Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Last summer, when R and I were brainstorming about the dessert course for his Mediterranean fundraising dinner, I mentioned cantucci because I knew they were something I could do ahead of time...and easily. We discussed different combinations and he remembered when I made a chocolate-olive version before. "That's unique and interesting, Mom. Can you make that again?" Sure thing!  Somehow I neglected to post a recipe. I remedy that today as the From Our Dinner Table group posts about all things chocolate. Chocolate Recipes Baked Chocolate Donuts by That Recipe Chocolate Fudge Raspberry Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm Chocolate Oreo Bars by Family Around the Table Chocolate Walnut Caramels by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Espresso Mocha Macaron with Salted Dark Chocolate Filling by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Kalamon-Chocolate Cantucci by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Low-Sugar Double Chocolate Muffins by Blogghetti Mini Chocolate Sandw...

This weekend, R said, "Remind me why you don't call these 'biscotti', again, Mom." Well, while 'biscotti' literally means twice cooked, it just refers to any cookie or biscuit. What Americans call biscotti are actually cantucci. "So, can we make some cantucci?" he asked. I walked right into that one. So, we headed to the store. R picked up some dried figs and slivered almonds. It's funny, I mentioned cranberries and walnuts or apricots and pecans. And he walked back to the cart with dried figs and almonds. "How about this mixture, Mom?" That'll work. I actually love the way that the figs looked sliced in there. I don't know why I've never used them before. Also, since these included slivered almonds, I decided to swap out the ground almonds I usually use for some Pinole Azul , a ground hierloom blue corn from Mexico that's mixed with a little bit of piloncillo  and ground cinnamon. Ingredients 2 C...

It's the first Monday of the month which means one thing:  Secret Recipe Club  reveal for Group A. This month I was assigned to Claire K Creations , a blog written by, yes, Claire, who is a Brisbane-based blogger. She was a self-admitted picky eater until 2010 when she took a trip to Europe when she "discovered the world of food." Now she grows it, cooks it, serves it, eats it, and photographs it. I perused her blog for hours. What a tough choice to pick a single recipe! Which one of these would you have picked? She has a recipe for Hummingbird Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing , Avocado Loaf Cakes , Citrus Salt , Thai Larb Moo , and Beetroot Hummus . Okay...here's what I made... Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci adapted from Claire K Creations / Chocolate Olive Biscotti I started with her recipe and made some adaptations: I added ground almonds, skipped the pinenuts, and added dried cranberries and espresso powder. Thanks, Claire, for the impetus to add ...

Remember... it's persimmon season ! A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me a bag of Hachiya persimmons and I have been waiting (impatiently) for them to ripen. Finally, two of them were soft. Mushy, smushy, orange sweetness! I decided to make some persimmon cantucci...with chocolate. 2 C white whole wheat flour 2 T ground almonds 1 t baking powder 2/3 C extra virgin olive oil 1 C coconut sugar 2 eggs 1 T all-spice liqueur dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground cardamom dash of ground nutmeg 1 C Hachiya persimmon pulp 1 C chopped dark chocolate 1/4 C dried cranberries In a large bowl, mix together persimmons pulp, olive oil, coconut sugar, liqueur (use pure vanilla extract if you don't have any all-spice liqueur) and eggs. In another bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces and dried cranberries. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a ro...