Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I honestly can't remember ever having had a Key Lime Pie. And I really have no idea where R got the idea of one, but that's what he requested for his birthday picnic dessert...after we hiked the archery range with his friends. Well, first, he asked me to bring a Baked Alaska up there! I nixed that idea. So, I called around to locate Key Limes to no avail. Someone suggested I could buy just the juice. Done! It seems there are a few varieties of pie - one with condensed milk, one without. A friend who currently lives in Florida asked about the texture of my pie: "like a cheesecake or a custard." It was sort of in between that. And I used gluten-free graham crackers since two of our guests have gluten-sensitivities. This was an easy dessert to make and I made two more the following day. Phew.  Ingredients  makes two 8" pies slightly adapted from this recipe on Epicurious.com Crust 2 C crushed graham crackers (gluten-free, if needed)  1...

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 . This month, we're celebrating garlic with Caroline of  Caroline's Cooking  leading the charge. A Garlic Lover's Dream Aïgo Bouido (Provençal Garlic Soup) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Alcachofas al Ajillo or Garlicky Artichokes by Food Lust People Love Cuban Cube Steak - Bistec de Palomilla by Caroline's Cooking Fresh Green Garlic Mince Bake by Sneha's Recipe Garlic Fried Calamari by Palatable Pastime Garli...

Welcome to the  Foodie Extravaganza !  v. June 2015 - celebrating the Incredible Edible Egg Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. This month we celebrate the Incredible Edible Egg by serving up egg dishes of all kinds. This month, it's all about eggs which means you can see an additional 11 delicious and egg creations in this post. Hooray! Thanks to Wendy from  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for hosting this event. We hope you all enjoy our delicious egg dishes this month and come back to see what we bring for you next month. Posting day 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 ...

Last night, after the boys were in bed, Jake asked, "Can you make some cookies?" Hmmmm...I wasn't about to go to the store since I was already in pajamas. So I looked at the ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry before I answered. Yes, I can. This recipe is incredibly flexible...and something you should be able to whip up late at night without too much trouble. Use whatever jam or jelly you have in the fridge. I could have made lemon curd bars, but opted to use the last of my blueberry jam. Ingredients 1 C butter 2 C flour 2/3 C organic granulated sugar 1 t baking powder 2 egg yolks blueberry jam (I used about 4 to 5 tablespoons for an 8" square pan) Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, press the butter into the flour, flattening the cubes into flat leaves. Add in the egg yolks and press together gently to form dough. Press two-thirds of the dough mixture int...

This week's #SundaySupper event is perfect for the holidays - we're sharing libational creations, using an alcoholic beverage or flavoring as an ingredient. I decided to feature one of my favorite winter treats: baked pears. Espuma is similar to Italian zabaglione,  or French sabayon -  egg yolks and sugar whisked to a luscious froth over simmering water. You can make this in a matter of moments. And, served warm, spiked with tequila, this is almost magical! The secret to a foamy espuma: whisk continuously. Do not stop. Ingredients serves 2 2 pears (I like Bosc pears for their shape) 1/4 C water 2 T honey 4 egg yolks 1/4 C organic granulated sugar juice from 1 organic lemon 1/4 C tequila (I used Buddha's Hand-Infused Tequila ) shortbread cookies, crumbled, for serving Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel the pears and place them in a rimmed baking dish. Whisk the honey into the water and pour it over the pears. Cover with f...

It's #Brunchweek!  We're on the last day of our second annual week-long blogging event hosted by Terri of  Love and Confections  and Susan of  The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen ! I hope you checked in with us this whole week - May 5th through 11th - while we celebrated the deliciousness of brunch and prepared for Mother's Day and the summer brunching season.  We are 32 bloggers strong, bringing you recipes for everything from cocktails to eggs benedict to donuts. Our amazing sponsors have donated some great prizes for a gigantic giveaway. Click ( here ) to read about this fun event, the sponsors, and the giveaway! I'll be honest: I have a little fennel fetish. That crisp freshness with slightly herbaceous notes makes me swoon with foodie lust. So, for a #BrunchWeek dessert, I decided to create a lemon tart kissed with fennel in three ways. I added a dash of fennel bitters to my crust, a generous splash of absinthe to the curd, and a sprinkling of fenn...

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to meeeeee. Happy birthday to me. Yes, it's true...I made my own birthday cake. As my husband noted: "You do that so we won't buy one at the store!" True. I was inspired by a Lemon-Pilsner Cheesecake in T he Craft Beer Cookbook: From IPAs and Bocks to Pilsners and Porters: 100 Artisanal Recipes for Cooking with Beer   by Jacquelyn Dodd. Of course, I had to tweak it since I can't follow a recipe to save my life! Ingredients Crust 3 C crushed graham crackers 1/2 C (one stick) butter, melted 2 T organic coconut sugar zest from one organic lemon Filling 2* - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature 3/4 C organic coconut sugar 3 large eggs 2 C organic sour cream 1 t saison (I used Hennepin by Brewery Ommegang) 1 t pure vanilla extract Sour Cream Topping 2 C organic sour cream 1 T vanilla 1 T saison 1 T organic granulated sugar Curd 4 organic Meyer lemons 3/4 C organi...

Ingredients  For the Crust 1-1/2 C flour (I used more of the complimentary  Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour I had received from the sponsors of this year's #BrunchWeek) 1/2 C Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal Flour* 1/2 C softened butter 1/2 C organic, coconut sugar 1/4 C olive oil 1 T cold water 2 pinches of fleur de sel *another complimentary product I received with which I am now completely enamored For the Filling 4 organic Meyer lemons 1/2 C organic powdered sugar 2 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 8 T butter 8 large egg yolks dark chocolate Procedure For the Filling Juice the lemons. Combine the juice, powdered sugar, honey and butter. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile beat the yolks. Add 1/3 of the boiling liquid to the beaten yolks then add the mixture back into the boiling liquid. Continue beating over medium heat until it thickens. Be careful not to let the curd boil or it will scramble. Pour the curd into a bowl and press plas...

I had some leftover passionfruit juice and pulp after making my Lilikoi-Coconut MOffins so I decided to make a lip-puckering curd with it. Ingredients 1/2 C passionfruit juice and pulp 2/3 C organic granulated sugar 8 T butter 8 large egg yolks 1 T ginger syrup Procedure Combine the pulp, juice, sugar, ginger syrup and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile beat the yolks. Add 1/3 of the boiling liquid to the beaten yolks then add the mixture back into the boiling liquid. Continue beating over medium heat until it thickens. Be careful not to let the curd boil or it will scramble. Pour the curd into a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface to prevent a film from forming. Chill completely. Spoon into sterilized jars and keep in the fridge.

Tomorrow I'll post a photo of this sliced and ready to devour! My littlest Kitchen Elf loves watching Cake Boss . Ever since he discovered it in our Netflix stream, he's been (borderline) obsessed. And he is slowly making his way through the seasons when he has a chance. In one episode, Buddy and his baking crew make what they called 'pastachote.' At least that's what it sounded like to D.  "Mom, it's a Southern Italian pastry. You had to have had it when you lived in Italy!" he insisted. "Can we make it?" First, I don't love sweets, so if I ever did see that pastry in Italy, I probably didn't buy it. And since I don't love sweets, I didn't learn to make very many while I lived there.   Tiramisù is an exception; that I made many, many times while I was there...and many, many times since. Second, what on Earth are you saying?!? That doesn't even sound Italian!  Then I remembered that Italian-Americans have an irrit...