Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Donkey & Goat Winery .*   All opinions are my own. It's wild for me to think that I've never met Jared and Tracey Brandt of Donkey & Goat Winery in real life. I've long been a fan of their wines; I make a point to swing by their tasting room in Berkeley any time we're in the Bay Area; and they agreed to sponsor a Locavore Cooking Class + Feast that I donate each year to a local high school fundraiser. They are awesome and supportive though we've only connected virtually. So, when Jared emailed to say that my name had come up in conversation and would I be willing to create a pairing suggestion to time with their Spring wine release, I agreed before I even knew with what wine I would be working. When I realized it was their new Grenache Blanc Skins, I shrieked in glee. Really. Maybe it was more of a squeal, but it was definitely accompanied by a little jump. I love all the Donkey & Go...

Inspired by the petrale sole in my Real Good Fish CSF yesterday, I decided to make a version of Acqua Pazza for dinner tonight. Acqua Pazza literally means 'crazy water' in Italian. It's a simple, yet flavorful, way to poach seafood. And the best thing for me right now: it is compliant with the Whole30 adventure I'm on! Well, this bowl isn't Whole30 compliant. But it is gluten-free!  Ingredients Acqua Pazza 6 petrale sole filets 2 T olive oil 4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed 1 C grape tomatoes, halved 2 T fresh parsley, chopped 2 anchovy filets water Kale Pesto 2 to 3 C organic baby kale 2 cloves garlic 1/4 C olive oil 2 anchovy filets Procedure  Kale Pesto Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process until desired thickness. Set aside until ready to serve. Acqua Pazza Use a pan large enough to hold the fish without them overlapping too much. Heat olive oil and add g...

Here we are at the November event for The French Winophiles, a wine-swilling, food-loving group started by Christy of  Confessions of a Culinary Diva  and jointly coordinated by Jill of L'occasion . The Conversation Join us for a live Twitter Chat Saturday, November 19th at 11 am EST/8 am PT. You may join in the revelry by following hashtag #winophiles. Join us for our upcoming events by emailing your post title to Christy at  culinarydiva@icloud.com  or Jill at  jillbarth@msn.com .   A Vôtre Santé! The French Winophiles Beaujolais Team   ( written by Jill of  L'occasion ) When Michelle from  Rockin’ Red Blog  sent me her title for our French Winophiles visit to Beaujolais this weekend I realized she’s hitting on a topic that is resonate with the wines of Beaujolias:  Beaujolais: Ah ToBe Young Wild and Free . Michelle has some of the best wine and meal recommendations (set to music) so I know I’ll need to shop for ...

Ceviche is probably one of my favorite appetizers. It's a simple dish of seafood "cooked" by the acid in lemons and limes. It's so easy, but it requires incredibly fresh ingredients. I usually ask my fish monger which is the best choice for ceviche that day. Sometimes he'll say shrimp, sometimes it's the scallops. The day I made this, he said fish. So  ceviche de pescado it was.  Just for fun, here's one (purported) aphrodisiac quality to this dish... Tomato : Tomatoes came to be known as 'apples of love' - not because they were considered aphrodisiacs, but due to a mistranslation. Kind of like a game of telephone. The early tomato was yellow, so Italians initially called it pomo d’oro , literally 'apple of gold.' Later, the name changed to pomo d’Moro,  apple of the Moors. Then, a Frenchman traveling through Italy asked for the name of this unusual fruit and mistook it to be  pomo d’amore - love apple - instead of pomo d...

When I saw that Leslie, from La Cocina de Leslie , had chosen Julie & Julia for this month's Food'N'Flix , I ran right out to the store and bought the DVD. I've seen the movie before, thoroughly enjoyed it, and was happy to watch it again...and own it. And I was just reading about Julia Child in The United States of Arugula . Perfect timing. Click here  to see Leslie's invitation to her movie selection. Julie & Julia is phenomenal on so many levels. It's the story of how two women from completely different generations claim their identities through food: Julia Child and Julie Powell. Meryl Streep is astonishing as Julia Child; not surprising as she's amazing in every movie she does. But it's almost eerie to watch her inhabit the roll. She becomes Julia. She is Julia. Amy Adams is charming as Julie Powell, the blogger who sets out to cook through Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a single year. 524 recipes in 365 days...