Culinary Adventures with Camilla

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...

Because I was testing a recipe for Edible Monterey Bay this weekend that required pickled radishes, I decided to make some quick pickled radishes with coriander seeds. The coriander mirrored the flavor profile of the dish I was testing. And I will happily munch on these till the jar is gone. These radishes are "quick pickled" because they are ready to eat within twenty-four hours. Really quick! You can, of course, let them pickle for longer; their flavor will just get better. Ingredients radishes, trimmed, quartered, and enough to fit in your jar 3/4 C apple cider vinegar 3/4 C water 3 T organic sugar 1 T salt (I used some large-grained flake salt) 1 t black peppercorns 1 t coriander seeds 3 to 4 bay leaves Procedure Place your radishes in a sterilized mason jar, packing them in tightly. Place all of the other ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the top of the radishe...

It's time for Group B's first reveal of 2016 for the  Secret Recipe Club . Happy New Year! This month I was assigned to  Amy's Cooking Adventures   which is written by - yes, you guessed it! - Amy. Amy and I travel in similar cooking circles, so I'm surprised that I've never made anything from her blog. Till now. So, a little bit about the lady behind the food. She loves to cook and bake. In fact, she runs a second blog dedicated to her sweets. Check out Amy's Confectionery Adventures ! If you are a Star Wars fan, you must check out her Chewbacca Cupcakes  and her R2-D2 Cake . We share a love of that little astromech droid! Here's my purse. I definitely need that cake in my life. Amy has a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and Reading, but gave it all up to stay home with her children. She has three children - two sons on Earth (AKA Dude and Spud) and one angel baby in Heaven. She writes that in her spare time she loves to read, scr...

Tonight we elfed (yes, that is a verb!) and finished the presents for the teachers. Last day of school tomorrow. All the gifts are ready, but we will still need to get up early and make a kale salad and bake some gingerbread for D's class party. Then, they'll be officially on Winter Break! Phew. For some I created earrings. For others I made flower arrangements in Christmas-themed mugs. And for still others we put together DIY Mulled Wine kits. The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf blended the spices, so I don't know the proportions. But I do know what he put in there. It smelled fabulous. Ingredients cinnamon sticks star anise whole allspice berries dried ginger rainbow peppercorns green cardamom pods white cardamom pods whole cloves ground black lime Also needed: cheesecloth, cotton twine, whole oranges Procedure Blend all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, breaking up the cinnamon sticks into small pieces. Place the spice blend i...

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 and decided to create our own version with a few minor changes: lamb is not a favorite with the boys just yet, so D swapped in beef; and rosewater is not a favorite with Jake, so we didn't rub his naan with any. Oh, and I don't have a biriyani pot; I used some mini bean pots from Le Creuset. Also I didn't have any edible gold leaf, so we swapped it out for edible silver glitter hearts.* A heartfelt thank you to Kitchen IQ who was an event sponsor for a recent online blogging event I coordinated.** I mentioned that my son tried to abscond with my spice grater that they had sent. So, they sent him one of his very own! He used the grater on the nutmeg and cinnamon in this recipe. Beef Biriyani ...

I served these at my Pickle Bar a couple of weekends ago and they were so simple and so tasty. These are ready to eat after 24 hours, but I let mine pickle for 48 hours. They were delicious. Ingredients carrots, sliced and enough to fit in your jar 3/4 C apple cider vinegar 3/4 C water 3 T organic blonde coconut sugar 1 T salt (I used some large-grained  Monterey Bay Garlic Sea Salt ) 1/2 t mixed peppercorns 1/2 t juniper berries 1/2 t mustard seeds Procedure Blanche the carrots quickly. I placed the carrots in a medium saucepan, cover them with water, and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and drain immediately. Place all of the other ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil and, then, simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the top of the carrots. Let come to room temperature. Seal the jars and refrigerate until ready to eat. These will keep for approximately 2 weeks. Let come to room temperature before serving.

I served these at my Pickle Bar this past weekend and they were the favorite. So simple and so tasty. These are ready to eat after 24 hours, but I let mine pickle for 48 hours. They were fantastic. Ingredients asparagus, enough to fit in your jar and trimmed to the correct height 3/4 C white vinegar 3/4 C water 3 T organic blonde coconut sugar 1 T salt (I used some large-grained  Monterey Bay Garlic Sea Salt ) 3 cloves minced garlic 1 t fennel seeds 1/2 t mixed peppercorns 1/2 t mustard seeds Procedure Blanche the asparagus quickly. I placed the asparagus in a medium saucepan, cover them with water, and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and drain immediately. Place all of the other ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil and, then, simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the top of the asparagus. Let come to room temperature. Seal the jars and refrigerate until ready to eat. These will keep for approximately 2 weeks....

I'm on Orphan-detail today for the  Secret Recipe Club  - for someone in my own group - and I am thrilled to be cooking from Searching for Spice . One of the reasons I always volunteer to help out an SRC orphan is to meet new foodie bloggers. But, in this case, I've been reading Corina's blog for a little while now. So, I was doubly happy to help out. Corina, like me, loves using spices and discovering new ones. Some of her favorite recipes are curries, stir fries and spicy salads. And as a mom of two, like me, she doesn't have time to spend hours in the kitchen and many of her recipes are quick and easy to make. A woman after my own heart. If you haven't have a chance to explore her blog, do! There are so many recipes I love on this blog. On my short-list: Cassoulet with Confit Duck , Tepsi Baytinijan , Lamb Rogan Josh , and Piadina . Today, pressed for time with this orphan rescue, I opted to do her Chicken Cafrael . It's a completely new-to-...