Crepes Au Citron … by, Camille Becerra

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbl butter, melted

Additional:

4 tbl butter

1/4 c sugar

3-4 small lemons

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk, allow it to rest for 3-5 minutes.

Add extra water to the batter if its too thick, you want a thin batter.

Melt 1/2 tsp butter into a hot non-stick pan.

Ladle 2 oz of batter and swivel pan allowing batter to spread and cover the pan in a thin layer.

Flip once bottom is lightly brown.

Sprinkle top with 2 tsp sugar.

Squeeze juice of 1/2 a lemon.

Fold crepe in half and then into quarters.

Place crepe onto plate.

Lemon juice and sugar will leak out onto the pan and create a wonderfully, syrupy sauce, drizzle over crepe.

Recipe makes 6-8 crepes

– Camille

By the way… I had a taste myself and it was absolutely tantalizing!!!

To see more of Camille, click on: FEAST &   SERVE

xoxo Karin

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Photography by: Cynthia K Cortes

SPRING FLING 

Spring is upon us and it’s all about cleaning and shedding.  A quick juice fast is beneficial to everyone not just those looking to eliminate winter belly as we prep for bikini season.  There’s more to fasting with fresh pressed juice than just looking healthier; a detoxification of the body is essential every now and then, fasting allows the digestive organs to get some much needed rest, it provides cures to many health problems and gives you revitalizes energy.  Studies show more than 10% of the body’s energy is normally involved in eating and digesting.  Combine that with a daily intake of natural ingredients proven to supply you with energy you’ll have enough stamina to get you through how ever many days of fasting you commit to.

I recommended a 1 to 3 day stretch.  When considering a juice fast of more than a day one should consult a qualified health professional. Drink approximately 1.5 liter  of water per every 40 pounds of your body weight a day in addition to the juice.  You also want to take into consideration gradually introducing solid foods back into the diet to avoid adverse reactions when you are done with the fast.  I usually do raw foods the day after a fast.

Here’s some recipes I love.  Fasting should be fun.  Try doing it when you are off of work like a weekend so you can relax and enjoy coming up with recipes of your own.  If you don’t have a juicer I recommend any of the Breville Juice Fountain series, they’re the hottest ones on the market and comparable to the professional units you see at juice bars.
Cheers to good health and a fabulous summer!

GREEN LEMONADE

Juice 5 kale leaves & 2 granny smith apples.  Add juice of ½ a lemon.  I usually double this recipe because it’s just so delicious.

AVOCADO SHAKE

Juice 2 pears, 1 apple, 1 celery stalk and ½ bunch of mint. Add juice of half of a lime.  Divide the juice in half and combine one portion of the juice with half of an avocado and blend.  I recommend an immersion blender but a traditional blender will do.  When smooth add the remaining ½ portion of juice and blend again.  Additionally I’ve added a list of ingredients that will make creating your own a bit easier.

ENERGY COCKTAIL

Juice 5 leaves of kale, 1 bunch parsley, 1/4 papaya, 1 apple, 1 pear, 1 celery and ½ cucumber.  Add 2 tsp. spirulina and blend smooth.

SIX CITRUS JUICE

Using a citrus juicer juice 1 grapefruit, 1 blood orange, ¼ lemon, ½ lime, 1 minneola, 1 tangelo.  I like to strain the juice to remove pulp and seeds if I’m not using an electric citrus juicer which comes outfitted with a strainer.

CARROT ORANGE **

Juice a small piece of ginger with 3 carrots, combine with the juice of 2 oranges.

HYDRATE COOLER **

Mix juice of ½ cucumber with small box of coconut water and 2 oz. whole leaf aloe vera juice.

Ingredients to play around with;

Açaí

Apples

Alfalfa sprouts

Aloe Vera

Avocado

Bananas

Bee Pollen

Beet

Bilberry

Blueberries

Blue Green Algae

Broccoli

Carrots

Celery

Chlorella

Citrus

Cucumber

Cranberries

Flax seed

Ginger

Kale

Maca root

Noni Fruit

Papaya

Parsley

Probiotics

Raspberries

Spinach

Spirulina

Watercress

“Fasting, the greatest remedy, the physician within” – Hippocrates
“Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters lives their doctor.” – Egyptian pyramid inscription, 3800 B.C.

I LOVE THIS !!! Thank you Camille for your lovely recipes for a healthy and tasty juicing experience. I am a huge fan of juicing and my mouth was watering as I was reading along. I especially loved the Green Lemonade, Carrot Orange and the Hydrating Cooler. I can not wait to whip one up for myself! 

xoxo Karin

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Camille Becerra is keeping things spicy in the kitchen … You can keep your hat on!

Beautiful Camille Becerra is ready for spring.  Romance in the air and all the while Camille delivers all her yummy recipes to us. She is really heating it up for Spring!

Glamorous Camille is sensational, sensuous and regal!

A woman of inner beauty and strength… Empowered by her own motivations and intentions. A dreamer and a doer. A talent and a pioneer. Passionate about her life, a mother, a daughter, an adventurer and a chef…  I call women in the likes of Camille – Apsara!

She is sensational !

Sexy, Bold and Brilliant… Top Sexy Chef hotter then ever!

Photography by: Cynthia K. Cortes

Credits to Stylist & Make-up: Diavanna Zarzuela

Dresses by : Kamali

Lingerie by : Elle McPherson

2nd bra by: Sexy Panties & Naughty Knickers

Sergio Rossi & Rene Caovilla  shoes – Chanel brouch – all by: Gabay’s

Read more on Camille, click on: Top Chef

xoxo Karin

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BORICUA BEANS  by Camille Becerra

As a child I grew up on rice and beans, by that I mean everyday.  A few years ago I was watching a Barbara Walter’s special or some other similar celebrity interview program in which sexy boricua Jennifer Lopez at the height of the “Jenny from the Block” craze was being featured.  She was demonstrating her cooking chops to America by making beans.   A fellow boricua cooking, I had to watch.   Sadly it was a mess, I couldn’t believe my eyes, first she dumped a can of Goya beans into a pot then filled the empty can with water and added it to the beans.  Beans are not Campbell soup.  Afterwards she made a big deal about a secret ingredient, I got really excited as I thought someone was about to spread light to the backbone of all Puerto Rican cookery, sofrito. But instead she pulled out Sasson; this little orange packet is what I like to refer to as P.R.M.S.G.   The producers did right by not highlighting the end result of this soupy, two ingredient version of Puerto Rican beans.  They did however show her serving it to Ben Affleck her hottie at the time, I expected more from an Oscar award-winning actor in covering up the slight dissatisfaction.  

I love La Lopez, she has impeccable fashion style, true NYC swagger and she oozes sexy.  Hoping to help her and whom ever else would like to round out their inner Latin I give you my family’s recipe for beans.  This recipe is my go to comfort food, a great antidote for those at your doorstep needing a little warmth and love.  I recommend it over rice and accompanied with a salad.  When entertaining a larger group I like to serve it with a juicy piece of free-range strip steak and sweet plantains too. 

BORICUA BEANS

Serves 4 

¼ cup  olive oil

2 tbl   Sofrito (recipe below)

½ can   tomato paste

2 tbl  Goya Alcaparrado, a mixture of olives, pimientos strips and capers

1 can   Goya or Organic Pink Beans

1   garlic clove, minced fine

2 tbl  pickling juice from the Alcaparrado 

In a saucepot over medium heat add the olive oil and sofrito and allow them to come up to temperature together.  When the sofrito begins to cook and sizzle quietly add the tomato paste and stir constantly to prevent burning.  When the oil, sofrito and tomato paste are well incorporated and the mixture begins to sizzle slightly add the alcaparrado, mix well.  Add the beans and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.  Stir every so often to prevent beans from sticking to the bottom of pot and burning.  Five minutes before removing the beans from fire add the finely minced garlic.  Right before serving add the pickling juice, this brightens the flavors. 
 

SOFRITO 

This recipe makes a healthy batch that you can keep in the freezer pulling from it whenever you need.   

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch culantro

4 heads of garlic

5 medium onions

1 bell pepper or 7 sweet aji peppers

¼ to ½ cup olive oil 

Pulse all but the oil in a food processor in batches till it resemples a chunky pesto.  Add small amounts of oil to mixture when ingredients refuse to process.

Camille Becerra is bringing me back to my roots. It is a real treat when I get to savor real Puerto Rican beans made by no other. She made me smile as she mentions the true secret of making the beans burst sensationally in your mouth… “Sofrito!”  Yes, a latin secret that is embedded in all of us Latinos.  Sexy Camille reveals it all. She is sensational. There’s a buzz about a new restaurant. If that is certainly true, I can not wait !  

To learn more click on: “Vemille’s New Adventure“.

Thank you Camille!  

Note: Camille Becerra will also be in Glamour Magazine this July !

xoxo Karin

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Photographs by: Cynthia K Cortes 

Sexy Camille Becerra has more recipes for you and me to sink into. I just love when I hear from Camille as she really has great stories with fantastic endings.  Of course, our lovely Camille can really put you in the mood to cook in these days. She delivers easy and quick recipes for a fantastic dish always. Why not cook in?!  

Camille: I had plans to go out to dinner Friday night.  I was dressed and ready to walk out the door when I received a phone call from my date apologizing that he’d been stuck on a project in the office and didn’t know how long it would take.  After all was said and done two hours had passed when my boy on his Vespa arrived at my door.  At this point leaving my apartment to go to the intended restaurant on a Friday night at 9:30 was not the look.  The wait would be excruciating not only for me as that’s all I’d been doing but for Romeo as well – he was famished.  I offered to cook but immediately realized it would be the first meal I would prepare for him, the thought of an extravagant dinner was out of my enthusiasm level.  I persevered through the downer of not being able to wow him with an elaborate first meal and offered my Italian boy a quick bowl of what else but Spaghetti.  It was really all I had in the pantry that night.  I accompanied it with a salad of shaved fennel and parmesan with a truffle oil and lemon dressing.  This pasta recipe is super easy and fast to make, the breadcrumbs are  the secret ingredient here, they allow the sauce to coat and stick to the pasta. 

Definitely not a meal to impress the socks off a foodie but a meal comforting enough to have socks come flying off during this hot date. 

ITALIAN BOY’S SPAGHETTI

½ box Spaghetti 

            salt

¼ cup  extra virgin-olive oil 

½ sprig rosemary

1  chili de arbol, crumbled in your hands

3  cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

3 sprigs thyme

3  anchovy fillets

1  14.5 oz. can of crushed tomato

¼ cup  breadcrumbs

1 tbl.  capers

¼ cup  cured black olives, quartered

salt & cracked peppercorn 
 

Put a large pot of heavily salted water on to boil over high heat.  Drop pasta into boiling water and cook till al dente.   

Heat a medium sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes.  Pour olive oil, and add the rosemary and chili allowing them to sizzle.  Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic stirring till they turn light brown.  Add the anchovy fillets and mash until they melt into the oil.  Add the thyme, allow it to snap, crackle and pop.  Add the tomato and simmer for 3 minutes while stirring to prevent the bottom from burning.  Add the capers, olives and 1 tablespoon of the caper liquid.   

Remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs.  Add the cooked pasta and breadcrumbs to the sauce and toss till well coated over low heat.  

This recipe is an adaptation of my friend Rocco DiSpirito’s Spaghetti Scarpariello.

Thank you again Camille for such a quick and easy recipe. I am already boiling the water! 

xoxo Karin

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Photo By: Cynthia K Cortes

Lovers are out, romance is in the air, red everywhere, roses are double the cost from last week and restaurants are booked solid.   You can usually find me cooking at my restaurant that evening.  I love putting together a menu on this day and preparing food that will excite my customers.  It’s like getting them all prepped for serious love making.  

I also make it a point to go to Kalustyan’s spice traders on Lexington between 28 & 29th for their aphrodisiac tea to serve to each lover after their meal.  Its a smashing day to visit your favorite restaurant as most of them prepare a special Valentine’s menu focusing on foods that arouse.Another option and one I will be participating in is year is staying in and cooking at home along side your Valentine.  My favorite man and I have planned a day starting with shopping at the farmer’s market, hitting his favorite cheese shop for burrata and buffalo mozzarella and then heading to Marlow & Daughter’s butcher shop before ”we” hit the kitchen.

NOTE: Something like this does require two equally serious cooks.

Whether you plan on going out or staying in there is always the morning after and here’s a simple and super fabulous recipe to keep the love going, popovers.  Serve straight out of the oven with some high-grade butter, cherry jam and a good cup of coffee or the Kalustyan’s aphrodisiac tea.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

POPOVERS
makes 6 popovers

(you will need a popover pan)

Ingredients
2 c. milk, warmed
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
1 c. grated Gruyère

1. Place the popover pan in the oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350º.

2. Gently warm the milk over low heat and set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (so as not
to cook the eggs). Set the mixture aside.

4. Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add this dry mixture to the
egg mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth.

5. Remove the popover pan from the oven and spray with nonstick vegetable spray.

6. While the batter is still slightly warm, fill each popover cup
three-fourths full.

7. Top each popover with the grated cheese.

8. Bake at 350º for 50 minutes, rotating pan half a turn after fifteen
minutes, until the popovers are golden brown.

9. Take out of oven, remove from pan, and serve immediately.

Thank you Camille as this is a wonderful way to give to your lover … Happy Valentines Day !!!

xoxo Karin

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Our lovely sexy chef Camille Becerra reveals yet another  enticing recipe for us and our viewers at K+R! 

I am so excited and, in her own words she describes her relevance to a sexy meal for your sexy guest. A dedication to allure your date; not just by your physics, but by your culinary skills. So please take out your pen and paper… Men and Women alike and jot down all what you are about to read. I would suggest ladies, if you want to really arouse your suitor… Perhaps invite him over while your preparing this wonderful full course meal  and try cooking with only your sexiest heels and an apron on – nothing else underneath ladies… (that’s of course if you guys discovered 3rd base.)  This maybe more suitable for a married couple –  spice up a marriage!!!

Camille: “Its true one of the best gifts you can give a person is the act of making a meal specifically for them.  This quality of nurturing when mixed in an intimate setting is true romance.  The menu I have designed can be presented all at once or you can take one course at a time.  I prefer the later,  allowing time in between; prolongs the dining experience and allows time to play in between. This menu as a whole has food items specifically chosen to open up those sexual desires…”  

Photograph by: Cynthia K. Cortes

Sexy Date Menu

*Shrimp a la Plancha

*Pear, Quinoa & Mint Salad in Endive Leaves

*Montaditos of Mole Braised Short Ribs on Ginger Cornbread topped with Pickled Fennel & Jalapeños

*Bon Bons of Rose Petal & Pistachio Ice Cream

Quinoa, Pear & Mint Salad in Endive Leaves serves 2

Quinoa, in case anyone is wondering, is an ancient grain from the  Andes and considered by many as the miracle grain.  It is high in protein and chockful of amino acids among them phenylalanine which raises the body’s endorphins, our natural antidepressants and can lift libido thus providing a tantalizing prelude to sex.

1/8 cup       black quinoa
3/4 cup       water
1/4 cup       canola oil
1/2               jalapeno, sliced thin
1                   bartlett pear
1/4 tsp        salt
3 tbl             agave
3 tbl             white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp        sriracha
4 sprigs      mint, leaves coarsely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 head         endive

 1. Rinse the quinoa under cool running water, then drain well with a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth-lined strainer (the grains are very small and will slip through a coarse strainer). Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and toast the quinoa, shaking the pan frequently, just until the grains dry, are just beginning to color and have a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.

2. In a small, lidded pot, bring water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the quinoa with a pinch of salt, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook the quinoa until the grains are translucent and tender and the germ has spiraled out from the grain, approximately 15 minutes (be careful not to overcook). Remove from heat, drain and set aside to cool.

3. Make the dressing by combining 3tbl oil, vinegar, agave & sriracha in a bowl.

4. Julienne the pear preferably using a mandoline.

5. Heat remaing oil in a saute pan and add the jalapeno.  Allow the jalapeno to cook without browning.  Add the pear and salt while moving the saute pan vigorously so that they cook evenly, pears cook very quickly 1 minute will do.  Add the dressing to deglaze the pan and immediately remove the pears from pan and add to the quinoa.  Allow it to cool.

6. Add the lime juice and mint.  Adjust seasonings.

7. Scoop the pear and quinoa into the bottom half of the endive leaf  so as to make it easy to pick up and eat.

8. Optional: Top with toasted and pumpkin seeds or chopped peanuts.

To see more of Camille on Bravo, click on:  TV 

Miss Camille Becerra is truly sensational and she is by definition, “Sexy” !

xoxo Karin

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