Culinary Adventures with Camilla

While April was a ridiculously unproductive month for me in regards to the  Foodie Reads 2016 Challenge , I have carved out full afternoons to read this month. I had started The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan* earlier this week. But, this afternoon, I curled up under a blanket - while Jake worked on the 8th grade graduation video and the boys did homework - and read the rest of it. I love losing myself in the pages of an entertaining read. On the Page... I had initially thought this novel would be a breezy read about a series of restaurant reviews. It was much more than that. Lila is the restaurant critic's wife and they have recently relocated from New Orleans to Philadelphia. Sam, her restaurant critic husband, is obsessed with anonymity and wants her to stay out of the public's eye. That means he doesn't want he to socialize with her friend from college who has recently opened a restaurant; he doesn't even want her to get to know their new n...

It's Friday night! I'm a few nights late for Mardi Gras . But, as New Orleans' signature cocktail is one of my favorites, it's a must. So, here's a slightly belated Sazerac. Ingredients makes 2 1 ounce absinthe 4 ounces rye  1/2 ounce maple syrup 8 dashes bitters (I used my homemade Meyer Lemon Bitters ) Meyer lemon twists for garnish Procedure  Pour absinthe, rye, and maple syrup into an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain cocktail into two glasses. Add bitters to the glasses. Rub the rims with a lemon twist and drop twist into the glass. Cheers. Laissez le bon temps rouler!

We clearly are in need of some updated Mardi Gras photos! These are about 7 years old. What have I been doing for the past seven years?!? Who knows. Until then, these pics will have to suffice. Even Hippo got in on the masked action! Mardi Gras : French for 'Fat Tuesday', referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. We had to do our Mardi Gras dinner one night early. Long story. One from which I will spare you. In any case, we celebrated last night with... [ click on the title to go to the recipe post ] Seafood Étouffée    Bananas Foster    Sauzerac And I could only locate one mask in my Monday evening scramble, so, I updated my photo! Next year, I'll aim to find four masks and actually do it on Tuesday.  What's on your Mardi Gras table?

I was trying to come up with a Mardi Gras libation to serve with our Seafood Étouffée tonight. But even the thought of a hurricane glass makes me queasy...and I haven't been to New Orleans since before I had kids! Then I remembered that I've always wanted to try a Sazerac; I'm a sucker for anything with absinthe...and I already had some rosemary-thyme simple syrup . The recipe I found called for whiskey or bourbon. Not being particularly savvy with either of those, I opted to get small bottles and make one with bourbon and one with scotch. Just to try it out. Here's my version of a Sazerac... Ingredients  makes one cocktail ice cubes just shy of 2 ounces whiskey 3/4 ounce simple syrup 3 splashes of bitters (I used some Bar Keep Fennel Bitters ) splash of absinthe (I used St. George) lemon rind twist Preparation To make a simple syrup, place 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirrin...