Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' February 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 Fish Friday Pies. Karen provided a little guidance by saying we could make "pies, tarts, quiches, hand pies, pot pies, mini pies.... etc." Before I get to my pick, here's the line-up... British Fish Pie from Making Miracles Charleston Shrimp Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm Greek Inspired Scallops, Spinach, and Caper Puff Pastry Appetizer Bites from Goats and Greens Jambalaya Pot Pie from Palatable Pastime Magical White Fish B'Stilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Norwegian Flaked Salmon & Potato Mini Tarts from Sneha’s Recipe Sheet Pan Seafood Pot Pie from Karen’s Kitchen Stories Smoked Salmon Tarts from Sid’s ...

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...

When looking at different recipes and menus for a Game of Thrones themed luncheon for Brian , I came across photos for Jon Snow's Pork Pies. I didn't delve too far into what made them special; I just decided to make some fennel scented meat pies with an absinthe crust. Yum! Absinthe Pâte Brisée 2-1/2 C all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling 1/2 C finely ground blanched cashews or cashew flour 1/2 t fennel pollen 1 C butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 3-4 T ice water 3-4 T abinsthe fleur de sel Place the flour, ground cashews, fennel pollen, and cold butter in a large bowl. Use the patry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 T at a time, alternating with the absinthe, until mixture just begins to clump together. If you squeeze some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and cut again. Note that too much w...

I made some Eggnog Scones yesterday and was shocked at how quickly they disappeared. I didn't even get one! And I was determined to make them a little bit healthier, so I reduced the sugar, added some spices, and mixed in some ground cashews for extra protein. Eggnog Scones v.2...more spices, more protein, less sugar...annnnnd, I still didn't get one. Argh! Scone Dough 2 C white whole wheat flour  ½ C ground cashews 1/3 C organic granulated sugar dash of ground nutmeg dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground ginger dash of ground cardamom ½ t baking soda 1 t baking powder 8 T cold butter, cut into small pieces 2/3 C organic or  homemade eggnog In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Using a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the dough resembles pea-sized chunks. Add the eggnog and use a spatula to form a ball. Transfer to a parchment-lined surface and gently press into a d...

A couple of weeks ago I opened up a package from Quirk Books with a few cookbooks to test and review.* Perfect timing...the holidays seem to be party after party after party. So, I delved first into  Tiny Food Party! by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park who are the creative forces behind the blog Spoon Fork Bacon . The book is divided into four delicious sections: Tiny Snack Party - Adorable Appetizers; Tiny Dinner Party - Itty-Bitty Entrees; Tiny Dessert Party - A Little Something Sweet; and Tiny Cocktail Party - Darling Drinks. While many of the recipes might already be part of your party-food repertoire, Teri and Jenny add their own flair to make the dishes fantastically original. For instance, they kick up caprese skewers a notch by drizzling it with a balsamic glaze; and they give deviled eggs a special twist by adding kimchi. Who would have thought?!? For me, a winning cookbook is one that has multiple recipes that intrigue me, one whose recipes I actually try, and on...

When we started talking about what birthday treats Dylan wanted to bring to school for his class celebration, he didn't miss a beat: Crème brûlée!  No. Sorry, darling. I am not making 25 individual crème brûlée. Can you just make one big one, Mommy? Picturing 25 germ-laden spoons digging into a single pan sent shudders up my spine. No! His second choice: biscotti and hot chocolate. That I was willing to do. Here we go... Dylan's Birthday Biscotti Funny story, I had way too much going on last night while I was trying to make the biscotti. We were wrapping presents; Dylan was making cookies for his Secret Santa recipient . I completely missed an ingredient, or two, on the original batch of biscotti I tried to make. Kitchen fail. You can salvage savory flops...usually. Sweet flops just need to go in the trash! I went back to my mixing bowl, adapting a tried and true recipe. 2 C white whole wheat flour 2 T ground cashews 1 t baking powder 2/3 C ex...