Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month I am hosting Food'N'Flix and have the group watching Spirited Away . You can read my invitation here . And I will give my thoughts about the movie in another post. It just inspired me to try all sorts of Asian recipes!  First up:  Bò Nướng Hành Hương,  the Vietnamese version of Japanese Nikumaki which is beef wrapped around green onions, then grilled. I prefer the Vietnamese version as it has more spices for flavor, giving the meat a sweet, sour, and salty taste. And, perhaps, it's a ubiquitous Asian dish because a friend mentioned that it looked like a Korean BBQ dish. Ingredients  makes 4 servings 1 pound beef tenderloin steaks, pounded thin 2 green onions ½ Tablespoon five spice powder ½ Tablespoon tamarind paste 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari 1 clove garlic, finely minced 2 Tablespoons canola oil 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil + more for drizzling Also needed: 100% cotton twine for tying ...

The month, the Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers are looking at Cabernet Franc Around the World with Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm leading the discussion. You can read her invitation  here .  If you are reading this soon enough, feel free to join the Wine Pairing Weekend live Twitter chat on Saturday, December 12th at 8am Pacific. Just follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add that to anything you post so we can see your tweets. In the meantime, all of these will go live before Saturday morning. Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Honey-Lemon-Sesame Drizzled Plancha'd Veggies + Garzón 2018 Reserva Cabernet Franc A Day in the Life on the Farm: Hungarian Short Ribs Paired with Dracaena Cab Franc The Quirky Cork: Francly Turkish! Turkish Cab Franc & Lamb Chops Grape Experiences: Crush On Cabernet Franc! Crushed Grape Chronicles: Cab Franc - Sailing the Loire with a Pirate Princess Exploring the Wine Glass: Championing for Cabernet Franc; The True Underdog Cooking C...

I am hosting June's  Food'N'Flix   and asked the bloggers to take a virtual trip to Hawaii. You can read my invitation:  here . So we've been watching lots and lots of shows that feature Hawaii. I wasn't a huge fan of the original  Hawaii Five-O , but I adore the reboot! We streamed it on Netflix the first time we watched it, but just found that it is no longer there, so I ordered the DVDs from Amazon. When we watched the first season, it inspired my  Haupia-Filled Malasadas . Season two sent me into the kitchen to serve up my Loco Moco . After watching Lana I Ka Moana ("Adrift") - season three, episode three - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make poke. Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams borrow a boat from Chin Ho Kelly's uncle and head out for a relaxing day of fishing. One of my favorite things about this series is the jovial repartee between those two characters. Liken them to an old married couple: they know exactly which butto...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the May #WinePW skin-fermented event. Wine samples  or wines  at an industry discount  were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. This was a pairing I created for the skin-fermented wine event for May's Wine Pairing Weekend with a wine from Two Shepherds Winery.* You can read the tasting notes in my post: Diving into the Skin Fermented Wine Pool of Two Shepherds Winery. Once it goes live, on Friday, May 9th, I'll link to it. But here is the recipe for this simple dish with lots of seasonal flavors.  I was inspired by a bunch of mizuna, or Japanese mustard greens, that I received in my CSA (community-supported agriculture) box. You can use any leafy green that you have! That's one of the things I love about this recipe: you can swap out the protein and the veggies easily. It's the sauce that makes this dish really sing. On the side, I served brocco...

This month, Sue of  Palatable Pastime  told the Baking Bloggers that for February: "Share your baked Middle Eastern food with us, sweet or savoy. It can be a main dish, dessert,  pastry, anything as long as part of it is baked." Here's the #BakingBloggers virtual Middle Eastern bakery... Apricot Pistachio Cake from Food Lust People Love Basbousa Cake from Pandemonium Noshery Cottage Cheese and Veggies Borek from Sneha's Recipe Easy Middle Eastern Puff Pastry Cheese Bourekas  by Fatih, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Laffa Bread from Making Miracles Lebanese Sesame Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Mana'eesh (Palestinian Flatbread) from Karen's Kitchen Stories Parda Pulao - Iraqi Parda Plau from The Schizo Chef Roast Chicken Shwarma from A Day in the Life on the Farm Umm Ali from Caroline's Cooking Lebanese Sesame Cookies  Given that I could go sweet or savory for this challenge, I was...

When I want a delicious chicken dish with low time in preparation, crisped chicken thighs - bone-in, skin-on - is usually it. The glaze or rub is so flexible and it's on the table in about an hour. Ingredients  serves 6 6 or 7 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on 1/2 C soy sauce 1 T sesame oil + more for brushing 2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed 1 T olive oil sesame seeds for garnish Procedure Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic together in a small mixing bowl and place the chicken skin-side down in the bowl. In a heavy skillet (I like to use my Le Creuset braiser), heat olive oil. Place the skin side of chicken down and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over - the skin will be browned and crisp - and cook on the second side for 25 to 30 minutes. To finish, brush each chicken thigh with a thin layer of sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately! I served these with a side of steamed brown rice and roasted broccoli ...

Does December leave you hurried and harried? I know it's not just me. It can't just be me. So, when a friend gave me cleaned, frozen trout that he had caught earlier in the year, I was excited for the quick and easy dinners I saw in my future. Really. Once these are defrosted, they are on the table in just about 30 minutes. It's perfect for a crazy weekday evening. Ingredients  serves 4 2 whole trout, cleaned and thawed if previously frozen freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 6 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 4 T soy sauce, divided 4 t toasted sesame sauce oil, divided juice from 2 organic lemons (I use Meyer lemon, but use what you have) lemon slices from organic lemons Also needed: parchment paper-lined baking sheet Procedure Lay your fish on a parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the inside cavity of the fish with salt and pepper. Place the crushed garlic and lemon slices inside. You can secure...

Earlier this month I noticed a fun game posted in the online group #FoodBloggerLove. We claim the last blogger in the comment stream and add our own link. Then we have a week to post an inspired recipe. I was thrilled to claim Ellen of  Family Around the Table . She and I have been in several different blogging groups over the years, so I was familiar with her blog already. But it was great to really dive deep and get to know her better. Meet Ellen! You can find her: on the  web , on  Facebook , on  Twitter , on  Instagram , and on  Pinterest . She is a freelance writer, recipe developer, and former correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times where she wrote a regular TASTE section feature as well as reviewed cookbooks for more than 15 years. And, regarding her blog name, she credits her mom, her kids, and her grandmother for the inspiration. She remembers her grandmother making fresh pasta for dinner, writing, "She was from Italy and a very good cook so...

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' November event.  In any case, we 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. This month, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is hosting as we share stir-fries . She wrote, "The theme for November is Stir-Fry. Create a stir-fry featuring seafood of any kind. If you don't have a wok, a good skillet will also work just fine." Before I get to my recipe. Here's the rest of the #FishFridayFoodies' stir-fry menu... An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients 1 pound black cod, with skin still attached, cut into 1/4 lb portions 6 baby leeks or 3 large leeks 2 T cooking oil 1 T chili bean paste 1 t sweet bean paste 1 T fermented black beans, rinsed and drained 2 t soy sauce, divided 1 t organic granulated sugar noodles, cooked according to package direction 2 t sesame oil black sesame s...

When we were planning his family birthday dinner, R requested seared ahi. When I asked if he wanted it as the main dish or an appetizer, he shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Just as long as I get seared ahi." Done. I decided to marinate ahi in a spicy marinade, sear it, then serve it with rice noodle bowls. Delish. Remember: since you're eating it (mostly) raw, you need to purchase sashimi grade ahi and you should eat it the same day you buy it. We use gluten-free tamari since his best friend can't eat gluten. But use whatever you have in your cupboard. Ingredients  serves 4 as an entree and 6 to 8 as an appetizer 2 lb sashimi grade ahi tuna 1/3 C organic tamari or gluten-free soy sauce + more for drizzling 2 T sesame oil + more for drizzling 1/3 C canola oil, divided in half 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced on the bias 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 1 pinch red pepper chili flakes 1/3 C sake black sesame seeds for garnish ...

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' September event. We 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. This is, easily, my favorite recipe sharing event of the month. I always come away with a list of recipes that I just have to try! This month, Wendy is hosting. She asked us to toss some fish or seafood on the grill and share it with you all.  One of our favorite appetizers is grilled octopus. We order it anytime we see it on the menu. So, I thought it would make a nice addition to our round-up. It does take time as the octopus is braised, then marinates overnight, and is grilled just before serving. But, I think, it's worth the effort! The Grill Line-Up An InLinkz Link-up Grilled Octopus & Potatoes Salad Ingredients Octopus one 5 to 6 lb. octopus, beak removed 1 T olive oil 2 garlic cloves one 1” knob fresh ginger, peel...