Culinary Adventures with Camilla

For special occasions, they get to make requests. So, for R's graduation at the end of May, he asked for "pizza like Zachary's...and dark chocolate crème brûlée."  Zachary's Chicago Pizza  was one of the stops on the Rockridge Food Tour we did several years ago. I hadn't been there since I graduated from Cal in 1996; and I certainly don't remember taking him there more than once after that. But apparently it was emblazoned in his memory and he wanted it after we got home from the socially-distanced graduation at Laguna Seca. This year's graduation meant being masked, gloved, and mostly in the car except for the brief moments it took for him to cross the stage. Jake was pretty excited about getting to take that victory lap on the world renowned WeatherTech Raceway. We were just behind the pace car for the round. R and I were happily belted in the back. D may have screeched a little as we went through the corkscrew. Ha. This wasn't exact...

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  BreadBakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month I'm hosting and have chosen breads from around the world that are traditional for Easter, Passover, or Springtime. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's our International Easter/Passover/Spring Bread Basket, in alphabetical order... Bacci Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm Casatiello by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Choereg - Armenian Easter Bread by Chef Mireille's East West Realm Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove Bread) by Cook's Hideout Cornish Saffron Easter Bread by Pas...

Remarkably - maybe for the first year ever - I didn't bring anything made with pumpkin for our annual Halloween camping potluck dinner. This year, I went for the macabre. There's no real recipe. Just get a skull prop. Wrap with plastic wrap wherever food is going to touch the skull...just to be on the safe side. Cover with your favorite charcuterie. I used prosciutto, coppa, and various salami. It was as tasty as it was disturbing (to some)! Happy Halloween!

Whoops. I completely missed last Friday's cheese post. Sorry. Sage Derby is a mild variety of Derby cheese that is mottled green and semi-hard. The marbling is formed either by mixing sage leaves into the curd before it is pressed or by the addition of "green curd" from spinach juice. The sage lends the cheese an almost minty flavor. I paired this with slices of a dry salami and an oatmeal stout.