Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks’ Category

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Homemade Beef Jerky

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on April 5, 2012 at am

I am in love with beef jerky, but I rarely buy it because store-bought beef jerky is often too salty, contains unnatural ingredients, and is very expensive.  So I purchased a Ronco food dehydrator to make my own.   Everyone that’s tried my homemade beef jerky has liked it.  I’ve even had people say that they like it more than store bought beef jerky.  You can control the salt and sugar content, the spiciness, and even the texture when you make it yourself.  This makes a great snack for hiking, camping, and days on the beach.  For those of you with pets, use the food dehydrator to make healthy treats using unseasoned liver, gizzards, thinly sliced chicken, etc.  (See other healthy dog treat recipes here.)

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How to Make Shrimp Chips From Scratch

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, How To, Other Asian Foods on January 11, 2012 at am

Shrimp chips (also known as prawn crackers) are light, puffed up, crunchy snacks that are very popular all around the world.  In some North American Chinese restaurants, multi coloured (with food colouring) “shrimp chips” are served atop a deep fried whole chicken, but those shrimp chips almost never have any real shrimp in them.  They taste like styrofoam and don’t resemble the real thing in flavour or in texture.  The best shrimp chips in the world, in our opinion, are made in Brunei.  It’s been many years since any of us were in Brunei, and I thought that I might never taste their shrimp chips again, until I discovered how easy they are to make at home.  Malaysian shrimp chips are a very close second best in my opinion.

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Homemade Fudgesicles

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on October 25, 2011 at am

Despite my age, I still get a little excited whenever I treat myself to a popsicle.  Fudgesicles used to be my favourite frozen snack, but years ago, I turned my back on them when I started giving up unnaturally flavoured, processed foods.  So imagine how happy I was when I found recipes for homemade fudgesicles.  I love that I can now make adult fudgesicles that have a dark chocolate flavour without fructose or corn syrup.  I tested two highly rated recipes and have posted my favourite below.  I’ll never crave a processed fudgesicle again.  :)

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Saganaki Recipe (Flaming Greek Cheese)

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on September 30, 2011 at am

Saganaki is a popular Greek cheese appetizer that is set on fire table side.  A lot of people complain that this dish is too salty, but this website provides excellent information on the different types of cheese (with varying levels of saltiness) that you could use for this dish.  I tried the kefalograviera and the graviera cheese and I much preferred the graviera.  This site also provides great step by step photo instructions.  If you don’t have a saganaki (the name of the pan that is used), you could use a small cast iron pan like I did.  Please don’t judge the recipe by how my saganaki turned out.  :)   My pan wasn’t hot enough or seasoned enough when I put the cheese down, so it stuck to the bottom of the pan.  It didn’t look great but the outside was deliciously crispy.

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Coconut or Macaroon Popsicles Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Other Desserts on September 6, 2011 at am

Before I knew it, summer was almost over and I hadn’t made any popsicles yet.  I fully plan on enjoying homemade popsicles well into fall this year.  This sophisticated, coconut popsicle is creamy and has a lovely chewy texture.  The toasted, shredded coconut floats to the top (which then becomes the bottom of your popsicle) and creates a macaroon like texture.  If you want the whole popsicle to taste like a macaroon, then you might want to add an extra pinch of salt and use up to 1 cup of toasted, shredded coconut.

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Momofuku Chicken Wings with Vinaigrette Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Meat and Eggs on September 1, 2011 at am

This is a very easy and delicious recipe that comes from the famous momofuku restaurant’s cookbook by David Chang.  I made this for Krystal and Ed as a late night snack the last time they visited,  and they were still talking about these wings a few days after they had gone home.  I usually prefer deep fried chicken wings over oven-baked wings, but this vinaigrette was so good, that I didn’t miss the deep fried at all.

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French Picnic (Pique-Nique) Menu and Recipes

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Main Course on August 2, 2011 at am

I made a French themed picnic (pique-nique) basket for Ed and I, but I was feeling too sick to go outside, so we enjoyed it in our pyjamas at home.  (That’s the second picnic that has been foiled this summer.)  Below, I have shared our menu, a simple and wonderful recipe for tomato salad, as well as other French picnic menu ideas.  (See Southern themed picnic menus and recipes here.)

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Miniature BBQ Menu and Recipes (and a review of PC’s summer 2011 products)

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Main Course, Other Dishes, Reviews, Sides and Sauces on July 21, 2011 at am

A few of Ed’s friends stopped by in Kingston for lunch one day.  We only had two hours notice, but that was enough time to put a menu together, run out and get groceries, and host a miniature BBQ.  Luckily, I had some miniature frozen strawberry pies in the freezer.  (See the menu and recipes below.)  I love miniature food (see my miniature food display here) and I think it’s a great way to entertain, especially if you’re serving a light meal or throwing a baby shower.  I love that this was all finger food and cutlery was only required for the dessert.  A review of some of President’s Choice’s new summer 2011 products is also provided below.

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Granola Bars Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on June 5, 2011 at am

I think granola bars are the most convenient snacks for people on the go.  I love that they’re sweet and chewy and high in fiber.  However, I rarely buy them because the store bought granola bars are full of refined sugars and additives that make them relatively unhealthy.  Luckily, they are Very simple to make at home.  This is an easy, no-bake recipe that does not contain corn syrup (which you’ll find in many other recipes).  It can easily be made gluten free and see below for different variations.  These make great snacks for lunches, picnics, road trips, busy days, and hiking or camping trips.

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Deep Fried Calamari Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on February 10, 2011 at am

Every restaurant uses a different coating or batter for deep fried calamari.  Personally, I prefer calamari that is crispy, but very lightly coated so that you can enjoy the subtle taste of the squid.  I’ve made this several times now and it always works – as long as you watch the temperature of the oil carefully (see the note below for details).

Photo above:  Half of what the recipe makes is shown above.

(Keep your eyes open for my recipe for deep fried squid tentacles, Chinese salt and pepper style.)

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Gourmet Mushroom Risotto Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Pasta, Rice, and Doughs, Sides and Sauces on January 6, 2011 at am

I’ve made butternut squash risotto and pea and prosciutto risotto before, but mushroom risotto is my family’s favourite – so far (I haven’t made them seafood risotto yet).  Since this dish is so simple, the selection of mushrooms is critical to the success of it.  The secret to my mushroom risotto is the use of dried black trumpet mushrooms.  The texture of these mushrooms is thin and leathery, but they lend the most amazing flavour and aroma.  When my mother tasted this, she was so impressed with the mushroom flavour that she thought I had added some processed or artificial flavouring.  For texture and aesthetic appeal, I also used dried porcini and fresh oyster mushrooms.  (I love the dried mushrooms from Marx Foods (review here).  You can taste the quality of their mushrooms from the soaking liquid, which in this case, added tremendous flavour to the rice.)

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La Tentation de Laurier – A Delicious New Canadian Cheese

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on December 18, 2010 at am

I discovered a new cheese just in time for the holidays – La Tentation de Laurier by Fromagerie 1860  DuVillage (Quebec, Canada).  After I fell in love with this cheese, I discovered that it won 2nd place in the Open Class category at the 2010 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (see here).  [On a side note, I've purchased the award winning Fifthtown Artisan Cheese Co., Bonnie and Floyd sheep milk cheese before and although it is slightly too soft for my taste, it is very very good.]

La Tentation de Laurier is a soft, ripened cheese that is made with pasteurized, fresh milk and cream.  Ingredients and nutritional values are shown at the end of this post.  I wasn’t able to find this specific cheese on the cheese maker’s website (here).  I emailed the company for specifications but they never replied.

This cheese has such a soft rind, and it is so smooth and creamy, that it makes for a wonderful spread.  I absolutely love it on slices of fresh baguette.  It’s flavourful enough on its own, but try adding apricot jam for a sweet variation.  I have to admit that I’ve had several dinners that consisted only of this cheese on bread.

If you try this cheese, let me know what you think.

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