Culinary Adventures with Camilla

     This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of L'Ecole .  Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.  However, all opinions expressed here are my own.   If you're been following my blog, you'll know that I'm doing a series of monthly posts in collaboration with  L'Ecole Winery .* A group of us participate in a virtual tasting with their marketing manager, the winemaker, and the general manager and discuss timely topics. This month, we celebrating the arrival of summer. And there's nothing better to pour during summer than a refreshing glass of Rosé. Welcoming Summer Living on the temperate central coast of California, we don't really have four seasons. We barely have two seasons. Our temperatures range from about 50 to 70 degrees...that's 50 in the winter and 70 in the summer. October is the hottest month and maybe some rain spits on us in March. That's about it. But summertime does mean...

I don't remember when I ordered this book - Serving Crazy with Curry: A Novel by Amulya Malladi* - but I read it this week as a diversion from thinking about the heavy responsibility of re-opening a school in the middle of this on-going pandemic. That is a tale for another time... On the Page I wanted to like  Serving Crazy with Curry  more than I did. The characters were initially interesting and reminded me very much of some families I knew when I was in college...at the same place Shobha attended. (Go, Bears!) The parents were immigrants from India; the kids were either American-born or very Americanized. And the clashes of the cultures were palpable in both my memories and this novel. In the book, Devi is ravaged by immense pressure to marry and become a traditional Indian wife. Her sister, Shobha, had an arranged marriage and, from the outside, has a charmed life. She's a CEO of a company in Silicon Valley with a husband who is a professor at Stanford.  So, Devi dec...

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza . We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love invited the Foodie Extravaganza bloggers to share their favorite nacho recipes. She writes, "November 6 is National Nachos Day. Let's celebrate by sharing our favorite nacho recipes, both traditional and creative!" The #FoodieExtravaganza Nacho Bar Beef Fajita Nachos Compuestos from Food Lust People Love Beer Brat Nacho s from Palatable Pastime Breakfast Nachos from Tara's Multicultural Table Chorizo Nachos from Karen's Kitchen...

Today, my Spices of the Souk students and I focused on saffron. You know: the most expensive spice in the world. Saffron Saffron is derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus ( crocus sativus ). The stigmas are red, but when soaked in water they render a vivid, golden hue. Beautiful! A couple of years ago, when D and I were watching an episode from the second season of Mind of a Chef, we watched Chef April Bloomfield make lamb biriyani with Chef Stevie Parle. We loved the presentation with the naan on top of the pots. We've been making it that way every since. Beef Biriyani Quick Note: This recipe can NOT be done in a 75 minute class period. So, I did the beef the night before class. In class, we assembled the pots, baked, and enjoyed. This is well worth the efforts, I promise! Also, one of my cooking kiddos is dairy sensitive, so I substituted coconut milk yogurt for regular yogurt. Ingredients Spice Blend 1 t cloves 1 T black cumin 1 T cor...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Le Creuset . All opinions are my own. You can read about how I ended up with these lovely mini cocottes from  Le Creuset  in this post: Utility and Beauty . As soon as I opened up the box and my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf saw the cocottes, he squealed, "I'm going to make biriyani in those!!" Okay. A couple of years ago, when the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I were watching an episode from the second season of  Mind of a Chef,  we watched Chef April Bloomfield make lamb biriyani with Chef Stevie Parle. Here's a link to the  Venison Biriyani   on his website. We loved the presentation with the naan on top of the pots. We've been making it that way every since. Beef Biriyani Quick Note: This recipe was made over a period of two evenings. On the first, we seasoned the meat and made the curry which cooked for over three hours. On the second, we assembled the pots, baked, and en...