Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Not sure if it's because the first of my close friends just turned fifty, or what, but  Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem by  Laurie Notaro landed on my reading list and I happily indulged. I'll admit that, despite her being a New York Times bestselling author, I was completely unfamiliar with her. Now I have avidly lined up her entire collection, including: There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble , The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life , Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood , and It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy . On the Page Notaro's commentary is biting, irreverent, and hilarious. Just read a few clips: "Aren’t you proud that you know how to use a dial phone? That you lived a whole, full life without a digital device in your pocket? You remember who Gillig...

I will be sharing more about the 2020 Sin Banderas Rhône Rosé for the March 2021 #WinePW event that focuses on the wines of Washington State's Yakima Valley. Stay tuned for more on that next weekend, but I am going to be posting several of my recipes ahead of time. The participating wineries  were so generous that I have more seven pairings to share. Seriously. Seven. So, I'm starting now and will continue throughout the entire month of March. I love pairing  Rosés with chicken. I paired their 2019 with my  Shichimi Togarashi-Spiced Fried Chicken . But this 2020 was more delicate and wanted a dish that was still subtly spiced that didn't overpower the mouthfeel with crisped panko crumbs. I settled on a Thai-inspired chicken satay with peanut sauce. Just be sure to start this the day before you want to serve because the chicken marinates overnight. Ingredients serves 4 to 6 Chicken juice and zest from 1 to 2 organic limes 2 shallots, peeled and finely minced 1-inch k...

This time around,  Simona of  Briciole   is the host for our bi-monthly book group  Cook the Books . For our Feburary-March 2020 pick, s he selected  Pomegranate Soup  by Marsha Mehran*;  you can read Simona's invitation :  here . On the Page Mehran transports the reader to the fictional village of Ballinacroagh in western Ireland in 1986. After fleeing Iran during the revolution of 1979, Marjan, Bahar, and Layla - the three Aminpour sisters - are working feverishly to open their new café, the Babylon Café. They are intent on setting down roots and building a new life away from their turbulent homeland. At only nine in the morning the kitchen was already pregnant to its capacity, every crevice and countertop overtaken by Marjan's gourmet creations. Marinating vegetables ('torshis' of mango, eggplant, and the regular seven-spice variety), packed to the briny brims of five-gallon see-through canisters, sat on the kitchen island...

Angie,  Big Bear's Wife , is having  had a baby. And Terri of  Love and Confections  is throwing her a virtual baby shower. We were all set to post for a pre-baby event. Turns out that he had other ideas. Her new little Baby Bear arrived earlier this week! Please take some time to check out all the amazing recipes we made for Angie's virtual baby shower! Beverages Baby Blue Punch from Or Whatever You Do Easy Fall Party Punch from Miss in the Kitchen Mimosa Bar from My Life Well Loved Simple Southern Sweet Tea from Love and Confections Appetizers & Salads Creamy Grape Salad with Toasted Pecans from Unsophisticook Mini Chicken & Waffles from Sweet Beginnings Pimento Cheese Stuffed Buttermilk Biscuits from It's Yummi Savory Cucumber Melon Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette from Cooking in Stilettos Spicy Southern Deviled Eggs from This Gal Cooks Entrees American Pierogi Casserole from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen Chicken ...

Note: This post is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by the National Football League (NFL) or any of its teams. All opinions and views expressed on our blogs are our own, not that of the NFL and/or any of its 32 teams. Any team names, logos or other symbols referenced are properties of their respective organizations. We are just big fans — and we want to share our love for our teams, the game and the food that brings us all together on game day. With the official start of football season around the corner, it’s time to tailgate! In celebration, I’ve joined a group of bloggers from all over the country — all of whom are big football fans! — to bring you a multitude of tailgating recipe ideas for a terrific football party. Read on.... Okay, my friends and (regular) followers, you may pick yourself up from the floor when you've finished laughing that I am posting a recipe for a football-themed event. Actually, I'm posting three. This is just the first one...

For the sweet dip at the Magical Fairy Feast (menu here ), I wanted to make use of the abundance of summer stone fruits and picked up some peaches at the farmers' market. I served it in a hollowed out watermelon and served it with berry wands. Ingredients Dip 2 to 3 organic ripe peaches, pitted and sliced into wedges 2 C organic sour cream 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 3 T raw local honey 1/2 t ground cinnamon mini watermelon Wands organic berries, rinsed and dried (I used blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries) organic grapes, rinsed and dried also needed: bamboo skewers Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place peaches in a rimmed baking dish. Place them in them in the oven until they begin to caramelize and lose their shape, approximately 35 minutes. While the peaches roast, assemble the wands. Alternate fruits, pushing them on to the skewers carefully. Slice off the bottom of the watermelon so it sits flat; slice off the top o...

The beauty of this dish comes from the surprising burst of citrus of caviar limes. They are so pretty and so tasty. Don't they look just like fish roe? Ingredients 1 lb prawns, deveined with shell and tail intact 1/4 C freshly squeezed lime juice (I used fresh Bearrs lime) 1/4 C olive oil 2 T tamari or soy sauce 1 t ground coriander 1 t ground smoked paprika 1/2 t freshly ground pepper caviar limes for serving fleur de sel for serving Procedure Whisk all ingredients together - except for the caviar lime- and marinate prawns, on skewers, for at least 2 hours. Longer is better. Grill over hot coals till opaque. To serve, remove prawns from skeweres. Squeeze half a caviar lime on top of each prawn and sprinkle with fleur de sel . Serve immediately.

As part of Dylan's May the Forks Be With You brunch , we made some kebabs, calling them Obi Wan Kebabis. I made one savory and one sweet. Actually, the boys did. And they have the skewer pricks on their fingers to prove it! SWEET = fresh blueberries and blackberries SAVORY = Sesame Gluten-Free Soy Meatballs  + Balsamic Glazed Butternut Squash (it's the same process with squash instead of pumpkin) + Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Since Shiho was bringing  Japanese Tapas and Sushi for the tall people, Jenn and I decided to supplement the meal for the small people. I made a riff on the Maple-Mustard Pork Chops from the cookbook review I did of Campfire Cuisine  and Mike grilled them for the kiddos. 1/4 C prepared mustard 1 C organic maple syrup 2 T soy sauce 8 boneless, skinless chicken thigh, sliced into strips In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the chicken. Blend with a fork until well-combined. Add the chicken and marinate in the mixture for at least 4 hours. Just before cooking, thread the chicken onto soaked skewers. Grill till done.

One evening after a full day of hiking and adventuring in Modoc National Forest, my sister-in-law Liv and I forgot to set the venison meat to braise. So, we scrambled to think of what to do with the meat and I remembered a recipe in Robin Donovan's Campfire Cuisine for Chicken Kabobs with Spicy Peanut Sauce. Done deal. We sliced the venison into bite-sized pieces and threaded them onto skewers with onions, green bell peppers, and cubes of zucchini from Aunt Greta's garden. Then we grilled them over an open flame and served them with Donovan's sauce. For kabobs: venison meat, cut into 1 inch pieces Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes 1/2 C fresh lemon juice freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper garlic powder zucchini green bell peppers onions For peanut sauce: 1/2 C milk 1 C peanut butter 1/4 C soy sauce 1/4 C brown sugar 1 1/2 t crushed red pepper 2 T ketchup Juice of one lemon Rub the venison with the s...