Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' December 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 a virtual  La Vigilia  which is short for  La  Vigilia di Natale . Karen provided a little guidance by sharing: "The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve tradition. There are no hard rules." She gave us the outline of the courses according to Bon Appetit  magazine and let us run with it. Years ago, when I was in college, I dated a guy whose family was from Calabria. And the first Christmas I spent with them was when I learned about this tradition. His family, however, did twelve fish courses - not seven - in honor of the twelve apostles. Ironically, no one in that family really cooked; so twelve course...

Panforte Nero has been on my to-do list for years. As in almost two decades on my to-do list. Ever since I lived in Italy and fell in love with it. There's Panforte Margherita , but I prefer the dark one! Call me a culinary-masochist, but during the busiest time of the year I embrace culinary adventure and attempt a treat that has daunted me or made me swoon in delight. That's not  totally  accurate since I am adventuring and challenging my kitchen skills all year long, but the holidays seem to bring out my strong need to make sweets. Thankfully - for me, my family, and my friends -  I am blessed with the ability to satiate my craving to bake just by baking; I don't actually have to eat my creations. So, I bake, I breathe in a whiff, and my friends get to eat it all. Thank goodness...or I would weigh 300 pounds! I toyed with the idea of making  Laurie Colwin's Black Cake from  Home Cooking . Read her description: "Its closest relatives are plum...

You can find the original post at Love & Olive Oil , one of this event's esteemed hostesses. Thanks so much for organizing this, Lindsay. What an amazing event! In case you're new to the fun and games, here's the skinny: 555 bloggers baked and sent three dozen cookies to other bloggers around the world. And, through participation fees and more, we raised a total of $13,778.40 for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer . Like I said - amazing. And I'm proud to be part of it. Here are a few that caught my eye... Rosemary Lavender Shortbread  by Brooklyn Locavore Panforte Bites by Juls' Kitchen Passionfruit Shortbread Biscuits by The Cook's Companion Challenge And, remember, I made  Matcha-Black Sesame Shortbreads ! Look for the Round-Up, Part II...and my favorites from that round!