Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Donkey & Goat Winery .*  All opinions are my own. Last year I worked with Jared and Tracey Brandt, of Donkey and Goat Winery * , to create a pairing for some of their new releases in the Spring. I tested a Shrimp and Clam Paella  and  Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, Roasted Peppers, and Olives both to pair  with their Grenache Blanc Skins. But, in the end, the recipe I shared with the Brandts that they, in turn, shared with their wine club members was my  Petrale Sole, Fennel, and Potato Gratin . So, when Jared emailed me again about collaborating with them on this year's Fall releases, I was in. Immediately. Tomorrow the Brandts and the Donkey and Goat team host their Fall release party. And though I can't be up there, I am sharing a recipe I created for their 2017 The Bear. Torched Chashu  Japanese Braised Pork Belly / serves 10 to 12 After reading notes on the 20...

Surprisingly pork belly is one of those polarizing ingredients. Even for meat eaters, I've found people either love it or hate it. Or, if you're like me, you want to learn to cook it so that you love it. But I have had fewer recipe successes than I would like with pork belly. This was one of those winners. Woohoo! For some reason, I usually lean towards Asian flavors with pork belly. Hui Guo Rou (Twice-Cooked Pork Belly) and Kimchi Soondubu Jjigae (Kimchi-Tofu Stew) are prime examples of that. And this was no exception. I decided to caramelize the pork belly in a soy-fish sauce broth and toss it with pasta. And I paired it with a bottle from Donkey & Goat Winery, their Skins and Stems 2018 Chardonnay. In My Glass The Skins and Stems 2018 Chardonnay from Donkey & Goat was one of the reasons that I finally took the plunge and signed up to be part of the wine club. I've loved every wine I've ever tried from them, but when I realized that I wo...

When I was preparing for our annual family camping trip last month, I started asking friends for book recommendations because between the hikes, the canoe rides, and family meals, I tend to spend several hours of the day in my hammock! And someone recommended  Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.* So, I bought a copy. On the Page I really enjoyed this book - so much so that I slowed my pace of reading towards the end because I didn't want it to end. There were so many threads of stories from a fishing village in Korea to Japan and to America and back to Tokyo. However, I also found the story incredibly tragic. Pachinko is a sprawling saga that spans almost eight decades. It begins with Sunja, a teenager, who runs a boarding house with her widowed mother. She meets a fish broker who seduces her, gets her pregnant, and, then, tells her that he has a family in Japan. Her reputation is preserved when a missionary staying in the boarding house offers to marry her and raise the ch...

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen  is our   Cook the Books   hostess for this round; she chose  Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop* as our April-May Cook the Books selection. You can read her invitation: here . If you want to join us, posts aren't due till the end of May. You have plenty of time. On the Page I have had this book for several weeks, but, for some reason, I was reluctant to pick it up from my nightstand. I don't know why. Perhaps the ocean conservationist in me was cringing at the thought of shark finning. But I tucked it into my backpack when I left to chaperone my son's robotics team as they competed out of town. And, after dinner, when all the kids were in their rooms, I settled into my bed with a glass of wine and this book.  Fuchsia Dunlop is a British cook and writer who specializes in Chinese cuisine. She was the first westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisi...

Soup Saturday Swappers is one of my favorite groups, started by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , I always end up with recipes to try. I love being part of this creative crew. This month Sally of  Bewitching Kitchen  is hosting. And she wrote: "Please share a soup that soothes your soul and chases away those winter blues!" There are a lot of different soups that fit the bill. I thought about making another version of Canh Suon Khoai Tay (Vietnamese Spare Rib Soup) ; or Unaş from Turkmenistan; French Onion Soup is a family favorite that hasn't been on the table in a few months. But, in the end, I was inspired by some fresh cabbage I had from a local farmer. The Winter Soup Pots An InLinkz Link-up Kimchi Dubu Jigae (Kimchi-Tofu Stew) This is a flavorful, spicy soup guaranteed to make your belly happy and banish winter from your mind. And it's super quick to make! Also, please note that a Korean-speaking friend told me that my title wa...