Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  adapted from Winter Cocktails  by Maria del Mar Sacasa I have made affogato plenty of times. But I've never spiked it. Wow. Since I was using some homemade eggnog ice cream that we received as a Christmas present - thanks, Jenn! - I swapped out the recommended amaretto for some dark rum. 2 oz dark rum 2 oz dark espresso (my favorite is Illy) 6 oz organic chocolate stout 1 scoop eggnog ice cream Place ice cream in a glass. Pour rum, espresso, and beer over the top. Serve with a spoon. Cin cin! A note on the amounts, I think that Winter Cocktails might have intended that the proportion given serve one person. I split that into two smaller cocktails and it was perfect for us.

I originally had Plum Pudding with a Hard Sauce on our Dickensian Christmas Even menu, but Nonna asked, "No figgy pudding...like the song?!?" Fine. I started with this recipe for Warm Sticky Figgy Pudding , on the FoodNetwork's website, but I wanted more fig than date and didn't have any chocolate in the house - that was unwrapped and not destined for stockings, that is. So, I adapted quite a bit... 2 C dried figs 1 C dates Cover the dates and figs with boiling water and steep till cool. Drain the liquid, but reserve 2 C for the recipe. Destem and deseeds the fruits and use a potato masher to create a paste. In a large mixing bowl place the 2 C of liquid, 1 t baking soda, fruit mash, 1 C organic brown sugar, 2 T dark rum, and 2 eggs. Whisk until smooth. Butter your ramekins or other baking dishes. Gently fold in 2 C white whole wheat flour, 1/2 C ground almonds, 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 t baking powder. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins - le...