Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  This month, I am hosting the French #Winophiles to explore French grapes that crossed continents. You can read my invitation here . If you are reading this early enough, feel free to jump in on our live chat. We'll be on Twitter on Saturday, September 17th at 8am Pacific time. Follow the hashtag #Winophiles and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it. Here's the line-up of the articles for the event - French Grapes that Crossed Continents. These will all be live between Friday, September 16th and Saturday, September 17th before the chat... A Cinsault-Heavy Blend from Lebanon - Château Musar's Bekaa Valley Red Hochar Père et Fils 2018 - Craves a Garlic-Heavy Dish or Three by Culinary Adventures with Camilla A Great Burger on Homemade Pretzel Hamburger Buns paired with a Malbec from Argentina  by A Day in the Life on the Farm Africa and France: A Cab Franc by Carmen Stevens and a Rich Pork Loin Dinner by Our Good Life Feeling French in Paso Roble...

   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.   Kuri kinton (栗きんとん) literary translates to 'chestnut gold mash' and symbolizes wealth. Including it as  part of a New Year meal is said to ensure good luck and prosperity for the coming year. You can see it in the platter above, between the shrimp and the lotus rootlets. First you have to cook and candy the chestnuts. Thankfully I was still able to find some at the market; and I like to roast them in the oven. Super simple. Also, while the original version calls for mirin, which is a Japanese sweet-savory rice cooking wine, I like using the  Winter Ambrosia Vinegar   from The Quail & Olive.* First, I'm a huge proponent of using what you have in your kitchen; but, second, I find the vinegar has similar sweet and savory qualities since i...

When we were planning our belated Christmas dinner, I asked Jenn to bring a sidedish. She brought this... It was delicious, subtle, and went perfectly with my Feijoada . And we were all surprised that it didn't include potatoes! She did the shallots and the rosemary just before serving, but came with everything else warmed in a casserole. I can't wait to make this. Ingredients 2 C sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 C parsnips, cut into ½-inch pieces 1 C celery root, cut into ½-inch pieces 1 clove garlic, smashed ½ t kosher salt 2 T olive oil 2 large shallots, sliced into thin rings 2 T fresh rosemary leaves (from about 2 sprigs) freshly ground black pepper, for serving Procedure Place sweet potatoes, parsnips, celery root, and garlic to a souppot and cover with water by at least 1". Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve 1 C cook...

I've had this cookbook - MASHED: Beyond the Potato by Holly Herrick* - on my nightstand for several weeks. When I saw turnips and apples in my CSA box this past week, I remembered a recipe in here I've been meaning to try. On the Page... In the introduction to MASHED: Beyond the Potato  Holly Herrick writes "mashed foods conjure up images of comfort, even childhood. ...In addition to comfort, mashed foods inspire the notion of simplicity, which is largely true." She goes on to share a secret: "The most important thing is to start with the freshest, best-quality food and ingredients you can find." That's always a good rule for any cooking. So, back to those CSA apples and turnips... On the Plate... Herrick starts with potatoes, then moves to other vegetable mashes. I am looking forward to trying her Buttery Parsley Rutabaga Mash and the Nutty Southern-Style Hubbard Squash Mash and Candied Pecan Crush. And, on the less traditional sid...

Given that St. Patty's Day fell on a Monday this year, I knew I wasn't going to be able to cook my corned beef for 3 hours and still get it on the table at a reason hour. So, I opted to do it a day early. And it was delicious and appreciated. For the corned beef, I did what I always do - boiled it for three hours. That's it. I did read a recipe that cuts the cooking time to one hour by roasting it. We'll try that tonight, or later this week. I made a couple of new-to-me recipes for the side dishes. And, well, I forgot to pick up red currant jam, so I didn't do a traditional cumberland sauce for the beef. Instead I mixed some horseradish into ketchup and called it good. Along with the corned beef, here's what we had... [click on the title to go to the original recipe post] Roasted Cabbage Steaks Mashed Potatoes, Irish-Style  (Irish Champ or Colcannon?!? You decide.)

Inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite bloggers - Heather of girlichef ! - I did some reading about Irish Champ and Colcannon. I had never heard of Irish Champ before. Colcannon, yes. But I am all for adding in greens to everything we eat. Just ask my boys... Here's what I found: Irish Champ is mashed potatoes with scallions and herbs. Colcannon is mashed potatoes with cabbage added in. I loved those added flavors and just added in what I had on hand. So, not sure if this qualifies as champ, colcannon, or some Franken-Cam version. Whatever you want to call it, it was perfect with our corned beef dinner last night. Ingredients 8 new potatoes, washed and cubed water 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 C chopped cabbage 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced 3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced 1 T freshly parsley, chopped 2 T butter 1/2 C half'n'half freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Procedur...