Currently viewing the category: "Recipes"

from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I usually make a potato salad with caramelized leeks and pancetta, but I needed a vegetarian version for this weekend. I had some lacinto kale in my High Ground Organics CSA box, so I decided to add that.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Potato salad with some extra crunch thrown in. Bintji potatoes are great for this salad, but other starchy spuds will work as well. If your carrots taper to a diameter of less than ¼ inch, cut off the tips and just use the top ends of the carrots, using the tips for another dish.

Continue reading »

If you have some white truffle oil, this dish becomes sublime. Just a few drops should do it. I am known for making very rich mashed potatoes, and would use the entire amount of butter.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This is just one of those combinations of flavors that works really well. If you don’t have artichoke hearts, make the dish without them. It will still taste fine. If you do not have Desiree potatoes, use another waxy fleshed potato.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Be sure to use a thin bacon, or the gratin might fall apart when you cut it. Use a Ben-Riner or mandolin

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This is a dish inspired by the flavors of southern France. The addition of the semi-dry (a.k.a. oil-cured or semi-dry oil cured) olives adds a depth and sweetness to the dish along with a winy/meaty flavor.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Here is a salad inspired by the flavors of Provence and the Mediterranean. If you have the yellow filet beans this will be a colorful salad indeed. A fairly sweet dressing is called for here as a foil to the spinach, olives, and beans.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This salad also features an oregano infused olive oil and calls for optional quickled red spring onions. The dressing has some fennel seed powder to echo the shaved fennel. You want to use a Ben Riner or other fixed blade slicer for this.

Continue reading »

This recipe makes a very moist, non-crumbly muffin, or a great cake. A cream cheese frosting would be excellent on the cake.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Prepare Winter Luxury pumpkin, moschata squash (cheese pumpkin), butternut squash or other pie pumpkin either by oven roasting in a covered heavy pan with enough liquid to allow the squash to cook until soft without browning or by allowing cubed squash to cook in a pot of water on top of the stove until tender (check with a fork). Allow the cooked squash to completely drain and cool and puree in a food processor. Add pumpkin pie spices. For every 2 cups of pureed squash add 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves and 1/2 tsp of salt. Since you’re essentially making a custard, add your custard ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 can of evaporated milk (or 1 cup of whole milk or light cream) and 3/4 cup sugar. Everything should be nice and blended to pour into a deep unbaked pie crust. Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven and the depth of your pie. Check for firmness toward the end of the baking time (you want a firm custard), but don’t let the pumpkin filling over cook or scorch.

This dish is usually made with a pumpkin, but other winter squash will work as well. Winter Carnival, Butternut, Orange Hokkaido will all work for this. Some squash, such as the Japanese “Kabocha” types tend to be a little drier than pumpkins and most other squash, so you may need to add some butter or olive oil to the squashed squash.

Continue reading »

This is a great side dish, and is quite flexible regarding seasonings. With its naturally sweet profile, these squashes do well seasoned with sweet or savory flavors, or both. Curry, cinnamon, garlic, sage, ginger-all of these alone or in combination can work. You can even add some apple juice into the mix. This method takes more work than simply steaming and pureeing the squash, but I think it coaxes a lot more flavor out so I am willing to take the time. The sautéing caramelizes the squash and brings out the sweetness and nutty qualities, where a simple steaming or boiling may leave you with more of a “green” vegetable flavor.

Continue reading »

This classic purée of celery soup is beautifully aromatic. You can make it either with celery or celery root.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

These are the potatoes that brought Chef Joel Robuchon to world notice, and they are the potatoes that brought Jean Pierre Clot fortune. He is the man who resurrected this potato from the Alps and sent it to Chef Robuchon, who proceeded to make this over-the-top version of mashed potatoes. This version is simplified from Chef Robuchon’s, as it skips using a tamis, or drum sieve, for the potatoes. Do not attempt this in a food processor or blender as it will provide you with gummy, pasty potatoes. You will need a food mill, or a ricer.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Pureeing fennel, leeks, and butternut squash give this soup a rich creamy texture while the absence of cream or other dairy keeps it light and airy. This would even be good as a cold soup on a hot day, or could be used as a sauce for light proteins such as chicken or goat. To use as a sauce, just use less stock to thin it with. Although the recipe looks longish, it really is simple and fairly quick, and does not require a lot of attention.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

These radishes are plum sized and colored, but unlike plums can pack a bit of heat. Here, I “quickle” them and use a dressing that helps mitigate the heat. The idea for this comes from taquerias, where there is always cilantro, sour cream and frequently radishes. I cheat, though, and use yogurt instead of sour cream.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This dish compounds the flavor of fennel by using it in multiple forms-bulb, fronds, seeds, and in the liquor from southern France known locally as pastis.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This is a simple cooked tomato “sauce” that is quick to make and extols the virtues of great tomatoes. Use on pasta or top grilled polenta with it. You could use it on bruschetta as well.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This is a fairly quick dish to assemble, especially if you have soffritto on hand. Since much of the flavor for this dish comes from the tomato and basil, be sure to use flavorful tomatoes and fresh basil. Having a spritzer/atomizer for oil makes this dish easier still to make, and I recommend one as it makes it so simple to get just the right amount of oil onto vegetables instead of soaking them. If you do not have one, use a small bowl or plate with some oil and use a brush. Although the instructions seem long, once you have done this it will be a snap the next time. I like basil for this recipe, but if you do not have any to hand, try it with something else such as a tablespoon of marjoram or oregano, or some sage, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

A variation on a Quickle, this uses a hot brine to soften up the carrots a little. I enjoy using lavender in savory dishes, and find lavender and fennel go well together.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

A variation on a Quickle, this uses a hot brine to soften up the carrots a little. The pickled jalapenos and carrots found in many taquerias is part of the inspiration for these, as is the pickled vegetables found as antipasti in Italian restaurants. These can be part of a salad, tossed into sandwiches, or just eaten as is. A great addition to a lunch box if you want more vegetables in your diet but plain carrot sticks do not inspire.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

If it sits still long enough, I’m bound to try this technique on most anything it seems. It works beautifully with fennel, giving a sweet and sour taste that is reminiscent of a lightly done sauerkraut. Simple, quick, and versatile. Use it to top a salad, or put it in sandwiches. Great on grilled fish or roast pork as well. If you heat it up it can be used like sauerkraut with sausages and potatoes. It goes great topping Swedish crispbread topped with coarse mustard and pâté and crispbread with labne and smoked salmon. The fennel/licorice flavor is enhanced with a pinch of fennel seeds, but it is not “in your face” fennel/licorice flavor. This is one of those times when you’d like to use your fixed blade slicer.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

This is a quick to make dish where the capers and wine play with the earthy sweetness of the chard. This recipe works fine with green and gold chard, but red chard might not work as it is earthier tasting than the others.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

These quick pickled beets can be seasoned with whatever herbs or spices will suit your palate or recipe. For this recipe, the quickling solution is heated up and the beets lightly cook in it while absorbing the flavors. Use these in salads, sandwiches, and as a side to a main course.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

The basic version of this would be to simply lay down a circle of beets, and then pile a mound of diced avocado in the center of the circle, and then dress it with the dressing of your choice. To make it fancy, use a ring mold to form the beet circle on the plate, and then a smaller one centered in the beets for the avocado. From there, this combination splinters into so many variations. Adding different lettuces changes the tone of the salad. Using cilantro takes it to the Southwest or to Mexico. Switch to arugula with almonds or pistachios for something different, but where the nuts and avocado complement each other. Utilizing shrimp will add another dimension as well. This recipe is just a door way to ideas. Step through.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

These are great straight out of the refrigerator, or make for a great salad, which is what they were first made for.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

A variation on a standard Quickle, this uses a hot brine to soften up the carrots a little. These can be part of a salad, tossed into sandwiches, or just eaten as is.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Not truly pickled, these beans are what I call “quickles”. These are great cold, but can be served heated as well.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 

Not truly pickled, these beans are what I call “quickles”. The recipe differs from most of my quickle recipes in that the quickling solution is a vinaigrette instead of the usual vinegar/sugar solution. This dish is great cold, but can be served hot as well.

Continue reading »

Tagged with: