Culinary Adventures with Camilla

A few months ago, I joined the #SundaySupper Movement. Today, I was profiled on the Sunday Supper  site . Click to see it...and, maybe, learn something about me that you didn't know: here . Thanks to Heather at girlichef for the write-up. Thanks to my husband for working to get my logo done in time!

from the kitchen of Kathey H. A couple of days ago a friend of mine from high school posted some photos on social media of "ridiculously sweet, but delicious" salted caramel pretzel brownies...and said that they were the anti-Camilla dessert. I didn't understand exactly what she meant until she said that that the caramel was ice cream topping from a jar/bottle and brownies from a box. Okay. So I accepted her challenge to make a from-scratch version. I made a salted pretzel crust, topped it with a ricotta-chocolate brownie, and drizzled it with homemade caramel. Needless to say: there were lots of steps involved in this dessert, but it was worth it. Rich, decadent chocolate-y goodness! If you plan to try this, please read all the way through the recipe as my ingredient lists are divided into the different layers' elements. Would love to hear how yours turn out. Ingredients for the salted pretzel crust 1-1/2 C pretzels, crushed (I used the Ever...

This simple dish is a testament to the fact that if you start with good ingredients, your food will sparkle. I started with Blue Coco River beans from Coke Farm , onions and celery from the farmers' market, and added in some organic chicken stock and chorizo. The boys helped me schlep our goodies at the market before we started cooking. Ingredients 1 pound Blue Coco River beans, prepared 13 oz chorizo, cut of out its casing and into thin coins (I used Silva Sausage 's chorizo) 1 onion, diced 6 stalks of celery, sliced 6 C organic chicken stock 1 C fresh tomato puree freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 T fresh oregano, chopped Procedure In a large souppot, cook the onion, celery, and chorizo sliced until the onions turn translucent. Add in beans, chicken stock, and tomato puree. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for 3 hours, stirring every so often to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom. Se...

One of my best friends just had a baby. Hooray for Nicholas!! So this weekend we brought over a Cuban feast to share and fed both of our families. I'm trying to remember how this came about. I think I was raving about the Cuban pop-up at La Balena last month   and asked my friends whose birthday was up next. I was inspired to make a Cuban birthday dinner for someone.  Anyone! Jenn piped up: Nicholas is up next! True. So, as soon as he was born...and as soon as they wanted a dinner delivered, I brought over a Cuban feast. Stay tuned for the recipe posts, but it was all delicious. I will definitely be making these dishes again soon. Here was the menu:     Caldo Gallego White Bean Soup Pernil Asado Con Mojo Mojo-Marinated Pork Shoulder Roast Mazorcas de Maiz en la Barbacoa Grilled Corn on the Cob Pastel de Mango con Tres Leches Three Milks Mango Cake Batido Maracuyá Passionfruit Smoothie

This herbaceous, tangy condiment was perfect atop oven-roasted pork shoulder for our Cuban-inspired dinner. Don't worry...I'll post that recipe soon. This is basically a Latin pesto. And it's delicious! Ingredients 2 C fresh cilantro 1 C fresh parsley 2 T fresh oregano 2 T minced garlic 2 T vinegar juice from 1 lemon 3 T sundried tomatoes + some for garnish olive oil optional: freshly ground salt and freshly ground pepper* Procedure Put all ingredients except olive oil in blender and pulse to a thick mixture. Remove from blender and whisk in olive oil until desired consistency. To serve, place the chimichurri in a bowl and garnish with more sundried tomatoes. *Note: the sundried tomatoes I have right now are super salty. Not sure why. So, when I used them, I don't use any additional salt.

When I was looking for a sweet bite to end our Cuban-inspired feast, I decided to finally take the plunge and attempt a tres leches cake. We had one for my dad's birthday in Costa Rica years ago. And since then, it's been on my to-cook list. This weekend, I did it! A note about the spices: they are not traditional. But I had my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and we all know how much the kid loves his spices. For those who don't speak Spanish, or haven't had this cake, tres leches means 'three milks.' That mixture is then drizzled over a vanilla sponge cake. It was surprisingly easy and not at all soggy. Nice! Ingredients 1/2 C butter + some for prepping your baking pan 1 C white whole wheat flour (for a lighter crumb, use all-purpose flour) 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t ground nutmeg dash of ground coriander 5 eggs 1-1/2 t baking powder 1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces) 1 can sweetened co...

I read avidly, mostly about food, and I cook all the time. I mean, a girl has to eat, right? So, I decided that if a book inspires me to get into the kitchen, I'll feature it in a series I'm calling - From Page to Plate.  I already take part in a bi-monthly foodie book group called  Cook the Books , but this is more fast, loose, and completely subject to my own whims. Here we go... The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais was on a list of books that are being translated to the big screen this year. I mentioned it to a few girlfriends as soon as I saw the list, then I suggested it as a book club read for several moms at school. So, it's pulling multiple duties this year. And it happened to be at the top of the book heap on the side of my bed when I finished reading Twain's Feast . Page Notes: The novel follows the footsteps of its narrator, Hassan Haji - from the slums of Mumbai to the zenith of Parisian haute cuisine . Don't be fooled by the title; h...

I picked up a bottle of Chartreuse this week and started looking for recipes. There were a lot of intriguing ones, but I found one that screamed "Me, me, me, me, me!" First, it used fresh blueberries and we still have a bounty from our trip to pick blueberries at High Ground Organics last weekend. Second, it has an awesome name - Midnight Frolic. I did adapt it into a fizz because it was waaaayy to potent for me otherwise. Oh, and I have to share a funny exchange I had with my husband. C: Do you feel like a Midnight Frolic? J: Okay. What time is it now? C: No, it's a cocktail. J: Oh, okay. Ingredients for 2 cocktails 4 oz blueberry-fennel-thyme infused gin 2 oz Chartreuse 4 oz sparkling water fresh blueberries Muddle blueberries in the bottom of a wide-mouth mason jar. Add ice, gin, and Chartreuse. Shake to combine. Strain into small glasses and top each cocktail with 1 oz of sparkling water. Garnish, if you wish, with a couple more fresh b...

One afternoon last week Jake came home with some treats for me: a bunch of peonies and a bag full of Meyer lemons. Sweet! Yep, the man certainly knows the way to my heart: flowers and food. I promised to make him his favorite lemon curd, but wanted to try something new as well. So, I started with this Lemon Marmalade recipe from BBC's Good Food . Ingredients 10 organic Meyer lemons 8 C water 3 C organic granulated sugar 4 whole cardamom pods Procedure Wash the lemons and place them in a large stock pot covered with 8 C of water.  Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 2½ hrs or until the lemon skins are tender and can be pierced easily with a toothpick. When the lemons are cool enough to handle (I let mine steep overnight), remove from the saucepan.  Halve the lemons and remove the seeds – reserving the seeds and any juice that comes out during the process. Cut the lemon peel and flesh into thin strips. Put all of this, incl...

This month the  Pass the Cookbook  crew - under the leadership of Kita, the culinary force behind  Pass the Sushi  - is cooking from Julie's pick. Julie blogs at White Lights on Wednesday  and chose a cookbook I've never heard of. So, I was excited to get cooking from it. Julie picked Michael Symon's 5 in 5 cookbook . 5 fresh ingredients + 5 minutes = 120 fantastic dinners. Okay. We had the option to cook his Angel Hair with Corn, Feta & Tomato, Grilled Salmon & Avocado Salad, or Spicy 50/50 Burger. The 5 in 5 is an interesting concept albeit a little deceptive...in my opinion. Maybe it took me 5 minutes to blend the meat mixutre. It definitely took longer than 5 minutes to cook the patties; I don't like to undercook meat. So, while I like the 5 minute idea. It wasn't a reality. Still, the flavors were delicious and dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes is great! I made a few changes: I used a lower fat percentage beef, swapped out fo...

Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz  is hosting this month's  Food'N'Flix , picking one I'd never seen before: Bridesmaids .  Click to see Evelyne's  invitation . I'll just be honest: I am woefully lacking in the sense-of-humor department. So, definitely take my comments with a grain of salt...maybe a whole salt pig full of salt! While I thought this movie would be funny, at least amusing, it was vulgar and predictable. Think scatalogical and juvenile. I won't spend too much time on the movie because my mom always told me to keep my mouth shut if I didn't have anything nice to say. Good advice, by the way. I'll just say that I considered something Parisian for the bridal shower Helen wanted to throw or Brazilian for the ill-fated lunch during dress-shopping day. But, in the end, I decided to make something that honored a scene that bordered on touching - the scene with the bag of carrots. If you've seen the movie, I hope you know what I'm t...

After we picked blueberries at High Ground Organics , D suggested that we make ice cream. So, I put the ice cream maker in the freezer and, tonight, D helped me whip up a simple, no-cook ice cream. Ingredients 2 C fresh blueberries 1 C heavy whipping cream juice from 1 lemon 3/4 C organic granulated sugar Procedure Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mash the blueberries into the cream. You want to mash some and leave some whole. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to your machine. Ours took about 40 minutes to come to a soft, gelato-like texture. Spoon ice cream into a container and freeze for 30-60 minutes before serving. The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was so excited. "I made this, Mommy!" he gushed. He plunked four berries on the top - just like at gelaterie ...so they can identify the flavors. He's too funny.