Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ask anyone and you will get a family-favorite recipe for deviled eggs. Trust me. They are easy to make, portable, and almost universally adored. I myself have even taught a version at a kids' cooking class at a local museum when we made Cracked China Deviled Eggs . I have also shared recipes for Umami Deviled Eggs ,   with miso and picked red onions; Herbed Deviled Eggs ; and Bacon & Bleu Deviled Eggs , yes, bacon makes everything better, right?! But most versions are fairly similar and include egg yolks and mayonnaise. For the antipasti course for our  Ab Ovo Usque Ad Mala  Thanksgiving menu, I was inspired by this passage in Crystal King's  The Chef's Secret* -  "I slaved over...eggs stuffed with their own yolks with raisins, pepper, cinnamon, orange juice, and butter" (pg. 200). No mayo, huh? Challenge accepted. I have never piped my deviled eggs, but I wanted these to look extra pretty. I'll probably do that from now on; they looked great an...

For the second week of my Eat a Rainbow class, the theme was orange. One of our dishes was a Thai Carrot Salad. They shredded, they chopped, they destemmed, they chopped some more, they measured, and they whisked. Great job, guys! Ingredients 6 C shredded carrots 1 T freshly chopped cilantro 1 T freshly chopped mint 1 C chopped peanuts (we used roasted, unsalted peanuts) 1/4 C rice vinegar 2 organic limes 1 organic orange 3 T pure maple syrup 1/2 t red chili pepper flakes Procedure Juice the limes. Zest the orange, then juice it. Place the first four ingredients - carrots, cilantro, mint, and peanuts - in a large mixing bowl. Place the remaining ingredients in a mason jar. Shake the dressing ingredients to form an emulsion. Pour the dressing over the carrot mixture and toss to coat. Let marinate for as long as you can...at least 15 to 20 minutes. We didn't have that much time, but it was still tasty. Also, some of the kids liked...

After seeing 'wheat pie' mentioned on Cake Boss , the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf wanted to give it a try. I read a few different recipes and came up with this. We didn't have whole wheat berries, so I subbed in barley. The verdict: it's a little dry. But I'm not calling it a flop because the flavors were great! We'll try again. For the  Pâte Brisée This should make enough for the top and bottom of a 10" tart. Ingredients 2-1/2 C all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling 1/2 C finely ground almond flour 1/2 C organic powdered sugar 1 C butter, very cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 5 T freshly squeezed orange juice Procedure I don't have a food processor, so I use a pastry blender and do it all by hand. Or the kitchen elves do it!  Place the flour, ground almonds, powdered sugar, and cold butter in a large bowl. Use the pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add orange juice in 1 T...

Though a cognate for what comes out of a bright yellow squeeze bottle, this relish has very little in common with that Easter egg-colored condiment. Mostarda is a chunky  agrodolce (sour-sweet) sauce made with whatever fruit you have on hand and is a delicious topping for everything from cheese to roasted meats. 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced 1 T crushed garlic juice and orange segments from 2 oranges 2 T raw organic honey 4 T vinegar 2 t water 1 t ground mustard 2 T carrot top greens, triple-rinsed and rough chopped 2 pinches sea salt flakes In a large flat-bottom pan, soften the garlic and fennel in a splash of olive oil. Once softened, add in the orange zest, orange juice, honey, vinegar, and water. Whisk in the ground mustard until completely dissolved. Simmer for 50-60 minutes, until the fennel is almost translucent and the sauce syrupy. To finish, stir in the carrot top greens and season with salt. You'll be seeing this tomorrow on my Easter cheese tr...