Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Last year, as part of D's birthday celebration, we took the Chocolate Walking Tour of San Francisco . Our tour guide Michelangelo had given us other suggestions of must-try chocolate places that weren't included in the itinerary and one of the spots was Dandelion Chocolate . We came across their stand in the Ferry Building, but that location didn't serve the cacao pulp smoothie. So, we put on our to-do going to the shop in the Mission District. We finally made it during his birthday trip this year. He started with the Chef's Tasting platter. It included: Cacao Spritzer, Venezuela S'more, Papua New Guinea Pumpkin Spice Cake, Liberia Huckleberry Macaron, Madagascar Nib-Infused Panna Cotta, Ecuador We, of course, had the cacao pulp smoothie. It was a little chilly outside for it, but we sipped and shivered our way through. It tasted very similar to lychee. Jake's favorite was the strong, rich cup of European-style sipping chocolate....

Nut brittle always has a place on my holiday cookie platters. It's easy and it only requires a few ingredients that I always have on hand. Butter, sugar, nuts, and chocolate. Yep. That's it. Ingredients 2 C butter 2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t Kasbah spice blend* (that's my own name for it as the smell is what I imagine a Moroccan kasbah to smell like) 2 C roasted, unsalted pistachios 2 C semisweet chocolate chunks *Kasbah spice blend: ground cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, paprika (sweet and/or hot), mace, nutmeg, and peppercorns Procedure Place sugar and butter in a large saucepan. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it boils. Cover and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Uncover, reduce heat and cook until it turns an amber color and is completely smooth. Stir in spice and nuts. You need to work quick before the mixture cools too much. Pour mixture onto a baking sheet lined with p...

Most 12-year-olds want toys or books. Mine wants food...and spices. On a previous birthday trip for D, we tried to stop by Oaktown Spice Shop and were foiled. They were closed on Christmas Eve. This time, we were coming through on the 23rd. D's actual birthday. And I had double-checked to make sure we could stop before I got his hopes up. They were!! So, this was stop number eleven on our list of twelve planned adventures for the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf. He perused. He sniffed. And then he selected. We have black cardamom, black lemon omani, two salt blends (that R actually picked), wild fennel pollen, dried chamomile, true cinnamon sticks, and more. It's time to start researching. What are we going to make? I'm sure he has some ideas! Stay tuned for some new spicy creations from our kitchen.

Many years ago - before we had D, so R was probably only 17 months old - we went to a Creole restaurant with the Nonni . Nonna ordered hush puppies and told R that he would love them. He had a horrified look on this face and refused to eat them. "No puppies!" he hollered at my mom. She tried to explain that there were no puppies involved. It's cornbread, silly boy. "No puppies! No puppies! No puppies!" Last night we stopped in at Roux Dat (click to read about our first trip there ) on our way home from San Francisco. We told R the story and he jokingly said "No puppies!" and we took these photos for my mom.  "NO Puppies!" One of these days I'll have to make homemade hush puppies. Because, now that he knows there are no canines involved, he loved them. We also ordered Shrimp and Sweet Corn Étouffée... ...Chicken Creole, Jambalaya, and this...I can't remember what it was. But it was delicious!

I've been enamored with candy cap mushrooms since I realized they were a fungus that smells - and tastes - like maple syrup. Seriously. They are amazing. I still have never found any fresh specimens, but there are dried versions to be had. I decided to grind some up and add them to some coconut macaroons and put them on the guys' cookie platters at work. "Only Cam would put mushrooms in a macaroon!" declared Greg. Well, I'm not sure that's true, but it isn't a totally common creation, I'm sure. Ingredients  makes approximately 3 dozen 2 1/2 C finely shredded unsweetened organic coconut 3/4 C organic sugar 2 t ground candy cap mushrooms 4 egg whites, whipped until frothy Procedure  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your baking sheets, either by lining them with a silicone mat liner or with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut and candy cap mushroom powder. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until...

Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die ~Don McLean, American Pie You would think that I would know the difference between whiskey and rye by now, right? To avoid any embarrassment of mixing them up, I just combine them!  I had attempted to make "plain chocolate chip cookies" for the guys at work. But, when I had all the ingredients on the counter, they just look so, well, plain. I don't do plain. So, I thought I'd add some whiskey and rye to the cookies. They aren't the prettiest, but they are delicious. We have a new favorite chocolate chip cookie! Ingredients 1½ C semisweet chocolate chunks 2 C flour ½ C dark rye flour ½ t baking soda ¾ C butter, room temperature 1 C organic dark brown sugar ½ C organic granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 T whiskey ...

Every year I make cookie platters for co-workers. I used to have to make a bunch - when Jake was part of a crew - now it's just for the guys at my office. This year, I went with some booze-kissed cookies and included some tequila shortbread. Ingredients 3 C flour 1-1/4 C organic granulated sugar 1 T tequila zest from 1 organic lemon (you can use a lime, but we have a Meyer lemon tree in our yard - and I like to use what I have) + more for sprinkling 1/2 t fleur de sel + more for sprinkling 1 C olive oil Procedure Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, tequila, lemon zest, and fleur de sel. Pour in the olive oil and stir until the dry mixture is completely incorporated into a cohesive ball. Transfer the dough to a baking dish - I used a 9"x13" rectangle. My stoneware didn't require greasing, but you might want to grease your dish first. Use your fingers to press the dough into an even ...