Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Back in 2011 we took the  Chocolate Walking Tour of San Francisco . Our tour guide Michelangelo had given us other suggestions of must-try chocolate places that weren't included in the itinerary and one of the spots was  Dandelion Chocolate . We came across their stand in the Ferry Building, but that location didn't serve the cacao pulp smoothie. So, we went to their shop in the Mission District the following year, and it's been on our 'to-return- list for years. When I was planning my Bay Area adventure with the Precise Kitchen Elf after his internship ended, at the beginning of this month, he only had two requests: bookstores and chocolate tastings. Done. So, after we completed three of the San Francisco stairway hikes, we headed over to Dandelion. R ordered a chocolate cannelé. And after my successful foray into cannelé-making , he's asked me to try to recreate it. Hmmm...I'll consider it. The cacao fruit smoothie and chocolate panna cotta...

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza . We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out  HERE . Today we're celebrating eggnog with Nichole of Cookaholic Wife leading the charge. Here's what the group created... Eggnog Cookies by Caroline’s Cooking  Eggnog Cheesecake by Karen’s Kitchen Stories  Heavenly Almond Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice  Eggnog Tasting + A Classic Recipe by Culinary Adventures with Camilla  Eggnog Loaf by Passion Kneaded  A...

As we move into the May  Foodie Reads Challenge  this month, I wrapped up  The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See .* One of my best friends gave a copy to me - and one to another friend - as an early birthday present for me and a late birthday present for her. Then she took us to the Hidden Peak Teahouse in Santa Cruz for a tea tasting. What fun! I knew that I wanted to take my boys back there. I packed the book for a quick overnight to the East Bay, determined to finish it; I'd been able to read a chapter here and there for the past week or so, but I just wanted to dedicate an evening to it. And, when I did finish and we had an extra couple of hours to kill on our way home from Berkeley, I knew we had to stop at the teahouse. On the Page... Typically when we spend the night in a hotel, we turn on the television. It's a special treat, especially since we don't get any TV stations at home. This trip, none of us touched the remote control. Books, Inc. i...

If you've read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore Dilemma , you likely have an opinion about corn-fed versus grass-fed beef. I certainly do. I read the book years ago and no other has affected my food purchases more; it was even assigned reading in my 5th grader's class this year. It's no surprise that food choices, environmental impact, and nutritional concerns are hot topics of conversation around my dinner table. In any case, Pollan's book caused me to re-think my beef purchases and I have, as much as possible, switched completely over to organic and 100% grass-fed. There are distinctions between grass-finished and grass-fed, but that is for another blogpost. A good friend of mine raises cattle in Ohio. Corn-fed. He and I have talked about what is most important, for me, as an informed consumer, in purchasing beef. Will I buy organic before grass-fed? He was weighing the benefits of switching to organic corn ; apparently, there is virtually no market for ...

I've been meaning to explore Halter Ranch Vineyard since I was introduced to their wines through David of Cooking Chat ; he's the brains behind the monthly Wine Pairing Weekend - #WinePW - event when a group of food loving winos (or are we wine loving foodies!) share pairings with a certain theme. In any case, Halter Ranch graciously sent a few of us wines to pair during our October 2014 event. I ended up making a Pumpkin Lasagna + Halter Ranch's Côtes de Paso . Then I ordered two of their dessert wines for my Thanksgiving sweets pairing; I poured Halter Ranch's Vin de Paille & El Pecado   with a spiced parsnip cake and bittersweet cremeux, respectively. These have all been great and well-received pairings. So, when friends mentioned they were heading down to Paso to do an errand, I booked a tour and tasting for us. We were fortunate enough to have Ray to ourselves and he deftly guided us around the property, the winery, and the cave. Then he led us t...