right!], a handful of shitakes from D's Barley-Stuffed Pumpkin , and some oyster mushrooms. I decided to marinate them for a surprise Thanksgiving bite. Ingredients 1 C water juice from 1 lemon 1 T fresh oregano freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 t anise seeds 3 to 4 C mushroom (parts) 2 T vinegar (I used a white balsamic) Procedure Place the water, lemon juice, oregano, and anise seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, making sure they are coated in liquid. Cook for another 10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand for an hour. Stir in the vinegar. Place in a jar or container so that the mushrooms are completely submerged. Marinate for at least 24 hours before serving.

It's here, it's here. It's finally kick-off day for our 10-day event full of tailgating goodness: #10DaysofTailgate. I wrangled over 20 creative bloggers who will collectively be posting over 120 recipes to inspire your tailgate menus for the entire season.  Check back throughout the rest of the month as we'll be posting recipes daily from now till the end of September. Annnnnddd...there's a huge giveaway for fourteen lucky readers. Keep reading! I decided to start with our favorite grilled bite: lamb lollipops. I love them. But I especially love that all I do is hand the meat to Jake, my Grill-Master, and it comes back exactly the way I wanted it. Thanks, my Love! Ingredients rack of lamb, sliced into individual pops 1 T minced garlic 1/2 C orange juice + 1/4 C  1/2 C beer 1 T ginger spread 1 T El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mustard * , Mango fleur de sel to taste Procedure For a few hours, or overnight if you think about it early enough,...

When D and I went to the fish market at the end of Wharf 2 yesterday to pick up crab for our Singapore Chili Crab , we saw baby octopus. "Mom, let's get some." If you haven't figured it out yet, I rarely say 'no' when my kids want to eat something adventurous. So, we picked up 2 pounds and called it good. Years ago, one of my philosophy TAs had invited several of us over to his house for dinner. I remember he pulled a huge octopus out of a 5-gallon bucket and tossed it on the grill. It was amazing. I asked him what his marinade was - red wine, garlic, olive oil. It seemed pretty basic. I just used what I had and let it marinate for over 24 hours. Ingredients 2 pounds baby octopus, cleaned 2 T minced garlic 4 T soy sauce 1-1/2 C red wine 4 T olive oil freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper Procedure Whisk together all of the ingredients except the octopus. Place the octopus in the marinade, making sure that all the pieces are submerg...

For this month's  Food'N'Flix ,  we watched Like Water for Chocolate , picked by Elizabeth at The Law Student's Cookbook . I remember reading that book years and years ago...and seeing the movie when it first came out in the early 1990s. Being a passionate cook, the connection between emotions and food appeal to me. A lot.  Click to see Elizabeth's invitation ...you still have time to join the fun.   This post contains an affiliate link for the DVD at the bottom. This is a movie - like last month's selection - that I haven't seen in, probably, two decades. And, at the time, I had just finished reading the book which I adored. It was nice to see this movie again with a few more decades of relationships under my belt. On the Screen... I'm not going to say too much about the events in the movie. But I'll set the scene. Set in a Mexican border town, in the early 1900s, Tita and Pedro are a young couple madly in love. But they can never m...

When I saw that Fire Wire Grilling Tools  was sponsoring #BurgerMonth, I was excited. They seemed like a cool tool. Then a box came in the mail with a set for me to try.* Surprise! Woohoo! I think I might have squealed loudly when I opened the box! It was completely unexpected, but I put them right to use. You have the chance to get a set of your very own! Click for  link to the give-away . What I loved about them... No pre-soaking! Fire Wire grilling skewers are made of 100% food grade stainless steel, so you aren't having to soak bamboo skewers to avoid splinters in your food! Go big! Fire Wire grilling skewers hold two or three times the amount of food as those bamboo skewers. I always to have leave grabbing space on a traditional skewer. These, you can load up to the end; you just grab it by the loop. Easy clean-up! They are dishwasher safe and have a life-time guarantee. What I didn't like about them...             ...