Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Welcome to the November  event for The French Winophiles, a wine-swilling, food-loving group coordinated by Christy of  Confessions of a Culinary Diva . Here's where we've been and where we're going... June - Loire Valley (click for my post:  here ) July - Provence or Corsica (click for my post:  here ) August - Southwest (click for my post:  here ) September - Languedoc-Roussillon (click for my post:  here ) October - Côtes du Rhône (click for my post: here ) November 21 - Bordeaux December 19 - Champagne January 16 - Burgundy February 20 - Alsace To Bordeaux...    The Bordeaux region lies in the south western part of France, on the Atlantic coast. Almost all of Bordeaux’s great wine estates are near the Gironde Estuary or its two major rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne.  Bordeaux has a climate that's influenced by maritime airflow from the oceans with damp Springs, dry Summers, and mild Winters...

This week bloggers with the Sunday Supper Movement have partnered with  Gallo Family Vineyards  celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month. Yes, that is a thing. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. But I now have it set as a recurrence on my calendar. Our mission:  to get adventurous with our grilled cheese sandwiches to discover the ideal combination of taste and texture. And – whether it’s a sweet, savory or spicy creation – to find the perfect wine with which to pair it. Click to read  Gallo’s post about Grilled Cheese .  Though I was excited to participate in this celebration of the crisp, buttery, and gooey American classic, I was also extremely nervous. My dilemma: I haven’t made a grilled cheese sandwich since, probably, college and my palate then was not very discerning. Back then, food was merely sustenance whereas now, it’s sustenance mixed with creativity and panache – I hope! Asking friends for advice didn’t help either. Most people hav...

So, one of the premises of our Cooking Around the World Adventure: explore different countries by cooking a traditional meal. As we are wrapping up the 'F' countries with a tabletop trip to France, I half-heartedly suggested escargots. The response was not enthusiastic. My husband said he'd strike - only for that one meal, of course; my usually agreeable Dylan said, quite tepidly, "ohhhhhhh, okay, Mommy"; and Riley gave me a disapproving look and didn't say a word. "What do you think of when I say 'France'?" I queried. I have never heard them answer in such unison before: "Pastries!" they hollered. Oh, brother! I suggested quiche . No. Coq au vin . Nope. We all agreed on French Onion Soup. onions thyme butter beef boullion pink Himalaya salt white wine bread, sliced (I used some day-old ciabatta) gruyère Peel and slice 3lbs of organic yellow onions. Cook onions, thyme, and salt in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heav...

This afternoon I received a three-word text from my husband: "French. Onion. Soup." Yes, that's how it works in my house - they order, I cook. It's my own fault that they believe they live in a restaurant. So, with that suggestion, I headed to the store after work and picked up some onions, beef boullion, and gruyere cheese. Easy, though I would not call this a traditional French onion soup. My version, as always, relies on what I have or don't have. I did not have white wine or thyme, both of which are included in the usual recipe. Instead, I used a combination of spices and added a splash or two or three of a cabernet sauvignon. I also couldn't find my oven-proof ramekins, so I melted the cheese on the bread in the oven and just plunked them into the steaming bowls of soup. onions dill oregano celery seed smoked sea salt butter beef boullion red wine bread, sliced (I used mini loaves of a whole wheat hazelnut bread I had made yesterd...