Cooking with Alison

Archive for January, 2011|Monthly archive page

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Apple Pie Recipe (using bacon fat in the crust… or not)

In Pies & Tarts on January 8, 2011 at am

Apple pie is one of my favourite desserts, but since even most store bought and restaurant apple pies disappoint me, I spared myself the time and money that would surely be wasted on testing homemade apple pie recipes.  I’ve always settled for making apple crisps and tarts (recipe here) instead.  But when Bob Blumer won third place in a pie baking contest after never having made a pie before, I knew that his recipe would be well worth the effort.  (Check out his Food Network show, Glutton for Punishment.)  I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it.  Even my dad, who doesn’t like pie, asked for seconds.

Bob Blumer suggests using bacon fat in the pie crust.  I was so excited about this fantastic use for bacon, but I substituted it for butter since I was making a healthy meal for my family.  I will update this post when I make it again properly (I can’t wait!).  I love using bacon in interesting ways and I plan on making bacon cupcakes and chocolate covered bacon some day.  See my bacon jam recipe here – it’s Delicious!  The only combination that I don’t like is bacon mints.

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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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Miso Soup Recipe

In Asian, Soups, Soups and Salads on January 4, 2011 at am

Miso soup is a simple Japanese soup that consists mainly of dashi stock and miso paste.  Miso paste is available in a variety of colours (ie. yellow or red) and flavours (ie. salty or sweet).  Additional ingredients, such as seaweed, tofu, mushrooms, and/or pork, are often added to this soup.  Although instant miso soup powders are widely available, this soup is very easy to make (minus the MSG and preservatives).  Traditionally, wakame is the seaweed of choice, but this time, I used dulse, a red seaweed that I bought in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (photo below).  See my post on how to use dulse here.

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Dulse

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, How-To, Sides and Sauces, Soups and Salads on January 2, 2011 at am

Update:  This photo was published in TAPS The Beer Magazine in the November/December 2012 issue!

I had never heard of dulse until I started making travel plans to the east coast of Canada.  So when we were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Krystal and I went looking for this and were lucky enough to find it at the City Market.  We purchased a bag of hand picked, sun dried dulse and brought it back to Ontario.  I wanted to share what I’ve learned as this might be of interest [in particular] to vegetarians, vegans, gardening enthusiasts and people who have anemia or hypothyroidism.  Note:  If you have hyperthyroidism, however, it may not be appropriate for you to consume dulse.

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