Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘Recipes’

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Cooking with Alison’s Two Year Anniversary!

In Random on January 15, 2012 at am

Cooking with Alison was created two years ago, today!  A lot has happened in the past two years, including adopting my dog, Blue, and moving back to Toronto, ON (this very weekend actually).  To the surprise of everyone (myself included), I’ve maintained the momentum of recipe testing and writing.  I’d like to thank everyone for making my efforts worthwhile.  (See the one year anniversary stats and shout outs here.)  Hopefully I can keep up with the cooking and baking for a third year of Cooking with Alison!

The Statistics:

Total number of views:  300, 366

Number of views on the busiest day (January 14, 2012):  991

Total number of posts:  327

The most popular posts to date are:

Four Different Sauces for Mushroom Ravioli

Asian Bread Making Technique (Soft Chinese / Japanese Bread)

Braised Beef Brisket, Tendons and Daikon Radish (Chinese Restaurant Style)

Number of email* subscribers:  96 (plus 27 wordpress.com followers)

*Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a way of knowing how many RSS subscribers there are.


Most Importantly, The Thank Yous:

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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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The Best Saag / Palak Recipe (Indian Creamy Spinach Side Dish)

In Indian on January 5, 2012 at am

Saag and palak are very popular Indian side dishes.  Saag is a combination of greens such as spinach, mustard greens, and/or fenugreek leaves and palak is simply spinach.  Some restaurants make these dishes thick and creamy whereas others make them thinner in consistency and healthier.  The recipe I’ve shared below is for a quick and easy, thick and creamy saag or palak.  I tried many different variations before I got this recipe just right.  For example, I compared the textures of boiled spinach vs pan-cooked spinach, and food processor shredded spinach vs chopped spinach vs whole spinach leaves.  I also compared the creaminess of using whipping cream vs yogurt vs whipping cream plus yogurt.  I’m glad I didn’t give up, because I’ve made this for friends and family and everyone has loved it.  (See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.)

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Favourite Chicken or Turkey Casserole

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs, Poultry on December 26, 2011 at am

Casseroles are simple, one dish meals that are commonly found in North American homes, at pot lucks, and at other gatherings.  I have seen countless tv and movie scenes that portray families complaining about casserole dinners or that jokingly associate casseroles with poorly skilled cooks.  I was in university the first time I tried a casserole and, jokes aside, casseroles are tasty, convenient, and most of them freeze well.  They’re great for using up leftovers and they can be thrown together using any protein, pasta/rice, and vegetables that you happen to have on hand.  I don’t make casseroles often, because they tend to be high in calories and sodium, and are often made with processed foods, but every now and then I will surprise my sister with her favourite casserole (recipe below).

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How to Make a Gingerbread House (Ours Won 1st Place!)

In How To, Other Desserts on December 21, 2011 at pm

For our company’s gingerbread house decorating contest, I teamed up with my friends, Erin and Andrea.  Thanks to Erin, who has a family tradition of making gingerbread houses, we won first place by most popular vote!  I had such a great time making my first gingerbread house, so I’ve shared what I learned about how to make and decorate a gingerbread house.  For some inspiration, see some amazing and elaborate gingerbread houses here.  Happy holidays everyone!

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How to Make Apple Cider

In Drinks, How To on December 16, 2011 at pm

I love apple cider and spiced hot apple cider.  I’ve tried many different brands and the best apple cider I’ve ever had was homemade.  Ed loved it too, and he’s usually indifferent when it comes to apple cider.  This is an easy recipe for apple cider or spiced apple cider that can be served hot or cold.  If desired, you could make this an alcoholic drink.

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Green Beans with Shallot Butter and Crispy Bacon

In Sides and Sauces on December 10, 2011 at am

I made this side dish for my brother and sister over Thanksgiving weekend, 2011 and we all loved it.  This is simple yet elegant, and it’s subtly flavoured, making it a great side for any entree.

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Favourite Apple Turnover Recipe

In Pies & Tarts on November 26, 2011 at am

Ed and I were craving apple pie really badly late one night, and I happened to have fresh apples and frozen puff pastry on hand, so I made apple turnovers.  (See my apple pie recipe here.) These were quick and easy to make and tasted much better than store bought turnovers.  We Loved them; anything else would have been a disappointment in comparison.  They were so good that Ed ate four large turnovers that night.  I wasn’t much better… stopping after three of them.  These are by far our new favourite apple turnovers.  They freeze beautifully, if you can resist from eating them all right away, that is.

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The Best Butter Tarts Recipe (Placed 3rd in a Baking Contest!)

In Pies & Tarts on November 14, 2011 at pm

Butter tarts are a wonderful Canadian dessert.  (Speaking of wonderful Canadian things, have you tried ice cider?)  Butter tarts are individually portion sized tarts that have a flaky pastry shell and a sweet and gooey filling.  If desired, the filling can include raisins or pecans.  I made both variations in the photo above.  If you like pecan pie (see my recipe here), you’ll probably like butter pecan tarts.  Personally, I prefer the tarts.  I made these butter tarts for the first time over Thanksgiving, 2011.  We were amazed by how good the pastry was.  This was the best, buttery and flaky pastry I have ever made and these were the best butter tarts we had ever had.  Although they can be a bit messy to eat, this pastry is the perfect compliment for this type and size of tart.  The filling is soft and gooey, you won’t get crystallized sugar, and it doesn’t drip.

I was so happy with this recipe that I made several batches for my sister’s company’s annual charity baking contest on November 14, 2011.  I was too busy to make these the weekend before the competition, so I made them weeks in advance and froze them.  Although they’re better when fresh, these were still good enough to win 3rd place in the baking contest.  There were a total of 14 entries.  (See my dessert that won 1st place in last year’s baking contest here.)

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Stir Fried Snow Peas with Seafood (Chinese Restaurant Style)

In Seafood on November 4, 2011 at am

I made this for my family recently and they thought that it tasted even better than the restaurant’s dish.  My mom kept raving about how good it was and how even she can’t replicate that Chinese restaurant “flavour” (known as “wok hay”).  My brother even suspected that I had used MSG!  :)   Just to be clear, I never use monosodium glutamate (MSG), because it is a neurotoxin and, clearly, you don’t need it to make great tasting food.

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Duck Tongues Recipe

In Other Asian Foods on October 30, 2011 at am

I love love love eating duck tongues, and I have no problem consuming an entire box in one sitting, despite the fact that they are pricey and high in calories.  I also happen to be in love with this sauce.  Duck tongues can be deep fried, braised, or stir fried.  My favourite way to cook duck tongues is to stir fry them.

For those of you who have never tried a duck tongue, most of the tongue is edible.  A thin piece of soft bone (I love eating the soft bone) runs up the middle of the tongue and connects to an inedible bone in the middle of the back end of the tongue.  The flesh surrounding the bone is neither meaty nor tough like cow’s tongue.  Rather, it is soft and slightly chewy, and rich and fatty without being greasy or oily.  It’s the texture that makes these so popular.  They are relatively neutral in taste, so flavourful sauces are often used.

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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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