Osso Bucco

I started making this delicious Italian specialty dish when I worked with the wonderfully talented Italian Chef Alessandro Cortini. He was one of the most influential chefs I worked alongside of during my years  working in restaurants. He was at one time the chef of the long gone LaPearla Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Sandro and I worked together at an Italian Market with a gourmet-to-go section and it was there that he taught me the ins and outs of cooking Italian food for the masses. Since I am no longer cooking for large groups I’ve adapted my recipe to feed 4.

Click on the link or photo and you will go directly to the recipe.

Osso Bucco

If you live in the city and have a great butcher you will have no problem finding veal shanks, or any kind of veal for that matter. Living in SC I have been on the hunt for veal for 4 years. The grocery stores never carry veal and independent butchers seem to have only a frozen product. That is until I found the greatest butcher in Greenville. Revival Butchery on Pendleton is like stepping back in time. They are a group of 30 something men who look like they stepped out of a butcher shop from the 1920’s. The meat cases at Revival look beautiful and the people that work there are super helpful and accommodating. If they don’t have it in the store they will order it for you. I have been on the lookout for veal chops but when I saw the shanks I decided to give my new stove a workout and make Osso Bucco.

I make my own Beef Stock but if you don’t have the time to make your own there are some really great stocks at many of your local grocery stores. IF I were to buy beef or chicken stock my favorite is the 365 brand at Whole Foods.

Enjoy!

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Food For Thought, Italian Dishes, Italian Food, Veal, Vegetables, White Wine | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Osso Bucco

Creamy Soft Polenta – Perfect On A Chilly Day

I can’t think of a better dish to make on a cold day. This Soft Polenta always reminds me of my childhood. My mother would make polenta once a year and it was always in the middle of a cold Chicago winter. It satisfied our craving for something warm and filling. Since Mom made it only once a year that really made it special. She would labor over the pot of polenta for what seemed like hours. I’m not sure if it really was that long because my recipe is not as labor intensive as her’s. Maybe since I was a child it just seemed like it took her forever to make it. Maybe it was because she would be making her Marinara Sauce at the same time. Whatever the reason my recipe is not as time consuming as Mom’s.

Mom would serve it with her Marinara Sauce and Italian Sausage. With this recipe you can serve it with what you like: Marinara Sauce with Meatballs or Pork, Sautéed Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Breast, Mushroom Sauté. I often serve it accompanying a Fillet Mignon with a Wild Mushroom and Bordelaise Sauce. Whatever way you decide to serve it I hope you will enjoy this creamy, warm and delicious Polenta.

Click on the Title or Polenta Photo for the recipe.

Creamy Soft Polenta

 

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Chicken Stock, Cornmeal, Cream, Food For Thought, Milk, Parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Wild Mushroom-Roasted Chestnut Soup

Here is a soup that will warm you when the weather is chilly. It’s hearty and satisfying and adding the wild rice makes it even more filling. 

Click on the Recipe and/or photo to bring you to the page.

Wild Mushroom-Roasted Chestnut Soup

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Chestnuts, Chicken Stock, Creme Fraiche, Soup, Wild Mushrooms, Wild Rice | Tagged , | Comments Off on Wild Mushroom-Roasted Chestnut Soup

Corn Season Is Here! (Almost)

Corn Season is just beginning and within the next month it will be in full bloom. Here are some of my favorite corn recipes. Each Recipe has the proper accompaniment recipe included. Click onto the name of the recipe or the photo and it will bring to the recipe page.

Corn and Chicken Chowder

Corncakes

Roasted Corn Pudding

Corn Fritters

Cheddar-Jalapeño Corn Bread

Pickled Corn Relish

Happy Corn Season!

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Bread, Chicken, Chowder, Corn, Corn Bread, Corn Fritters, Corn Pudding, Corncakes, Food For Thought, Fritters, Pickling | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Corn Season Is Here! (Almost)

Peach Season

At this moment Peach Season is in full bloom and it couldn’t come at a better time than July 4th weekend. Here are some great peach recipes to enjoy this weekend while BBQing and spending time with your family and friends.  

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Peach Tart Tatin

Summer Fruit Crostata

Summer Fruit Crostada

Peach Semi-Freddo

Peach and Blueberry Shortcake

Each of these dessert can be served with White Chocolate Whipped Cream, Whipped Creme Fraiche, Peach Semi-Freddo or any Ice Cream you like. Enjoy!! (For more Peach Recipes click here.)

Have a Peachy 4th of July Weekend. Stay Safe!

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Blueberries, Buttermilk Scones, Cobbler, Food For Thought, Pastry Crust, Pate Brisee, Pate Sucre, Peaches, Scones, Semi-Freddo, Summer Fruit Crostada | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Peach Season

Summer Salads

The temperature is rising here in the South and I am ready to eat light with cool summer salads. Here are a few that are light and cool and refreshing and super easy to prepare. What’s really nice about summer salads as entrees is you can prepare them ahead and serve chilled or at room temperature when ready to eat. No last minute cooking or pan clean up.

You will notice that lemon is a common factor in several of the recipes. Roasted Lemon Vinaigrette screams summer for salads. If you don’t have the time to roast lemons for the vinaigrette you can simply use fresh lemon juice instead. Not bottled please, ONLY freshly squeezed lemon juice. For more vinaigrettes and salad dressings click here.

Roasted Salmon Salad

 

Oven Roasted Shrimp Salad

 

Quinoa and Roasted Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad Veronique

Summer Rice Salad

Wild Rice Salad

Moroccan Potato Salad

Vegetable Couscous

Angel Hair Pasta with Tomato and Fresh Basil

There you go. Pair any of these delicious make ahead dishes together to make a great summertime meal and keep your kitchen time to a minimum. 

Enjoy!

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Angel Hair Pasta, Chicken, Couscous, Food For Thought, Pasta, Pickled Vegetables, Pickled Veggies, Pickling, Potato, Salad, Salad Dressing, Salmon, Shrimp, Side Dishes, Sides, Wild Rice | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Summer Salads

Curried Pork Tenderloin

Last night’s dinner was a combination of East Indian and Mediterranean flavors. The combo of the spicy hot curry and the refreshing vegetable couscous compliment each other. Both dishes are often prepared in each region for their simplicity since the ingredients are mostly on hand and preparation is quick and easy. 

The curry dish can be made a day or two in advance and reheated easily for an even quicker meal. The couscous takes such a short amount of time to make that you can prepare it while reheating the Curried Pork.

(Click on the links or the photo for the recipes.)

Curried Pork Tenderloin

And Vegetable Couscous

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Chicken Stock, Coconut Milk, Couscous, Entree, Food For Thought, Pork, Pork Tenderloin, Side Dishes, Sides, Spicy, Vegetables | Tagged , | Comments Off on Curried Pork Tenderloin

Quick Breads, Sweet Breads, Tea Breads

Quick Breads, Sweet Breads, Tea Breads all have much in common: They are really good, quick and easy to make. Once upon a time a long time ago, I was the sous chef at a restaurant in Delray Beach. The owner new nothing about restaurants nor did the chef. It was a new experience for everyone that worked there. I was the only one with kitchen experience and believe me when I tell you it wasn’t much. The chef was a woman of great partying talents which pretty much left me to run the kitchen on my own. It was great fun and I learned more there than just about any place I worked.

One of the daily preparations was to make two kinds of bread from scratch for the Lunch and Dinner Bread Baskets. One bread was to be a savory yeast bread and the other a sweet quick bread. No one had any idea how to make any of it. It was all trial and error and a lot of reading. I came up with several quick breads on my own after doing the daily routine over and over and over. These breads then became a part of my repertoire during the many years of catering brunches, luncheons and afternoon teas once I went out on my own. Like I said, it was all trial and error. I tried to keep the error part to a minimum. It worked and these are just a few of the quick breads I developed.

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Pecans

Banana Toasted Coconut Bread

Blueberry Bread

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

Cranberry Orange Bread

Pumpkin Chutney Bread

I enjoy making these delicious Quick Breads and hope you will too. You will make everyone happy.

Enjoy

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Ahh Haa Moments, Blueberries, Bread, Breakfast Bread, Cheddar Cheese, Cheese, Chili Peppers, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Condiments, Corn, Cornmeal, Cranberries, Cranberry Breakfast Bread, Cream Cheese, Creme Fraiche, Dried Cranberries, Food For Thought, Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate, Hot Peppers, Lemon, Mango Chutney, Nuts, Oranges, Pumpkin, Quick Breads, Recipes To Share, Savory Quick Breads, Sugar, Sweet Quick Breads, Tea Breads | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Quick Breads, Sweet Breads, Tea Breads

Easter and Passover 2020

This will be an Easter and Passover we will never forget. The coronavirus is keeping us in our homes and away from our family and friends. There will be no communal Easter or Passover Brunch or Dinner and no Easter or Passover services at our Houses of Worship (I’m sure there will be televised services). But if we all “Stay In Place” for the next four weeks or months we will be able to celebrate next year.

Even though we will not be with family or friends we are still going to celebrate with a traditional Easter Brunch and Dinner. There will be less items but there will be plenty for us to eat.

Our Easter Brunch will  feature my Mother’s traditional Frittata and my homemade Hot Cross Buns. Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday but we will be enjoying them on Sunday.

If we were going to have company for Easter Dinner I would be making a Roasted Leg of Lamb, but since it is just the two of us I decided to ordered a Honey Baked Ham (they have curbside pickup). Accompanying the ham will be Potatoes Dauphinois #2, Asparagus Mimosa and Dark Cherry-Apple Compote. These accompaniments go great with Lamb as well as Ham. For dessert Jim requested Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I just put in my order for groceries to be delivered Thursday. We shall see if that goes as planned. If not I will be wrapping my self in plastic bags and be wearing a homemade mask and disposable gloves.

Happy Easter to my Christian family and friends. Happy Passover to my Jewish friends. Hopefully this virus will pass soon.

Hot Cross Buns

Frittata

Roasted Leg of Lamb

Potatoes Dauphinoise

Asparagus Mimosa

Dark Cherry-Apple Compote

Carrot Cake

Happy Easter and Happy Passover

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Apples, Asparagus, Cake, Carrot Cake, Carrots, Cheese Sauce, Cherry Apple Compote, Cream Cheese, Dessert, Dessert/Pastry, Desserts, Dinner, Easter, Egg Dishes, Eggs, Entree, Food For Thought, Frittata, Frosting, Gravy, Ham, Italian Dishes, Italian Food, Italian Sausage, Lamb, Lamb Sauce, Lamb Stock, Menus, Pineapple, Potato, Potato Dauphinoise, Recipes To Share, Ricotta Cheese, Side Dishes, Sides, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Easter and Passover 2020

Valentine’s Day Dinner

This year I will be doing a Valentine’s Day Dinner for 6 of our closest friends visiting over Valentine’s Day Weekend. I’ve decided to do a simple dinner, one that won’t keep me in the kitchen all night. Being able to prep and prepare some of the food in advance will keep me in the kitchen for a minimum amount of time so I can enjoy my company and not work as hard while they are here.

I’ve decided on steak since they all love it and have no dietary diversions. I’ll have a variety of Hors d’Oeuvres but not too many as I don’t want to fill them up before we get to dinner. Dessert will be special and chocolate for
sure.

Valentine’s Day Dinner 2020

Hors d’Oeuvres and Cocktails
Lobster Cakes
Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Goat Cheese Crisps with Tomato-Cucumber-Mint Salsa
Bourbon Manhattans, French Rose Wine

First Coarse
Mussels with Chorizo Sausage and Cherry Tomato Compote
Crusty Artisan Bread
Unoaked Chardonnay

Entree
Pan Seared and Roasted Filet Mignon with Sautéed Wild Mushrooms
Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Creme Fraiche
Haricot Verts and Pecans
Sangiovese

Dessert
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Shiraz

Lobster Cakes

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Goat Cheese Crisps

Mussels with Chorizo Sausage and Cherry Tomato Compote

Pan Seared and Roasted Filet Mignon

Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

Haricot Verts and Pecans

Chocolate Mousse Cake

 Happy Valentine’s Day! 

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camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Posted in Accompaniments, Ahh Haa Moments, Ancho Chili Preserves, Andouille Sausage, Appetizers, Beef, Cake, Chocolate, Chocolate Desserts, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Chorizo Sausage, Condiment, Condiments, Crab Cakes, Creme Fraiche, Dessert, Dessert/Pastry, Desserts, Dinner, Entree, Filet Mignon, Food For Thought, Goat Cheese, Haricot Vert, Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate, Hints and Tips, Hors d'oeuvres, Italian Meringue, Lobster, Menus, Mousse Au Chocolate, Mushrooms, Mussels, Pecans, Recipes To Share, Remolaude Sauce, Seafood, Side Dishes, Tenderloin of Beef, Wine | Comments Off on Valentine’s Day Dinner