Culinary Adventures with Camilla

During Fall Break, earlier this month, I did a lot of reading. Well, I read a lot all year long. But Fall Break afforded me full days of lounging and reading...between hikes and family dinners. One of the books I devoured was The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb.* On the Page At first I didn't really know what was meant by the gothic literature; then I realized that Edgar Allen Poe's books and stories practically invented the genre. Okay. I'm with it now. Though that still isn't really a genre that I read regularly. Brynn Wilder arrives in the tourist town of Wharton, on Lake Superior, to regroup and refresh after a year of taking care of her dying mother, the split from her longtime boyfriend, and being on sabbatical from teaching; she isn't sure that she wants to return to her old life at all. Her friend arranges her stay at a guesthouse with a motley cast of characters who are also in town for the season - Jason and Gil, a gay couple who have Alice, Jason...

Well, our Thanksgiving tradition of adventure continues with our 2017 feast. I can't remember the last time I've roasted a turkey for our table. This year, we're heading to Morocco by tabletop. Inspired by the receipt of my first tagine, I asked the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf to peruse my Claudia Rodin cookbook - Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon  - and come up with a menu. Then we adjusted based on what's in season and a good balance of color and texture. Here's what we have planned... arabesque /  noun /  an ornament or style that employs flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines. I'll share recipes and photos throughout the weekend. But I wanted to give a shoutout of gratitude to Farmer Jamie of Serendipity Farms for the bounty of Fall veggies. I wish I could have worked more of them into this menu, but I had already battled with D on some of the dish...