Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' December event. W e are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , to   share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. And t his month Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories  is at the helm, while the group serves up a virtual  La Vigilia  which is short for  La  Vigilia di Natale . Karen provided a little guidance by sharing: "The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve tradition. There are no hard rules." She gave us the outline of the courses according to Bon Appetit  magazine and let us run with it. Years ago, when I was in college, I dated a guy whose family was from Calabria. And the first Christmas I spent with them was when I learned about this tradition. His family, however, did twelve fish courses - not seven - in honor of the twelve apostles. Ironically, no one in that family really cooked; so twelve course...

This month, the Fish Friday Foodies, with Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories , is serving up a virtual  La Vigilia  which is short for  La  Vigilia di Natale . You can read more about that in my round-up I'm sharing for the event at the end of the week. But this is what I am offering as my fourth (fish in pasta) course. Yes, I am aware that clams are not fish... But this is a family favorite. Well, it's a favorite with me and Jake. The boys often complain about the wine taste. So, to appease them, I sometimes make 'sober' clams . However, for La Vigilia , we're going with the whole shebang! Ingredients 2 pounds clams, soaked, scrubbed, and dried 1 stick of butter, divided in half splash of olive oil 3 to 4 whole juniper berries, crushed 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced (approximately 1 C) 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 red onion, diced (approximately 1 C) 1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/8 C water 1/8 C Sambuca or other licorice...

This month, the Fish Friday Foodies, with Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories , is serving up a virtual  La Vigilia  which is short for  La  Vigilia di Natale . You can read more about that in my round-up I'm sharing for the event at the end of the week. But this is what I am offering as my third (meaty fish) course. I love serving - and being served - a whole fish. Head, tail, fins, eyeballs, and all. Case in point... Braised Bee Line Snappers with Shaved Truffles Whole Roasted Bream with Ginger-Tamarind Sauce Masgouf We recently went to one of my favorite restaurants for our company holiday dinner and Pia and I both honed in on the whole fish option! This was a black cod flash fried with fennel, caper, and all sorts of deliciousness going on. Some of our co-workers asked us to kindly face its eyes away from them. Ha. Fine. Like Chef Brad Briske of HOME Soquel , I added layers of flavor in this roasted fish, including earthy fennel a...

This month, the Fish Friday Foodies, with Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories , is serving up a virtual  La Vigilia  which is short for  La  Vigilia di Natale . You can read more about that in my round-up I'm sharing for the event at the end of the week. But this is what I am offering as my second (seafood salad) course. You can easily substitute squid if you can't find baby octopus. Ingredients 1 pound cleaned baby octopuses, thawed if frozen 1 fresh California bay leaf 1/3 C olive oil 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 t sea salt 1/2 t black pepper 1 T fresh oregano, chopped organic lettuce leaves for serving, washed and dried Optional: caviar limes for garnish (click to read an  intro to caviar limes ) Procedure Rinse octopuses under cold water and place in a heavy pot. Cover with water by 2 inches and bring to a boil with bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until octopuses are tender, approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Drain in a ...