Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This was a complete surprise to me, but this might have been my absolute favorite thing on our Thanksgiving table. It was fresh, potent, and the perfect flavor foil to my braised brisket. I have never actually bought fresh horseradish until this week. Have you? It looks like a stick! 1 C fresh parsley, chopped 2 t grated fresh horseradish zest from 1 lemon juice from 1 lemon 1 T olive oil freshly ground sea salt Mix all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving to make sure the flavors are well-combined.

  I've been making this for years...and I've never really measured until this year. I am certain there are plenty of version of this fresh relish out there. It's so easy, fresh, and delicious. 2 C fresh cranberries 3 seedless, organic clementinues 1/4 C coconut sugar ground cardamom ground cinnamon ground nutmeg Place the cranberries, spices, and sugar in a blender. Slice two clementines into wedges and place them in the blender. Squeeze the juice from the third clementine into the blender along the the empty skins. Blend until desired texture. You can make a smooth paste, or leave it more rustic. Spoon into a jar, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. I've never really had leftovers on this, but I would say, use it within a week.

This recipe came to me in response to  my call for wonderful sidedish recipes   on twitter- not as a blogpost of her own, just as a tweet from @Jayasax . So, I am posting it here. Seventy-three characters. Impressive. Though this is not my recipe, nor have I tested it, it is similar to a fresh relish I've made before, pre-blogging days. And I will definitely give this a try before the year is through. Thanks for submitting it, Jaya. Cranberry relish! 2 c. cranberries, 1 c. orange, 1 c. sugar, grind it up!

Though a cognate for what comes out of a bright yellow squeeze bottle, this relish has very little in common with that Easter egg-colored condiment. Mostarda is a chunky agrodolce (sour-sweet) sauce made with whatever fruit you have on hand and is a delicious topping for everything from cheese to roasted meats. 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and diced 1 C morello cherries juice from 2 oranges 2 T raw organic honey 2 T vinegar (I used a cherry balsamic vinegar) 2 t water 1 t ground mustard 1 T brown mustard seeds 2 pinches sea salt flakes In a large flat-bottom pan, place all of the ingredients - except the salt flakes. Whisk in the ground mustard until completely dissolved. Simmer for 50-60 minutes, until the fennel is almost translucent and the sauce syrupy. To finish, season with salt. You'll be seeing this on top of warmed brie for the appetizer course of my mom's birthday dinner this week.

Riley has really embraced adding unique flavors to our Thanksgiving feast. Case in point: his recipe for a prickly pear-cranberry sauce. We started with whole prickly pears and made prickly pear juice, substituting that for the water in our usual cranberry sauce recipe. To make the juice, peel the fruit, dice, and add to a pot with one inch of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, push the pulp through a strainer and reserve the liquid. 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 C prickly pear juice (or water) 4 C (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries orange zest, optional Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil prickly pear juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst. At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a few strips of orange zest. You can also add a cup of raisins or...

I had several plums beginning to turn in the fruit bowl, so I decided to make a spiced plum chutney. It'll be the perfect accompaniment to a rosemary-rubbed pork tenderloin I'm cooking for my grandmother's 91st birthday potluck this weekend. Organic brown sugar, sliced plums, 1 C red wine, 1 T aged balsamic vinegar, 2 T ginger syrup, and 1 T ground cardamom. Bring everything to a boil then simmer till thickened.